Office of Management and Budget

Reports to Congress Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

Reports to Congress
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995


September 1997
Office of Management and Budget
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Table of Contents

Overview

Appendices

Overview

On May 22, 1995, the President signed the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), P.L. 104­13, into law. The PRA gives specific responsibilities to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). These responsibilities include ensuring that: 

  1. effective and efficient information resource management practices are implemented across the government;

  2. the paperwork burden imposed by the Federal government on the public is minimized; and

  3. the greatest possible public benefit comes from the collection, use, and dissemination of information collected from the public.

These Reports to Congress under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 are intended to document for Congress some of OIRA's continued efforts towards the fulfillment of the purposes and planning requirements of the PRA. These reports detail how much the Federal government anticipates spending on information resources, to what extent the information collection burden on citizens by the government has been reduced, and how the Federal government has improved access to government information.

The first report is an analysis of the components of the proposed $27 billion in information technology spending from the President's FY 1998 budget for the Federal government as well as an historical discussion of Federal IT spending. (See also "Improving Performance in a Balanced Budget World," contained in the President's FY 1998 Budget.)

The second report contains a discussion of the total paperwork burden imposed by the Federal government. The burden is the number of hours individuals, businesses, and State and local governments must spend preparing or maintaining Federally mandated forms, reports, and records. For FY 1996, the estimated total burden is 6.7 billion hours. This section provides both an accounting of actual reductions accomplished by Executive Branch agencies during FY 1996 and a description of some of the actions the agencies are planning to achieve additional paperwork reductions for FY 1997.

The third report describes some recent efforts in the Federal government to provide for the wide­spread dissemination and, more importantly, organization of government information through the World Wide Web (WWW).

The final report documents agency compliance with the information policy provisions of OMB Circular No. A­130. The circular requires agencies to document and report complaints about the agencies' information dissemination policies. With one exception, no complaints were documented during FY 1996.

Federal agencies are continuing their efforts to promote program­based planning for the use of information resources towards a more efficient use of technology in serving program goals, towards reduced paperwork burdens without compromising program integrity, and towards the improved delivery of public services. These reports are intended to provide Congress and others information needed to promote a more efficient government. OIRA hopes as well that the public will use these reports to learn about the Federal government's IRM policies and practices and more actively participate in the shaping of these activities.

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