Thursday, May 07, 2009
Each year for the past 10 years the Mercatus Center at George Mason University releases a report ranking how well federal agencies come clean in revealing their performances. For 2008 the worst score went to the Small Business Administration, which used to rank in the top ten, but fell dramatically beginning in FY 2006 under the leadership of Steve Preston, who was then promoted in 2008 by President George W. Bush to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
On the other end of the scale, three cabinet departments—Labor (1), Veterans Affairs (2), and Transportation (3)—continued to outdistance their counterparts. Fourth place went to Homeland Security and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
When it came to the top three finishers, the ‘08 results were no different than 2007, except that the Transportation Department was ranked first, Labor second, and Veterans Affairs third.
Those departments that made the most progress in becoming transparent were State, Energy, Interior, and Education. Technically, the Defense Department made the most progress, according to the Center, but it still ranked near the bottom overall. Helping to bring up the rear was the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which lost the most ground from last year’s rankings.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
10th Annual Performance Report Scorecard: Which Federal Agencies Best Inform the Public? (by Maurice McTigue, Henry Wray and Jerry Ellig, Mercatus Center, George Mason University) (PDF)
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