Now that the president and Congress have struck a deal that eases spending constraints on vital national security and social programs, the task falls to the appropriations committees to negotiate the details of the 12 annual appropriations bills that fund the policies and programs that collectively define who we are as a society.
Negotiating an agreement that involves thousands of federal programs, large and small, won’t be easy. It never is. Having been through this process before as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have found that there is a common goal shared by everyone sitting at the negotiating table. Ideologies aside, we all want to invest taxpayer dollars as wisely and efficiently as possible, and to see that those investments are working as planned — whether it’s for disadvantaged children, working families, vulnerable seniors, veterans or small businesses.
Important funding decisions like that can’t be based on intuition, popularity or inertia. Informed decision-making requires data, evidence and evaluation to determine which programs work — and which don’t.
What do those programs look like? As the former chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, examples of some evidence-based, results-oriented programs come to mind.