President Obama’s call to trim $100 million from the federal budget earned criticism from Republicans and good government groups for not going far enough, especially since the administration’s proposed budget would balloon the national debt.
So how would other folks trim at least $100 million of government spending, if not more?
Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, suggests slicing $100 million at each of the government’s 15 Cabinet departments.
“This move would still fall far short of real fiscal restraint, but with this administration, we have to take what we can get,” Price said in a statement.
Price’s proposal earned the support of House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), whose spokeswoman called it “a worthwhile goal and one that would deliver far more savings than the paltry sum the administration put forward.”
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has an even more specific idea. He says wants Obama and the Office of Management and Budget to comply with federal laws on improper payments, or unnecessary or incorrect payments made by federal agencies.
The OMB and the Government Accountability Office have disagreed for years about how often agencies should check for improper payments.
“Obama could fix this today, instead of holding meetings on buying office supplies in bulk,” said Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella.
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We have made so much progress under the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative; agencies have come together to define and aggregate requirements, capture spend data and are working collaboratively to further improve the what and the way we buy as a government. We have gained documented savings; but could do so much more tackling process improvements in the buying process. $100M is very achievable.
Rep. Price: Any chance you’ll be “Leading by example” and slicing some of the bloated Congressional staffing? Better yet, why not reduce the overall number of U.S. Representatives so that there is more personal accountability in Congress? See “Black Belt Patriotism” C. Norris, page 40, suggests possible savings of $200 million, “considering all the staff, overhead, pension plans, etc.”
Rep. Issa: A good start – let’s enforce the laws that are already on the books. When OMB and GAO can’t agree, how can we expect the recipients of federal funds to know what to do?