S. 1275 would make it easier for agencies to solicit feedback about agency services from the people or customers that it serves. Under the bill agencies would collect information from customers using standard questions developed by the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration. The bill also would require agencies to post the responses to those questions online, use the responses to improve their services, and establish a website that would link to agency reports on customer services. Finally, the bill would require the Government Accountability Office to prepare an annual report on the quality of customer service provided by federal agencies.
Most provisions of the bill would expand on current law, policies, and practices of the federal government. The President’s Management Agenda and Gears of Government Award program already encourages customer service improvements. In addition, the Government Performance and Results Act and the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act require agencies to improve customer service performance. Because those initiatives are ongoing and the bill’s new reporting requirements are not significantly different from current requirements, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have no significant cost.
Enacting S. 1275 could affect direct spending by agencies that use fees, receipts from the sale of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. Because most of those agencies can adjust the amounts they collect as operating costs change, CBO estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those agencies would be negligible.
