SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

By scanning and posting copies of reports on line (i.e., H: drive) for Resident Posts (RP's), rather than copying and mailing; it would save the cost of paper, postage, toner, and equipment wear-and-tear. In addition, scanning rather than mailing reports would save many man hours (labor costs), as well as preparation time for mailing. On the receiving end, it would save labor costs by eliminating the amount of filing,... more »

Members of the House of Representatives should have their pay set by their state and be paid by the state. Too many are coming to Washington and loosing touch with their state and its financial problems. Having their state set their pay would reduce Federal Government expenses and keep them in touch with the people of their state. If necessary the Federal Government could provide a percentage of the pay to the states.... more »

Currently few if any TSA airport sites use working dogs. Instead of spending millions on technology that cannot find everything, start placing trained bomb sniffing dogs at all airports. At the same time train TSA personnel to watch for signs of people reacting nervously to the dogs. These individuals, and any the dogs alert on, could then be rapidly pulled aside for enhanced security inspections. Utilization of properly... more »

Its time that TSA begin profiling potential threats. It is taking too long and costing too much for TSA to treat everyone as a threat. Use of proper profiling techniques to focus on specific individuals will more efficiently and effectively use TSA resources, reduce delays for most travelers at security checkpoints, reduce overall operating costs, and most importantly - provide more security for air travel.

Our country could greatly benefit from the automatic deportation of foreigners convicted of serious crimes.

In Switzerland, “the government must expel, without possibility of appeals, foreigners convicted of serious crimes — ranging from murder, rape, armed robbery, and drug trafficking to abusing Switzerland's welfare system — after they complete their prison sentences”.

Right now, in the United States deportation... more »

For warm-climate gov't offices, tint all south and west facing windows. I just did it at my house and it's great! Big savings on AC costs. Little impact in winter!

I recommend that all federal agencies would work 4 days 10 hours each. This way the government will have a total of 3 days without using the resources it takes to run the buildings, i.e. electric, water usage, cooling/heating, etc.

Currently for credentialing and privileging purposes, all licenses must be verified before completing an application which is usually done online as primary source verification which is acceptable by the Joint Commission. Then within 5 days a written license request has to be mailed. Usually the state licensing boards require a fee, some as high as $50 per license verification. And our office has never gained any additional... more »

State Magazine is published monthly. The purpose of the magazine is “to facilitate communication between management and employees at home and abroad and to acquaint employees with developments that may affect operations or personnel”.

All Department of State employees are required to have email accounts. The publication should be “Digital” only. Paper copies are delivered to our cubicles/offices religiously each month... more »

Prior to the creation of the DHS, the former US Customs Service was the primary entity for inspecting inbound and outbound foreign cargo at US International airports as well as compliance and control of related bonded facilities.

The events of September 11, 2001 resulted in the creation of DHS as well as the TSA with the consolidation of the Customs Service into CBP. Since 2001 the TSA has grown and expanded in mission... more »

Some government employees abuse their transit benefits -- for example, someone who receives a transit benefit that fully covers the cost of vanpooling may only use the vanpool one day a week or less. In my area, that cost would work out to a cost to the government of over $20 for each day this employee chooses to use the transit benefit. There should be a standard policy in effect that stipulates what percentage of... more »

Simply stop minting the penny. It wouldn't be missed and the government would save vast amounts in acquisition, labor, distribution, and mgt costs.

My idea is to have one security clearance, or background check to cover all, or at least most agencies. For example right now a person can already have a Top-Secret clearance with the Department of Defense, and they would have to start a background investigation all over again if they were to apply with another agency, even if it’s only for a Secret clearance. They would have to fill out the same SF-86, the same eQip... more »

Save costs on real estate and leasing fees by moving Federal offices now located in DC to a limited number of satellite government centers in the states surrounding DC. There is no reason to concentrate offices in DC. Work functions, communication needs, work products, etc. DO NOT necessitate a physical DC address. Commuting times would be decreased, quality of life would be increased, and many, many other benefits... more »

It is time we look at revising the laws to take into consideration forensic and other technology in determining a standard of "irrefutable guilt" in federal cases. Currently, even in cases where it is absolutely clear that an accused is guilty, the taxpayer still has to pay the considerable legal expenses of a trial so the accused can go through the sham of trying to prove they are innocent or more likely there was some... more »