Credit: AP

Touting his government efficiency programs, President Obama today directed his cabinet to craft a management agenda that allows the federal government to be "smarter, quicker and more responsive to the needs of the American people."

"We've made huge swaths of your government more efficient and more transparent and more accountable than ever before," the president said at a White House event, following a meeting with his cabinet. "We've made some good progress on all fronts, but now we need to do more."

Determined to end "bureaucratic hoop-jumping," the president has asked OMB Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell to lead an effort to develop "an aggressive management agenda" that delivers "a smarter, more innovative and more accountable government for its citizens."

"Taxpayers deserve the biggest bang for their buck, especially at a time when budgets are tight and we've got to do a lot more with less," he said. "I'm going to keep on doing what we can administratively, but we sure could use Congress' help."

"Particularly at a time when Congress is saying they want more efficient government, they give a lot of lip service to it, and we're operating under severe fiscal constraints, it makes sense for us to be able to redesign government so that it can deliver on the functions that the American people are looking for," he said.