Politics aside, Americans are united on some of the basic things their government should do better: Make sure air travel is safe, simplify the process for filing tax returns, streamline applications for student loans.
At the same time, many are frustrated by the blizzard of new federal rules that rain down on them each year, which hit a record 4,429 in 2021.
That looks set to change. A pair of Supreme Court decisions this year will make it easier to challenge both new and old regulations. With their rulemaking powers clipped, perhaps federal workers should be free to focus more on basic execution. That could be a boon for taxpayers and for Americans’ trust in government. But Congress needs to help.
It should go without saying that elected leaders need to prioritize effective administration. Yet agencies tend to get more attention for their policy proposals than for the quality of their implementation or customer service — at least until there’s some kind of blunder. The leaders of the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., for example, were rarely asked about the attentiveness of their bank supervisors and examiners until several banks collapsed last year and emergency rescue measures were needed.
With millions of employees to manage, the federal government is always going to make mistakes. But minimizing them is crucial. Research shows that negative experiences with the bureaucracy corrode Americans’ trust in government much more than positive experiences improve it. So addressing basic problems can make a real difference in how people view their government.
As a start, Congress needs to ensure that agency leaders have the flexibility to hire competent workers. A recent effort to focus on skills, rather than credentials, in government hiring is on the right track. More programs like the US Digital Service and the 18F office — which act as in-house consultancies for the executive branch and recruit private-sector workers with needed skills for temporary tours in government — should also be under consideration. .
Technology should also be part of the answer. In recent years, the executive branch has been cautiously introducing artificial intelligence systems. Research suggests that, in time, these could have pronounced benefits. One study estimated that aggressive AI investment could free up as much as 30% of federal staffers’ time.
Ultimately, responsibility will fall to Congress to write laws with less ambiguity and clearer directions for regulators. To meet that challenge, more and better legislative staff will be crucial. Restoring the Office of Technology Assessment, a team of experts that provided Congress with technical research from 1972 until it was defunded in the mid-’90s, would help lawmakers understand new challenges and weigh their options for addressing them. So would more investment in the Government Accountability Office’s science, technology assessment and analytics team.
Americans disagree on many things. But a civil service that competently serves their interests shouldn’t be controversial. Congress should see these court rulings as the opportunity that they are.
— Bloomberg Opinion