Gore and Bush talk about Quality

["Steven G. Brant" <trimtab@sprynet.com>]

The following is the text of answers to four questions related to quality
that the Gore and Bush campaigns furnished to the editors of Quality
Progress, the American Society for Quality's monthly magazine.  A question
is followed by the individual answers, then another question and the
individual answers, etc.

Because this info is in the public interest (ie. text of politicians
speaking about various issues), I don't think there are any copyright issues
involved in reprinting this here. However, if you pass this on to anyone,
please include a reference that it comes from ASQ's Quality Progress.




- Steve Brant

[Moderator's Note:  I typically do not post copies of articles, but I think 
Steve is correct here (he *is* from Brooklyn).  Please provide citation is you
choose to re-use it.  

And PLEASE remember that this is the DEN and not a political debate list!
Thanks. ]

Quality Progress

Will Quality Find a Home in the White House?
George W. Bush and Al Gore describe the use of quality tools in their
administrations

You¹ve listened to their platforms on taxes and you¹ve read their programs
regarding health care reform. But how do Vice President Al Gore and Texas
Governor George W. Bush, the U.S. presidential candidates, plan on carrying
out these proposals? What tools would each nominee use to ensure performance
excellence in his administration should he be elected?

Quality Progress sent identical sets of questions to both the Bush and Gore
campaign headquarters. We asked how each administration would use quality
methodologies to improve the efficiency of government, and we wanted to know
how each candidate planned to support quality award programs such as the
Baldrige Award. We asked for their views concerning government¹s role in
health care quality and how they can ensure continuous improvement in
America¹s schools. The following are the responses we received from each
candidates¹ headquarters.

Quality in Government

Governor George W. Bush (Republican)
Unlike American businesses and many state and local governments, the federal
government is still based on an outdated, centralized, ³one-size-fits-all²
hierarchical model. The Clinton/Gore administration¹s Reinventing Government
initiative has too often focused on oiling this old machinery, rather than
transforming it.

In contrast, my Getting Results From Government initiative will reform and
modernize government on the basis of making government more
citizen-centered, results-oriented and market-based.

To make government ³citizen-centered² I will:

*    Flatten the federal hierarchy, bringing government closer to citizens
by not replacing 40,000 senior and middle managers who will retire over the
next eight years, and eliminating the new layers of management created by
the current Administration.
*    Accelerate e-government by appointing a government-wide Chief
Information Officer, and creating a $100 million fund to support interagency
e-government initiatives, especially ones enabling individuals to drill
directly into the bureaucracy.



To make government ³results-oriented² I will:

*    Ensure financial accountability by requiring agencies to pass their
annual audit.
*    Enforce the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) so that funds
flow to programs that work.
*    Support legislation establishing a bipartisan ³Sunset Review Board² to
recommend elimination of duplicative and ineffective programs.
*    Convert federal service contracts to performance-based contracts
wherever possible. 
*    Reform the civil service by establishing performance-based incentives
to reward achievement and recruit skilled private sector talent.



To make government ³market-based² I will:

*    Establish the goal of moving all significant government procurement to
the Internet.
*    Open federal positions involving commercial activities to competition
from the private sector wherever possible.



Vice President Al Gore (Democrat)
One of Al Gore¹s top priorities has been to improve the efficiency of
government. Partially because of the Clinton administration¹s dedication to
reinventing government, federal government spending has fallen to its lowest
level in 25 years, and the federal workforce has been reduced to its lowest
levels since President Kennedy. These landmarks have been achieved not by a
reduction in government services or responsiveness, but by eliminating waste
and redundancy. This initiative has eliminated 16,000 pages of regulations
and 640,000 pages of needless internal rules.

Al Gore believes that government works best when it focuses on results and
operates with sufficient flexibility to enable it to work for the people it
serves. Through the National Partnership for Reinventing Government,
government employees get the tools they need to solve problems in their own
communities. As president, Gore will continue efforts to eliminate federal
waste, making government cost less and work better. He will work to make
nearly all services available on the Internet by 2003 and will require
agencies to put progress reports online.

Baldrige and other quality awards

George W. Bush
I strongly support programs like the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
as a means to herald and strengthen performance excellence. The Baldrige
Award criteria project a tough, exacting standard and encourage companies to
strive for excellence by seeing themselves through the eyes of customers and
the marketplace. This award is becoming a global standard, and one measure
of its importance is the growing number of similar programs across the
world. 

The president, like nobody else in America, can set a tone for the nation,
and presidential attention is essential to sustaining momentum for the
American quality revolution. The Malcolm Baldrige Award enjoyed the stronger
support of Presidents Reagan and Bush. And when I become president, the
White House will itself be committed to high performance and excellence, and
will herald it in others.

Al Gore
A vital part of preserving and expanding America¹s prosperity is investment
in the skills and technologies that are critical to America¹s future. In
addition to continuing his support for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award, Al Gore will work to expand tax credits and other incentives to help
ensure that U.S. companies remain competitive in the international economy.

In order to encourage the development of new technologies and spur economic
growth, Al Gore supports making the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit
permanent. Furthermore, he proposes that we double investment in information
technology research over the next five years, fully implementing the
recommendations of the President¹s Information Technology Advisory
Committee. Gore also believes we must continue funding the primary research
of ideas in our universities.

Quality and health care

George W. Bush
When people need health care they want to know that they are getting the
best care possible. One key way to boost health care quality is to let
individuals control and customize their own care. Patients¹ needs must be
paramount, and innovative providers should not face a false choice between
patient care and the bottom line.

A fundamental method of improving health care quality is to reduce the rate
of medical errors. I support scientific research that provides information
about why these errors occur and what can be done to prevent them. We must
open the free flow of information concerning medical errors‹both to protect
patients and to reduce the cost of modern medicine. A key step is reforming
malpractice law. In its current form, it leads health care providers to
conceal even innocent mistakes, lest they be subject to vilifying publicity
through the trial lawyers¹ system of jackpot justice. That is why a cloak of
secrecy envelopes operating rooms.

In order to boost health care quality, we also need to let individuals
control and customize their own care. Giving patients greater options will
spark innovation and pro-patient reforms. As Governor of Texas, I signed one
of the most comprehensive patient protection laws in the nation. The process
empowers the patient and is working well.

Al Gore
One of the most important steps the government can take to ensure high
quality health care is to enact a strong, enforceable Patients¹ Bill of
Rights. If Al Gore is entrusted with the presidency, he will lead the fight
to take critical health care decisions away from insurance companies and
HMOs and give them back to patients and their doctors. The bill would ensure
critical protections‹such as access to specialists and emergency room
services‹when and where the need arises. The bill would also ensure that
doctors could tell patients about all of their options‹not just the most
inexpensive. Al Gore will ensure that patients have: the right to a fair
appeal if they disagree with their health plan, access to the specialists
they need, guaranteed coverage of emergency room care when and where the
need arises and the right to hold health plans accountable for their
actions.

In addition to securing the rights of patients, there are concrete steps we
can take to dramatically reduce the times when the wrong drug is dispensed,
a blood transfusion is mismatched or a surgery goes awry‹not steps intended
to find fault, but to find answers. Last December, the Administration
directed the Health Care Quality Task Force to analyze the Institute of
Medicine¹s study on health quality. The administration has accepted all of
the task force¹s recommendations. These are steps that Al Gore will build on
as president to reach the goal of reducing preventable medical errors by 50%
within five years.

Quality and education

George W. Bush
I¹m a results-oriented reformer and believe that what gets measured is what
gets done. A commitment to improving student performance, therefore,
requires a commitment to measuring student performance.

Today there is an achievement gap in our public schools between Anglos and
minorities, between disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers. I
believe that any school that receives federal funds must measure student
improvement to help close this achievement gap.

As governor, I pursued a reform agenda based on a rigorous accountability
system that included high academic standards in core subject areas, testing
for all students, and a system of rewards and consequences based on the
school¹s improved academic performance. Texas was recently praised by the
independent General Accounting Office for being the only state in the
country specifically tracking the academic progress of poor and minority
children.

Modeled on my success in reforming Texas schools, my plan harnesses the
potency of combining choice and accountability with results. It encompasses
basic goals such as raising standards through local control and expanding
opportunities for teacher training. Education reform requires pressure from
above for high standards and competition from below to spur innovation.

Al Gore
Al Gore has outlined a comprehensive plan, funded by a new Education Trust
Fund, to revolutionize public schools by holding states accountable for
helping students from all backgrounds to reach high academic standards. We
must start this revolution in our public school system by requiring every
state and school district to identify failing schools and work to turn them
around‹with strict accountability for results and strong incentives for
success.

Next, we must expand choice and competition in our public education. Gore
will fight to triple the number of charter schools by 2005, turn around low
performing district with universal public school choice allowing all parents
to choose the right public school for their children, and require states and
school district to disseminate annual report cards for every school, school
district and state.

To ensure teacher quality, Al Gore will treat teachers like the
professionals they are, pay them like professionals, including bonuses for
distinction, and provide them with the support they need to succeed.

Al Gore will advocate testing every new teacher, requiring states to
guarantee that 100% of their teachers are fully certified by 2004 as a
prerequisite for receiving federal funding under Title I, offering peer
mentoring to help improve teacher performance and‹when necessary‹removing
failing teachers.

Finally, Al Gore believes we must ensure that students graduate with the
skills they need to succeed. As president, he will encourage high school
exit exams and other measures to make certain no student who cannot read
graduates with a diploma.
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