Memorandum for the Head of Executive Departments

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

WASHINGTON, D . C . 20503

THE

DIRECTOR

March 30, 2016

M-16-08

FROM:

SUBJECT.

Establishment of the Core Federal Services Council

Building a government that works smarter, better, and more efficiently to deliver results
for the American people is a cornerstone ofthis Administration. As a part of this effort, this
Administration is committed to delivering the world-class customer service the American people
deserve.
Toward this end, OMB is launching the Core Federal Services Council (Council) as a
government-wide governance vehicle to improve the public's experience with Federal services.
The Council will bring together major Federal programs that provide transactional services
directly to the public.
Launching the Council is a critical part of implementing this Administration's Customer
Service Cross-Agency Priority (CS CAP) Goal. This goal was established as part of the
President's Management Agenda to improve the public' s experience with the Federal
government. Public progress reports on this CS CAP goal and other goals are available at
www.performance.gov.
The Core Federal Service Council
The Council will be composed of the major high-volume, high-impact Federal programs
that provide transactional services directly to the public. The Council will identify challenges in
improving customer service for their programs, share best practices to address these challenges,
ensure use of customer feedback data, and identify strategies, including policy recommendations,
to improve the customer experience for core Federal programs. The Council will improve the
customer experience by using public and private sector management best practices, such as
conducting self-assessments and journey mapping, collecting transactional feedback data, and
sharing such data with frontline and other staff.
The Council will include senior representatives from each of the core Federal services
programs identified in Appendix 1 by agency and interagency initiative. The Council will be
convened by the Office of Management and Budget consistent with this Memorandum and will

be chaired by OMB' s Deputy Director for Management or other individual designated by the
OMB Director. The Council will meet quarterly. The Chair or the Chair's designee will
convene and preside at the quarterly meetings, determine the Council's agenda, direct its work,
and help establish workgroups, as appropriate, to address how best to improve the public's
experience with these core Federal services.
Council members will include senior representative from each of the programs identified
in Appendix 1, and should be part of the senior management team (such as a director of
operations or chief operating officer) with direct operational responsibilities for program delivery
to the public and general oversight of frontline employees. The Council may also include other
Federal employees for each program or other programs. Membership will be reviewed and
updated periodically by OMB. The Council may make recommendations through the Chair with
input from the applicable Federal agency. All members of the Council must be Federal
employees.
Next Steps

By cob, Friday April8, 2016, the head of each agency shall submit the name, title, and
contact information (phone number, address, and email) for the Council member who will
represent each program identified in Appendix 1.
Please submit this information by email to Kala Shah (kala shah@omb.eop.gov.
Questions regarding this memorandum may be directed to Kala Shah (202-395-7850 or
kala shah@omb.eop.gov) or Mark Bussow (202-395-5670 or mark bussow@omb.eop.gov).

Attachment:
Appendix 1 -List of Core Federal Services Programs

2

APPENDIX 1 - List of Core Federal Services Programs

A core Federal services program (program) is one that interacts with the public to provide
a transactional service or perform a regulatory function in which individual and business
taxpayers or other members of the public use time, money, or information to receive a good,
service, or authorization. The Council, in this initial phase, generally will not include programs
in which services are provided to the public through Federal funds (such as grants) that are
administered by non-Federal entities. The programs represented on the Council are those that
have a large customer base (high volume) or a high impact on those served by the program (high
impact). Membership will be reviewed and updated periodically by OMB, as determined by the
Chair with the advice of the Council. The initial programs represented on the Core Federal
Services Council are identified below by agencies and interagency initiatives.
Programs by Agencies

Department of Agriculture (see also, programs by interagency initiatives below)
• U.S. Forest Service
• Farm Service Agency
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
Department of Commerce (see also, programs by interagency initiatives below)
• Patent Approvals, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• Trademark Registration, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Department of Education
• Student Financial Aid, Federal Student Aid
Department of Health & Human Services
• Health Insurance Marketplace, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• Medicare, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Department of Homeland Security
• Airport Security Screening, Transportation Security Administration
• Immigration and Customs Inspections, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
• Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Emergency and Disaster Relief, Federal Emergency Management Authority
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• FHA Single Family Loans and Resource Center
Department of Interior (see also, programs by interagency initiatives below)
• Trust Beneficiary Call Center, Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians
• Visitor Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

3

Department of Labor
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration
• Workers' compensation programs, Office of Worker Compensation Programs
Department of State
• Passport Issuance & Processing, Passport Services Office, Bureau of Consular Affairs
Department of Treasury
• Online services, Internal Revenue Service
Department of Veterans Affairs
• Veterans Health Care Benefits, Veterans Health Administration
• Veterans Pension Benefits & Veterans Disability Benefits through the Veterans Benefits
Administration and the Veterans' Experience
Office of Personnel and Management
• Federal Employment Services, USAJobs
Social Security Administration
• Social Security Card Issuance/Processing, Office of Operations
• Social Security Retirement Benefits, Office of Operations
• Social Security Disability Benefits, Office of Disability and Adjudication Services
Small Business Administration
• Field Operations, Small Business Administration

Programs by Interagency Initiatives
Federal Recreation Council- Partner agencies include:
• U.S. Forest Service
• National Park Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Bureau of Land Management
• Bureau of Reclamation
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Recreation.gov- Partner agencies include:
• U.S. Forest Service
• National Park Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Bureau of Land Management
• Bureau of Reclamation
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• National Archives
4