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to thank the folks at NPR for their tireless work in support of all the Reinvention Programs. All the best to you and your loved ones. Glynis Long Tom Tate > > THE WHITE HOUSE > > Office of the Vice President > _____________________________________________________________For Immediate > Release Contact: > Monday, December 21, 1998 (202) 456-7035 > > VICE PRESIDENT GORE TO CHAIR GLOBAL > FORUM ON REINVENTING GOVERNMENT > > Washington, DC -- Vice President Gore today announced that the > first-ever global conference on reinventing government -- to include > high-level representatives from nearly 40 countries -- will be held in > Washington, DC on January 14-15, 1999 at the U.S. Department of State. > > The conference, "Strategies for 21st Century Government: A Global > Forum on Reinventing Government," will bring together officials who > understand the vital link between efficient government and a prosperous > economy and are eager to share ideas and effective practices for making > government "work better and cost less." Vice President Gore, who leads > the > Clinton Administration's reinventing government initiative, will chair the > event and deliver the conference keynote address. > > "One of the strongest economic advantages a country can enjoy in the > 21st century is a democratic government that is efficient, effective, and > has the strong support of its people," Vice President Gore said. > > "Inefficient, slow-moving, overly-centralized government can be one > of > the greatest obstacles to the progress of the private sector -- especially > in the high-speed, high-tech economy of the 21st century," Vice President > Gore said. "To promote prosperity in the new economy, nations will have > to reinvent their economic and regulatory institutions to respond to > citizens and to markets in a more flexible and efficient manner." > > At the start of the Clinton/Gore Administration, President Clinton > asked Vice President Gore to work with federal employees to make the > United > States government work better and cost less. As a result of reinventing > government initiatives led by the Vice President over the past five years, > the U.S. government has eliminated 250 outdated government programs, > slashed more than 16,000 pages of regulations, cut more than 640,000 pages > of internal rules, helped balance the federal budget for the first time in > 30 years by saving more than $137 billion, and cut more than 351,000 > employees to create the smallest federal government, on a percentage > basis, > since the 1930s. > > "We've taken these lessons of reinvention straight from federal > employees themselves and from their counterparts in the private sector," > Vice President Gore said. "In the 1970s, when U.S. industry faced lower > profits and shrinking market share, business leaders stepped forward to > reinvent the culture of their corporations. They rediscovered the > customer, and began giving their employees the training, trust, and > authority they needed to serve the customer." > > "These principles are working now in the U.S. government," Gore said. > "But we know that reinvention requires a sustained 8 to 12 year effort > before it really takes hold. That?s why we are eager to deepen our > commitment to reinvention -- and advance the efforts of our neighbors -- > by > sharing ideas and effective practices with governments across the world." > > Vice President Gore will open the conference, deliver the keynote > address, and then chair the first-day plenary session, examining the > factors that have forced countries worldwide to confront the challenge of > government efficiency and reform. Following a luncheon discussion at the > Inter-American Development Bank, participants will meet in workshops to > discuss a variety of subjects, including service to the citizen, > government regulation and transparency, and measuring government > performance. The second-day opening plenary will address strategies for > improving service to the citizen and then lead into six workshops, each > featuring a separate government innovation pioneered by federal, state, > and > local governments from the U.S. as well as from different governments > around the world. After a luncheon address at the World Bank, the > conference will reconvene in plenary session to explore the use of > information technologies to transform government. The conference will > conclude with remarks by Vice President Gore. > > "Strategies for 21st Century Government: A Global Forum on > Reinventing Government" is sponsored by the Innovations in American > Government program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of > Government, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, the > National Partnership for Reinventing Government in the Office of the Vice > President of the United States, the Brookings Institution, the U.S. Office > of Management and Budget, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and > Development, and the United States Information Agency. > > The Global Forum on Reinventing Government will be followed six weeks > later by another international conference hosted by Vice President Gore: > "The Vice President's Conference on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding > Integrity Among Justice and Security Officials." This conference, to be > held in Washington, DC from February 24-26, 1999 at the U.S. Department of > State, will bring together representatives of more than 60 countries to > organize a new global effort to fight corruption among key justice, > security and budget officials. > > The two conferences share an underlying conviction: governments > that > gain and maintain the public trust will lead the world in promoting > prosperity in the global economy of the 21st century. > > "Honest, efficient governance is absolutely essential if governments > are to build on the public trust that makes democracy possible," Vice > President Gore said. "Ensuring the integrity and efficiency of government > will strengthen our democracies and help us accelerate, instead of > suffocate, the entrepreneurial initiative that is the surest path to > progress and prosperity in the 21st century." > > # # # > Sender: [log in to unmask] Precedence: bulk