Paperwork Required for a New Hire 1) insurance information for COBRA 2) EEO1 form, listing race and gender of all employees (EEOC) 3) employee evaluation (to document for EEOC) 4) disciplinary notice (to document for EEOC) 5) IRS tax payment form -- for automatic withdraw of funds -- weekly 6) Federal IRS withholding form 7) directory of new hires -- to comply with Federal “dead beat dad” law 8) form for federal loans -- for mortgages 9) FHA loan form -- Fannie Mae 10) COBRA notification -- explain coverage options available when employee quits 11) FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) forms 12) W-2 forms -- one to employee, one must be kept on file for 8 years 13) employment application -- to comply with Federal standards for criminal and drug checks 14) receipt for safety glasses 15) form for badge/time card -- must be tracked to comply with Fair Labor Standards Act 16) INS I-9 form -- must be kept active for each employee and kept on fiel for 3 years after they leave 17) W-4 form for new hires to comply with "dead beat dad" law 18) health insurance form -- to keep track for COBRA 19) OSHA injury and illness report form 20) employee handbook for exempt employees (EEOC) 21) employee handbook for non-exempt employees (EEOC) 22) employee's copy of COBRA -- must be signed and kept on file Mr. MCINTOSH. And, so it is one of the goals of this subcommittee to figure out which of those are duplicative, which we can get rid of, which are not providing any benefit for the costs associated with it. And, then a second point that you addressed, which is also in that bill, is to relieve some of that worry factor by saying to a small businessman or a small businesswoman, if you happen to make a mistake in filling out all of that paperwork, we're going to allow you a chance to go back and correct it, rather than come in and slap you with a fine. You mentioned, Ms. Hoff Hay, that there was a penalty for one of the filings that the IRS had received or claimed they didn't receive when you had made the payment. Similarly, many of the agencies also have penalties that they associate with not filling out the paperwork correctly or not keeping the logs correctly on your place of employment. Very simple, and it seemed to me straightforward, that we would allow small businessmen an opportunity to correct it. So you put the government on the side of the business coming in and pointing out errors and then giving them a chance to correct it. My experience is that the vast majority of small businessmen and farmers in this country want to comply with all of these rules and regulations. They find them to be a headache, but in the same way you expressed, Ms. Hoff Hay, they view it as a duty essentially, and they're law-abiding citizens. I was shocked when some of my colleagues on the House floor came in and said, but if you do that, you allow people, criminals, to get off the hook. Their view of America's small businessman and small businesswoman is that they're potential criminals. Our view is that they're decent people, trying to get a job done, trying to hire people and putting up with an enormous burden of paperwork put out by the Federal Government to do that. So we are now working with the Senate to try to move that legislation forward, but I wanted to give you an update, and show for those of us here exactly the magnitude of the paperwork that goes with each new employee that a small business hires in America. So I appreciate all of you coming today and sharing your testimony with us. I have no further questions for this panel. Mr. Ryan, do you? Mr. RYAN. No, Mr. Chairman. Mr. MCINTOSH. And I truly do appreciate your willingness to come here. Some of the things that you pointed out will lead to questions directly to the IRS Commissioner that the committee will be sending forward. I want to find out exactly what their policy is on some of the examples that you've brought forward and to some of the other agencies. And, we will keep you informed on the further information that we gather in that process. Thank you. Ms. HOFF HAY. Thank you. Ms. WHITEHEAD. Thank you. Mr. MCINTOSH. We have one more panel today. And I would ask Ms. Anne Thomson Reed to come forward. She is representing the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is the Chief of the Office of the Chief Information Officer. So I guess you are the Chief Information And let the record show that Ms. Reed was sworn in along with the other witnesses at the beginning of the session. Share with us your testimony. The entire written testimony will be put into the record, so feel free to summarize key points for us today. STATEMENT OF ANNE F. THOMSON REED, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, ACCOMPANIED BY KEITH KELLY, ADMINISTRATOR, FARM SERVICE AGENCY Ms. REED. Thank you. Chairman McIntosh, Mr. Ryan, I want to thank you for inviting me here to share with you actions that are underway at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reduce the paperwork burden on America's citizens and particularly on farmers. With me today is Mr. Keith Kelly who is the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency. And with your permission, in addition to my formal statement, I would like to submit for the record a statement by Mr. Kelly as well. Mr. MCINTOSH. Seeing no objection, that statement will also be included in the record. Ms. REED. Thank you. USDA's diverse programs include food safety and inspection, food nutrition programs, programs to create jobs and support the infrastructure of rural America, natural resources and conservation, research and education, and of course programs to support America's farmers. We are committed to streamlining program delivery while preserving fiscal integrity and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse. In fiscal year 1998, citizens spent approximately 84 million hoursand that does include the hours associated with the expired collections-providing information to USDA and fulfilling recordkeeping requirements. By the close of fiscal year 2000, we estimate that we will reduce the actual paperwork burden to the public by approximately 6.2 million hours, which should bring the total to about 77.8 million hours. A key aspect of USDA's mission is to provide financial and technical assistance to farmers. This year with the supplemental passed by Congress, USDA will provide about $31 billion in farm assistance. While we are deeply committed to helping farmers through this farm crisis, as with any financial institution, there are necessary requirements for assuring eligibility and for meeting our fiduciary responsibilities to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. In short, we want to be sure that the money goes where it's supposed to, to help farmers in need. The agencies which deliver programs through USDA's county-based Service Centers, the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the three Rural Development Agencies have a number of initiatives underway to reduce the paperwork burden on farmers and rural citi zens. Projects underway include developing common geospatial maps and data that will allow greater sharing of land and crop information between partner agencies as well as external entities; an initiative to eliminate the need for customers to provide the same information more than one time by sharing it among agencies; and providing electronic on-line information services to customers, employees, and partners of USDA. In fiscal year 1998, the Farm Service Administration's Farm Loan Program area initiated a comprehensive regulatory and program reengineering effort which will conclude in September 2002. FSA's loan making and servicing processes as well as documents associated with both the direct and guaranteed loan programs are being reviewed to eliminate redundant and unnecessary processes. This year the application form for the Guaranteed Loan Program was cut from 12 pages to 6, and the amount of supporting documentation was reduced. Before the change, applicants spent an estimated 2 hours on the form; today it should take about 30 minutes. Recently implemented programs such as the Small Hog Operation Payment Program, the Dairy Market Loss Assistance Program, which began this week, and the Crop Loss Disaster Assistance Program have been deliberately structured to minimize paperwork requirements. In each of these recent programs, the forms should take about 15 minutes to complete and are available over the Internet as well as through the county office. In fiscal year 1997, the Rural Housing Service streamlined the regulations for the Single Family Housing Program. By developing one consolidated regulation and revising the associated information collected, the agency collectively reduced participants' paperwork burden by over a million hours. To obtain the full benefit from any of these projects, USDA must continue to invest in new technology. The current computer systems used by the agencies and the Service Centers are not interoperable, and therefore present a real barrier to information sharing. The President's fiscal year 2000 budget proposal contains funds for accelerating the acquisition of the needed technology and continuing support for developing common business operations. Other significant accomplishments have been made in the food stamp program and programs administered by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration and the by the Rural Housing Service. In conclusion, the Department will continue to work toward full compliance under the Paperwork Reduction Act and toward achieving the goals set by the act and by the Office of Management and Budget. With your assistance, we will continue to move forward in delivering better customer service with minimal paperwork burden. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. MCINTOSH. Thank you, Ms. Reed. And, we will include the full testimony into the record. Ms. REED. Thank you. Office of the Chief Information Officer Before the Sub Committee on National Economic Growth, INTRODUCTION: April 15, 1999 Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me here today to talk about actions underway at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce the paperwork burden on American citizens, and particularly on farmers. With your permission I will submit my written testimony for the record. The U.S. Department of Agriculture delivers programs which daily affect the lives of every American, as well as millions of people all over the world. They include food safety and inspection; food and nutrition programs; programs to create jobs and support the infrastructure of rural America; natural resources and conservation; research and education; and, or course, programs to support America's farmers. USDA is committed to streamlining program delivery, while preserving fiscal integrity and preventing fraud, waste and abuse. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 directs the Federal government to minimize the paperwork burden for the public from the collection of information and to maximize the utility and public benefit of the information. The Act further directs Federal departments to reduce the |