Senator Warner spoke to Federal News Radio about the goals of the Senate Budget Committee's recently-created Task Force on Government Performance.

At a time when federal budget deficits are reaching all-time highs, the bipartisan task force will take a look at the way we measure performance of federal agencies and programs, looking to identify ways to cut costs and create efficiencies that will save money and improve performance.  He told Federal News Radio:

"Rather than simply go out and fund everything on an equal basis or using the old formulas, let's actually go out and look at what's working and what's not working. And then take those that are not working, and reallocate [the resources] so it's not a zero-sum game where the losers are going to lose their jobs."

A key element to that review will be input from federal employees, whose insight is crucial to making smart decisions to improving government performance.  Senator Warner emphasized that does not necessarily mean job cuts, as is so often the recommendation.   

"Before we ask an already strained federal workforce to do a lot more on something they often times view as simply excess bureaucracy," said Warner, "let's see if we can actually eliminate some of these reporting requirements and then hone down on which ones are truly important where the workforce can feel a buy-in that this is how they're going to get measured, this is how performance is going to be viewed and not have it all driven from the top down."

In using the measurements to make funding recommendations, Warner said feds shouldn't worry about job cuts, despite increased pressure to reduce the deficit. Warner said he wants to send a message: "we need your partnership, federal employees, to find way, yes to save money, so I think these measurements and metrics are going to be more important than they've been in at least the recent past, over the past 20 years."

You can listen to the interview below.