An Analysis of the Office of Management and Budget's Program Assessment Rating Tool for FY 2007

With the release of the Bush Administration's proposed budget for FY 2007, the Office of Management and Budget has completed its fourth year of the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) for evaluating federal programs. This working paper analyzes the PART results to date and seeks to determine how agencies have fared over time according to PART's methodology. McKenzie and Norcross examine the proportion of agency budgets PARTed as "Results Not Demonstrated," or lacking in performance measures or data. The authors also consider how PART ratings are related to Congressional funding levels and the executive's funding recommendations. To date, OMB has PARTed 64% of the budget, or $1.47 trillion. The ideas presented in this research are the authors' and do not represent official positions of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.