The program below was presented today, that offers comments about a recent GAO report.
What is interesting in all of these discussions is that the U.S. had a Republican President and Republican Congress that increased the size of government, added employees, added bureaucracy and created a staggering deficit, all while assuring us that 'Deficits Don't Matter.'
Suddenly, Deficits matter to Republicans in the mess they created with failed fiscal policies.
If the Defense Department is unable to account for their budget, maybe we should begin by cutting those inexplicable dollars first.
Food for thought!
GAO: Duplication, Waste Cost Taxpayers
A new GAO report finds billions in bloat in the federal government. Can we get the cutting right?
Budget fever all over now. It’s a real issue, around deficits and public spending. And it’s a hot political billy club that can be swung pretty wild.
Today in Washington, is another chapter. The non-partisan General Accounting Office, the GAO, was ordered to go out looking for duplication and overlap in federal government. They went out, and they found it. Fifteen agencies overseeing food safety and fifty-six programs to help people understand finances. Redundancy on redundancy at the Pentagon. Now what?
This hour On Point: Tightening up, and targeting austerity.
[Click on link for full report]
GAO: Duplication, Waste Cost Taxpayers
Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue
Summary
We identified 81 areas for consideration--34 areas of potential duplication, overlap, or fragmentation as well as 47 additional cost-saving and revenue-enhancing areas. The 81 areas span a range of federal government missions such as agriculture, defense, economic development, energy, general government, health, homeland security, international affairs, and social services. Within and across these missions, our report touches on hundreds of federal programs, affecting virtually all major federal departments and agencies. By reducing or eliminating unnecessary duplication, overlap, or fragmentation and by addressing the other cost-saving and revenue-enhancing opportunities contained in the report, the federal government could yield tens of billions of tax dollars annually and help agencies provide more efficient and effective services. However, these actions will require some difficult decisions, and sustained attention by the administration and the Congress. In some cases, there is sufficient information to estimate potential savings or other benefits if actions are taken to address individual issues. In other cases, estimates of cost savings or other benefits would depend upon what congressional and executive branch decisions were made, including how certain of our recommendations are implemented. Nevertheless, considering the amount of program dollars involved in the issues we have identified, even limited adjustments could result in significant savings. Additionally, information on program performance, the level of funding in agency budgets devoted to overlapping or fragmented programs, and the implementation costs that might be associated with program consolidations or terminations, are factors that could impact actions to be taken as well as potential savings. We identified 34 areas where agencies, offices, or initiatives may have similar or overlapping objectives or may provide similar services to the same populations; or where government missions are fragmented across multiple agencies or programs. Overlap and fragmentation among government programs or activities can be harbingers of unnecessary duplication. The areas identified below are not intended to represent the full universe of duplication, overlap, or fragmentation within the federal government. Our future work will examine other areas of government for potential duplication, overlap, and fragmentation. Given today's fiscal environment, our work summarizes 47 additional areas--beyond those directly related to duplication, overlap, or fragmentation--describing other opportunities for agencies or Congress to consider taking action that could either reduce the cost of government operations or enhance revenue collections for the Treasury. These cost-saving and revenue-enhancing opportunities also span a wide range of federal government agencies and mission areas.
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