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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release March 18, 1994 
                         PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT
                                BETWEEN
                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
                       WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON
                                  AND
                     THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
                             BRUCE BABBITT

I. Introduction

The American people deserve a government that works better and costs less. The departments and agencies of the federal government hold vital keys to improving performance and to restoring the faith of the American people in their government. Many changes will need to take place for this broad goal to be realized. The purpose of performance agreements with senior officials is to establish clarity and consensus about the priorities for departmental management. They are intended to improve the management of the Executive Branch and are not intended to and do not create any legally enforceable rights. From these agreements should flow the program and management priorities of the departments. These agreements represent a beginning, a basis for continuous improvement as we reinvent our government to meet the needs and expectations of the American people.

II. The Department of The Interior

This Agreement reflects the major objectives developed by the Secretary for the Department of the Interior to achieve over the next several years as well as specific performance measures to be accomplished in Fiscal Year 1994. It also describes areas of specific support the Administration intends to provide for the accomplishment of these objectives.

The Secretary undertakes to accomplish the following at the Department of the Interior:

Establish The National Biological Survey

The Secretary is committed to establishing a new organization within the Department that will serve as an important nation-wide repository for biological data for government customers and the public, and that will provide an integrated natural resources scientific database, including a national status and trends survey. This information will be used to develop sound natural resource management and development decisions.

Reform Land Management at the Department of The Interior

The Secretary is committed to reforming rangeland programs administered by the Bureau of Land Management in order to restore and improve the ecological condition of the rangeland; to manage for biodiversity, forage production and sustainable ecosystems; and to establish a fair and equitable grazing fees for private use of public lands.

The Secretary is committed to implementing a comprehensive reform of mining activities on public lands in order to eliminate land patent giveaways, charge a fair royalty for public minerals and provide strong environmental protection for public lands.

Reinvent the Bureau of Reclamation

The Secretary is committed to transforming the Bureau of Reclamation from a civil works agency into the leading water management agency that is cost-effective in serving its customers.

Strengthen the Commitment of the National Park System to Employees and the American Public

The Secretary is committed to improving the morale and working conditions of employees in the National Park Service. The Secretary is committed to resolving the professional discrepancies between full time and seasonal temporary employees and enhancing professional development opportunities for Park Rangers and other Park Service employees.

The Secretary is also committed to the entrepreneurial management of the national parks through improved fee applications and collections and contract negotiations. Creative use of private funds to mitigate the problems of employee housing is an important goal of the Secretary.

Act as a Partner with Indian Tribes

The Secretary will demonstrate this Administration's commitment to fulfillment of the federal Indian Trust responsibility and the creation of a mutually respectful, beneficial government to government partnership by achieving progress necessary to accomplish national Indian self-determination objectives and address the concerns of Congress.

Make the Endangered Species Act Work

The Secretary is committed to reforming the administration and implementation of the Endangered Species Act to minimize conflicts, maximize flexibility for conflict resolution, and conserve our Nation's ecosystems for future generations.

Champion Collaboration and Performance at the Department of The Interior

The Secretary will champion the Administration's commitment to a government that works better by demonstrating creative patterns of collaboration, organization and communication with employees, other agencies and citizens.

With the leadership of the Secretary, the Department of the Interior will develop one of the best appraisal processes among federal agencies for its Senior Executive Service managers, measuring progress on three common departmental elements: increased crossorganizational cooperation and action, increased employee diversity, and improved matching of decision-making level to decision needed.

III. Measurement of Performance

To measure progress against the above objectives, the Secretary is committed to accomplishing specific measurable results. Specific measures for Fiscal Year 1994 are described in Annex A.

To maintain focus and a sense of urgency and to have a real impact on performance, there will be periodic reviews of progress, discussion of difficulties encountered and agreement on appropriate actions. These reviews will be held between the President and/or his designees and Department officials and, with greater frequency, within the Department. Any specific reporting requirements will be developed jointly with the Department.

IV. Administration Support

In order to accomplish the above described objectives and measures during Fiscal Year 1994, it is the Administration's objective to provide the Department of the Interior with the following specific support:

--Support for passage of authorizing legislation to establish the National Biological Survey.

--The Office of Management and Budget will provide generic clearances for customer surveys within two weeks of submission of requests by the Department of the Interior.

--Lead responsibility for mining law reform to the Department of the Interior to work with all affected federal agencies. In addition, the White House will establish a mechanism to provide effective liaison with the Department during mine legislation conference proceedings.

V. Miscellaneous

This Agreement is intended only to improve the internal management of the Executive Branch and is not intended to and does not create any right, benefit, trust or responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.

VI. Term of Agreement

This Agreement will remain in effect until modified. It is expected that it will be updated at least annually to reflect significant changes in budget, policy, personnel or other factors that may affect the accomplishment of objectives.

This agreement represents our joint commitment to a Department of the Interior that works better and costs less and fulfills our sacred trust to the American people. 

 Bruce Babbitt                       William J. Clinton
 Secretary of The Interior           President of the United States

Attachment: Annex A: Performance Measures, Fiscal Year 1994

Annex: Performance Measures, Fiscal Year 1994

During Fiscal Year 1994 (FY 1994), performance will be measured by the successful accomplishment of the following specific measures:

  1. ESTABLISH THE NATIONAL BIOLOGICAL SURVEY
  2. The Secretary commits that the National Biological Survey will be a functioning organization as soon as FY 1994 appropriations become available. The National Biological Survey will maximize its programmatic work and minimize its administrative structures as it draws upon existing resources across the Department.
  3. The Secretary will delegate to the Director of the National Biological Survey responsibility for expanding the current Department research program to include projects related to populations and ecosystems. The Secretary will publish clear research priorities for the National Biological Survey by the end of FY 1994. Those priorities will reflect the recommendations of users, communicated through surveys and other forms of customer response.
  4. The National Biological Survey will develop an implementation plan by the end of FY 1994 to integrate the Department's biological database systems with other relevant federal and state databases.
  5. By the end of FY 1994, the National Biological Survey will publish a generally accepted definition of natural resource status and trends that will provide information needed by the Nation to help avert endangered species crises and to aid in wise management and development decisions.
  6. The National Biological Survey will provide information on populations and ecosystems to those government agencies, states and other entities that rely on biological data to administer programs and will work with such agency customers to insure that their needs can be met.
  7. REFORM LAND MANAGEMENT AT THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
  8. Subject to outcomes of the Conference Committee, the Secretary will take final action on the administrative proposal that was first announced in August 1993 to improve management of rangeland ecosystems and provide for more effective administration of livestock grazing on public lands.
  9. In early 1994, the Department will publish a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for public comment and a draft Environmental Impact Statement regarding rangeland reform. The Secretary is committed to implementing changes in the grazing fee formula that will be used to set fees for grazing on federal lands. The Secretary also will eliminate the existing Grazing Advisory Boards and District Advisory Councils and replace these with new Resource Advisory Councils that can better represent the many constituencies concerned with public lands and respond to the needs of rangeland managers within specific geographical areas.
  10. The Department will develop an experimental set of outcome measures for successful changes in grazing management. Development of these measures will involve the Resource Advisory Board members. These will be included in the final Administrative Proposal to be published by the end of FY 1994.
  11. The Secretary will commit significant personal time and appropriate staff resources during FY 1994 to insure passage of mining law reform legislation, under the principles that have been enunciated by the Administration.
  12. REINVENT THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
  13. A policy directive will be published in early FY 1994 that will articulate a new mission and structure for a streamlined Bureau of Reclamation. This mission will commit the Department to shift its emphasis from large civil works to water and environmental management.
  14. In conjunction with Executive Order No. 12862, pertaining to customer service, the Bureau of Reclamation will strengthen relationships with the environmental community, water users and other customers during its transformation. In FY 1994, the Bureau will experiment with customer opinion surveys to measure the level of service expected and received.
  15. STRENGTHEN THE COMMITMENT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE TO EMPLOYEES AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC
  16. The Secretary will make significant progress in FY 1994 to develop a mechanism to provide seasonal and temporary employees greater benefits in line commensurate with the contribution they have made to the National Park Service. In addition, the Secretary will propose a plan to transfer eligible seasonal and part-time employees to Full Time Equivalents.
  17. The Secretary will delegate to the Director of the National Park Service responsibility to finalize the Ranger Futures concept and initiate comparable employee career development activities for other Park Service employees by the end of FY 1994.
  18. The Secretary will prepare legislation to eliminate prohibitions that restrict the collection of entrance fees at national parks, and to raise entrance fees in those parks where fees are currently charged. In addition, concession reform will commence with new negotiations of current contracts early in FY 1994.
  19. A portion of increased fee revenues will be used to complete infrastructure improvement projects. The National Park Service will develop by the end of FY 1994 ongoing visitor opinion surveys to assess satisfaction with park services and facilities.
  20. The problems of inadequate employee housing will be addressed during FY 1994 with a major Department initiative to fund needed housing improvements through private sector partnerships.
  21. ACT AS A PARTNER WITH INDIAN TRIBES
  22. In order to assist the tribes in better preparing themselves to compete and prosper in the 21st century, the Department will develop mechanisms to support the renewed federal/tribal partnership envisioned as the Administration develops its Indian policy position. To carry out this commitment, the Secretary will finalize and implement regulations pursuant to Pub.L. No. 93-638 as soon as possible in FY 1994 and will continue expansion of the self-governance initiative.
  23. The Secretary will emphasize continued consultations with the tribes and Congress to develop an appropriate vehicle for the management of Indian trust funds including alternatives other than operations within the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
  24. Through the reauthorization process for the Indian Education Act in 1994, the Department will develop a sound legislative plan for education of all Indian children in concert with the tribes, Indian parents, Congress, the Department of Education and other federal agencies which have funding and responsibility for Indian Education, and other concerned organizations and individuals.
  25. MAKE THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT WORK
  26. The Secretary will initiate key administrative reforms to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, by issuing four policy directives before the end of FY 1994:
    1. A directive that provides a definition of species for listing purposes.
    2. A directive that establishes standards for evaluating and accepting proposals to list species as threatened and endangered.
    3. A directive that streamlines the Habitat Conservation Planning process.
    4. A directive that stresses the need to conserve candidate species and the ecosystem in which they occur before further declines occur.
  27. The Secretary will delegate to the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, the responsibility for expanding and clarifying the role of states and tribal governments in implementing the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended.
  28. The Secretary also commits to developing a departmental strategy to reauthorize the Endangered Species Act. The Department of the Interior will provide leadership in developing the Clinton Administration strategy to reauthorize the Endangered Species Act.
  29. The Department will provide leadership with the White House to promulgate an Executive Order by February 1, 1994, that will direct Federal agencies to use their authorities to promote conservation of listed species.
  30. The Secretary of Interior commits to timely action on individual species including a section 4(d) rule for the Northern Spotted Owl by March 1, 1994 (subject to the alternative timetables dictated by the completion of the FEMAT "Option 9" FEIS); a section 4(d) rule for the California Gnatcatcher by February 1, 1994; and an expedited processing of the Travis County, Texas, incidental take permit upon receipt of a completed permit application from Travis County.
  31. Interior will measure its commitment to avoiding impasses through an analysis of the outcomes of the Northwest Summit and the California Gnatcatcher.
  32. CHAMPION COLLABORATION AND PERFORMANCE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
  33. In carrying out the performance commitments of this agreement, Interior managers and employees will work across traditional organizational boundaries, whether internal or external. All implementing plans will establish working groups with crossbureau and cross-agency membership, common goals and common measures of success.
  34. The Secretary will delegate to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Resources the responsibility for initiating in FY 1994 measures of accomplishment; including exit interviews with employees; analysis of appraisal data; and use of baseline employee opinion research.
  35. The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service will conduct pilot opinion research with employees and external customers in FY 1994. The research will identify areas for future change.
  36. In FY 1994, The Department of the Interior will sponsor a pilot project pursuant to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 to develop and test results-based performance measures for a single departmenal function carried out across at least four bureaus.
  37. MISCELLANEOUS

The Performance Measures set forth herein are intended only to improve the internal management of the Executive Branch and are not intended to and do not create any right, benefit, trust or responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any person.