"Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal"

This quote by Donald Rumsfeld is a criticism of the federal government's method to policy application. He is recommending that Congress, journalism, and the administration are too focused on the amount of money or effort spent on a policy, rather than whether the policy is really attaining its desired goal. He is implying that the government should be more worried with the efficiency of the policy, instead of the amount of cash or effort that is being put into it. This quote highlights the importance of assessing the success of a policy, instead of simply looking at the amount of money or effort that is being taken into it. It is a suggestion that the federal government ought to be more focused on the outcomes of their policies, instead of simply the amount of money or effort that is being put into them.