SEC. MIKE JOHANNS: It's great to be with you here today. I appreciate the opportunity to visit with you, kind of give you a perspective from an agency standpoint. I did come from an agency that's fairly large even by federal government standards. We have 110,000 employees; we're in 75 foreign countries. I think we have employees in probably every county in the United States. Someone told me when I took the job that if our budget was translated into revenues we would be something like the seventh largest corporate entity in the world. So this is a fairly good-sized operation.

I always like to start my speeches kind of informally and tell a story or two. Reference was made to the fact that I was the governor of the state of Nebraska, and I was for a period of six years. Prior to that I was the mayor of Lincoln.

When we started out the race for governor we actually started about three years before Election Day if you can imagine. And we were pretty well known in Lincoln, of course, because I was the mayor there, but beyond Lincoln not terribly well known. So we decided that the best way to get known across the state was to literally travel and do parades on weekends.

And so Stephanie and I, my wife and I, traveled for three years, and we'd do as many as four parades on a weekend. And we'd walk behind this banner, you know Johanns for Governor, and that pretty well defined our existence for about three years. But we were heading out to do a parade in a little community in south central Nebraska called Sutton, Nebraska. This was our fourth parade, an early evening parade; we'd already done three parades that day. And we're heading down the highway towards Sutton, and on the edge of town there was a Butler Building there. Now if you're not familiar with that, it's a steel building and it had a big sign on the side that said something like Sale on Tuesdays or Auction on Wednesdays. So it was obviously a sale barn.

And as we were driving by I noticed that the parking lot was just full of cars. And so I said to my wife, Steph, when we get done with this parade in Sutton if we come back and that parking lot is still full of cars we need to stop there and go on in and shake some hands. They've got an auction going on there tonight. I said we'll meet a whole bunch of people and if we get lucky the auctioneer will notice us and introduce us and everybody will know we'd stopped at their auction to campaign for governor.

So we go off to do the parade in Sutton and we're coming back and come up on the sale barn again and the cars are still in the parking lot. So I said to Steph, pull on in here, let's go on in and do some campaigning. So she pulled in, parked the car. It was a very warm summer evening so they've got every door and window in this Butler Building open, and we're heading across the parking lot and about halfway across we look up and the people in this building are looking out at us, and they all looked kind of puzzled. I noticed immediately that they were dressed in suits and tuxedos. You see, this wasn't an auction at all. They had rented this building for the reception for their family wedding.

[Laughter.]

So I turned to Steph and said, we've got to get out of here! And she said, No, it's too late; they're looking at us. So we go on in, and I got inside. Now I'm trying to be as inconspicuous as I possibly can. There are some problems with that because I've got Johanns for Governor on my T-shirt. But I noticed there was a line there, so I got in the line and quickly realized this was the line for the Dollar Dance. If you're not familiar with the dollar dance, everybody gets in a line and you contribute money for the bride and groom to take on their honeymoon. I was already in the line so I waited my turn. I walk out to the dance floor and this poor bride looked at me -- you know hot summer day, four parades does nothing for personal hygiene.

[Laughter.]

So she really did not want to dance with me, but I go up to her and she's a good sport, and we danced. Now at this point we really had become the spectacle of the family wedding reception. I am really anxious to get out of there, but they really would have nothing of that at that point. See, they wanted to take pictures just in the off chance I get elected governor they want to prove that I had been there. So we take pictures, and for some months after that there would always be somebody that would show up at a campaign and advance and say, I'm one of the sisters. That's all they needed to say because there's this picture of me and the four sisters outside of the sale barn.

Well lo and behold, it worked out, and I got elected governor. And we had a big inaugural event, black tie, ball, all this stuff, and kind of halfway through this inaugural event Stephanie and I are in this reception line and this young couple comes up and the young lady said to me, Governor, fair is fair; you crashed my wedding and I'm crashing your inaugural.

[Laughter.]

So if you ever want to go out there and run for governor, you've got to go to wedding receptions to campaign.

Well, I do appreciate the opportunity to be here. I really do. I suspect some of you are wondering why I would be eager to talk about government efficiency. Let's face it; that's not necessarily a glamorous topic. I'm sure it doesn't send you to the edge of your seats in anticipation of what I might be saying. And yet it really is at the core of what we do every day.

When you cut through the government lingo that we're so well known for, what we're really talking about is improving service to our customers. And our customers of course are the American people. Most of us did not come to Washington for the opportunity to drive in rush hour traffic or to experience a higher cost of living than in many parts of the country. And we certainly don't put up with the challenges that we have so we can say at the end of the day, it was really a great day and I was a part of the status quo.

We come because we believe in our country. We believe that we can make a difference, and we believe in public service -- public service more than a job, a higher calling. That's what we call it when we're patriotic about working in government. We call it public service. Put another way, that would be serving the public. There is no more direct opportunity to serve the public than by increasing their ability to access the services that we have, improving the delivery of those services, and ensuring we make the most of every dollar that we spend on those services.

Sounds familiar, I'm sure. It seems to me I've just outlined the principles upon which we build the concept of government efficiency.

I'm reminded of a statement that is especially relevant for those of us who are charged with leading and driving change in our government. "Government is a trust," the statement goes, "and the officers of government are trustees. And both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people."

Those words were spoken by Henry Clay, a great American statesman, in 1829. I would suggest that they still ring true today. Government is indeed a trust, and we have a responsibility to the American people to administer their government in an efficient, effective, and a very responsible manner.

That's why the President's Management Agenda, or PMA, is so important. This comprehensive strategy serves as a toolbox for us providing the tools that we need to improve the performance of the citizens' government. If we embrace it, the strategy will help us to do more than just reform business practices. It enables us to rethink or be reminded of the purpose of government. President Bush is exactly right when he says that government should be "citizen-centered, results-oriented, and market-based."

Sometimes it may seem as though the ships we are steering within the federal government are just too massive, too complicated, to set a new course. Again I submit to you that the President has given us not only the toolbox, but he's given us five key tools in the form of initiatives that help us to become real difference-makers.

They are: strategic management of human capital; competitive sourcing; improving financial management, budget and performance integration; and expanding electronic government.

These initiatives have helped us to make a real and very tangible difference at the USDA. Notice that I didn't say it's been an easy process; it's not. But I suspect there were easier roads you could have followed than one that led you to this room today. But on the other hand, I will also share with you, that the rewards have been very great.

I'm sure many of you have experienced successes as you've opened the toolbox to give your area of government a needed tune-up. These successes probably aren't going to generate any headlines. But they do generate a sense of purpose and accomplishment, a sense that we do more than participate in the status quo.

As I mentioned, we've experienced a few successes at USDA, and I'm pleased this morning to offer a few thoughts about that. Of course our mission is to support American agriculture. We do this in a number of ways-- with conservation programs and Rural Development initiatives; we do it by safeguarding the health of plants and animals and by ensuring a safe food supply. We do it by opening markets worldwide and by promoting healthy eating habits domestically.

I mention our mission because it's central to our PMA successes. Our responsibilities to the customer are the driving force behind the improvements that we make. For example, we've reduced the error rate in our Food Stamp program from an unacceptably high level to the lowest level in 30 years. Now what does this translate to? This translates into a savings of about $1.4 billion in erroneous payments. It's real money. That's a significant reduction in financial waste. We're very proud of that accomplishment as well as the progress we're making in other areas of PMA.

At USDA human capital is truly our most important resource. Without the dedicated employees working for USDA -- and I might add they are hugely dedicated -- we would not be able to provide the support necessary to help America's farmers and ranchers continue to produce the high quality food we've come to expect in our country. Here in this country we take that for granted.

We've had success in aligning our human capital policies with the PMA. For instance, our hiring timelines for members of the Senior Executive Service have decreased from 69 days to 47 days. And the hiring timeline for general schedule employees has dropped from 37 days to 28 days. The OPM standard for general schedule employees is 45 days, so we're very proud that we've beaten the standard.

As baby boomers reach retirement, we're going to be faced with replacing an entire generation worth of jobs. Workplace planning is crucial to this transition. In January, USDA developed a new succession plan that we hope will ease this changeover.

Training the leaders of tomorrow is one way that we're preparing for the transition. And training is also a key way in which we're increasing the effectiveness of what we do. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service which has a crucial task of ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply is implementing regional training to ensure that all employees have quick access to the knowledge and skills necessary to address emerging food safety issues.

Food Safety and Inspection Service employees are dispersed over a very large geographic area, so regional training is more efficient and economical than centrally located training. After just one year of implementing regional training, over 2,000 employees have been trained in the mission-critical areas of consumer safety inspector, food inspector, and public health veterinarian.

Because of our success we're going to expand this program so more classes are available to more people.

It's important to think of performance management as an ongoing effort. It's not something you do and then you're done. Our goal is to constantly improve the way we do business so that we can consistently deliver better services to our stakeholders. Reaching green is not our objective. Our objective is maintaining green.

Another way we're enhancing our progress with PMA is through financial management. We've done this by continuing to implement the Debt Collection Improvement Act. USDA's receivables total about $102 billion, which is one-third of the nontaxed debt owed to the entire federal government. We have aggressively implemented debt management policies and as a result we're able to decrease delinquent debt from $6 billion in '04 to $4 billion in '05.

Our delinquency rate is now under 4 percent as compared to the government-wide rate of about 20 percent, five times better. We've also put a great deal of effort into implementing the Improper Payments Information Act. Last year we identified 287 programs subject to this Act, and this year we're working to consolidate those programs down to 141.

Effective programs are the means through which we assist our farmers and ranchers. So we're trying to increase the efficacy of our programs by using the program assessment rating tool. We know it as PART. PART assessment allows us to evaluate the performance of our programs when making our budget decisions. It also helps us focus on delivering very measurable results.

For instance, because of PART recommendations USDA's credit programs have developed a common measure to track the administrative cost per loan. This allows us to compare loan programs which in turn enables us to make more informed funding decisions. The PART process helps us to ensure that our programs are delivering real results for farmers and ranchers and other stakeholders.

Another method that we're using to increase our service to producers is e-government. Last year we submitted an OMB-approved e-government implementation plan. We're providing on-line tools so our services are more easily accessible to people all across this nation.

Let me give you a couple of examples. In 2005 we released something we call MyPyramid.gov. If you haven't looked at it online, you should; it's great. It's an on-line food guidance system that emphasizes the importance of nutrition and physical activity every single day. We also released MyPyramidForKids and MyPyramid in Spanish to better serve the nutritional needs of the entire population.

Although MyPyramid.gov was released less than a year ago, we have already received over 1.5 billion hits on our website. It's been unbelievable. And we have about 500,000 registered users.

Another component of the MyPyramid program, MyPyramidTracker. It's an interactive website that assesses your individual diet quality and physical activity status and provides related nutrition messages and links to nutrient and physical activity information.

Outstanding websites.

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS, has also been a leader in e-government initiatives. In response to rising energy prices that are really tough for agricultural producers and their bottom line, NRCS has developed online energy estimators for tillage and nitrogen use. Farmers and ranchers can use these tools to receive personalized estimates of savings from implementing energy-conserving practices.

In the short time that these energy estimators have been online, they've already received 1 million hits. It's a measurable demonstration that we're providing useful and valuable information to our stakeholders.

I just laid out some of our efforts in human capital, financial management, budget performance and integration and e-government. So now where do we go? I'll be the first to admit that we have not yet received a solid row of green lights on our report card. I view that as a challenge, one that is worth my investment of time and my commitment. Like many of your agencies, USDA is a very complex department with numerous divisions and mission areas. With each new green box we are contributing to a culture change, and in some way, be it directly or indirectly, delivering improved service to our customers, the American people.

On a personal note, by doing so I am also fulfilling a promise I made to myself when I came to Washington just over a year ago, a promise to do more than taking part in the status quo. We have a significant mission at the USDA. Let me tell you a little bit about that.

By ensuring a safe and abundant food supply for our citizens, America's farmers and ranchers are truly the cream of the crop, no pun intended. They are a role-model for developing nations. Domestic demand for food products is soaring, and we're forecasting a third consecutive year of record agricultural exports -- $64.5 billion thanks to the President's aggressive trade agenda.

And if you ever wondered, what's the purpose of trade and who does it help, that's a 27 percent increase since this president took office. Today's trade accounts for over 25 percent of our nation's farm cash receipts.

But understand the importance of trade to the bottom line. For the last three years in a row, farm net worth has grown by about $90 billion a year. That's more than the increase in farm income each year, and we expect the same to be true in '06.

Farm equity is now at a record high-- it's never been higher! A staggering $1.4 trillion. And we expect the debt-to-asset ratio by the end of the year to be the lowest in 45 years.

These are impressive figures. Our President's leadership has made a difference. I also applaud our farmers and ranchers for producing in such abundance.

There are some challenges ahead however. This past year I conducted listening sessions, and the USDA went to 48 states to gather suggestions and concerns for the 2007 Farm Bill. For me there's no better way to understand this great industry than to get out of Washington, maybe even attend a wedding reception, and most importantly listen to what people are saying.

I heard near-unanimous support for our Rural Development efforts and fairly steep support for our cooperative Conservation Programs. I heard about the challenges of operating farms and ranches in the face of rising energy costs, and I heard about the need to open more markets for that substantial production.

High energy expenses affect farmers' and ranchers' ability to deliver the food we eat each day. USDA is providing immediate assistance with our online energy estimators that I mentioned earlier. We're responding to a need in a real direct way.

Additionally we're investing time and resources in the development of alternative fuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Talk about changing the status quo from less dependence on foreign oil. As alternative fuels become more cost-effective it helps producers not only by lowering energy costs but also by providing an alternative source of income for farmers and ranchers that can provide materials for those fuels.

We're working hard to open international markets to American products. I'm currently engaged in WTO negotiations with Ambassador Portman, and we recently returned from a trip from Europe during which we met with government leaders to try to advance those discussions. We made it clear that we're not going to settle for an agreement that does not represent significant progress. And we urged the WTO members to match our ambition.

Our commitment is there for successful trade.

I also will tell you that we've done a lot, but I will share with you that I'm very lucky to have a department that's filled with a very talented, very hard-working staff. And I have faith that with and through their efforts we will continue to provide American farmers and ranchers and the citizens of America with the high level of support that they expect from the USDA.

Some concluding thoughts. In the end as public servants we have but one job, and that is to provide the nation with the best government possible. They do pay for it, after all. So here's my challenge to you.

Take what you learn from the Summit and apply it every day, and don't lose the momentum. Go back to your agencies, confront the challenges, save more taxpayer dollars, raise the bar on your efforts just a little bit higher, allow the toolbox known as PMA to assist you in fine-tuning your agency. Take it one step at a time, turn a red score into a yellow score, then a yellow score into a green score, and maintain it. Before long it will be a real lasting difference, a great legacy.

As President Bush said, some of us will serve in government for a season. Others will spend an entire career here. But all of us should dedicate ourselves to great goals. We are not here to mark time, but to make progress, to achieve results, and to leave a record of excellence. Let that be our legacy, ladies and gentlemen, to leave a record of excellence.

Thank you for your time. I hope you enjoy the rest of the Summit and that you meet with success as you continue striving to create the best government for our people. Thank you.

[Applause.]