VA Recognized for Leadership in Federal Accountability

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) 2008 Performance and Accountability Report ranked second amongst the largest federal agencies according to a report issued by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University.  This independent research organization evaluates and ranks federal agency reports on how transparently they report their successes and failures, how well they document the tangible public benefits they produce, and whether they demonstrate that their leadership uses performance information to devise strategies for making program improvements.      The Government Accountability Project at the Mercatus Center in Arlington, Va., examined the federal agencies for its 10th Annual Performance Report Scorecard, ranking VA second highest behind the Labor Department for quality of disclosure in its annual performance and accountability reports.  VA’s report was also recognized as the government’s best in the leadership category.  

“These reports play a vital role in ensuring that federal agencies carry out their responsibility to inform the American public about how their tax dollars are used, the results we achieve, and the areas that require improvement,” said VA Chief of Staff John Gingrich in remarks at the Mercatus Center awards ceremony yesterday. 

"VA has made noteworthy progress developing, implementing, and using performance measures that are directly linked to the department’s strategic goals and objectives," he added.  "As we transform, we will re-examine ways to measure our success and report our results to Veterans, our stakeholders, and the American public." 

The awards marked the 10th consecutive year that VA has been recognized by the Mercatus Center as one of the federal government’s leaders in performance reporting. 

VA’s Fiscal Year 2008 Performance and Accountability Report is available at http://www.va.gov/budget/report/2008/index.htm.  The Mercatus Center’s full report analyzing the 24 federal agencies’ reporting can be viewed at http://www.mercatus.org/.