SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

Czar positions that have been created over the last 2 1/2 years are duplicative of existing federal infrastructure. Czar positions and their staffs should therefore be eliminated and problems be sent to existing infrastructure for resolution. Czar positions cause confusion as to who is in charge and who is accountable. Czar structure wastes tax payer dollars. Cutting them will save $Billions annually and will also... more »

Quit sending foreign aid to nations that are hostile to us. Break foreign aid packages in Congress up so that each nation receives a separate vote (or multiple separate votes for designated aid). Then the members of congress will be held accountable for their votes on aid to nations like Venezuela, Pakistan, and China.

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY IS THE KEY TO REIGNING IN COSTS
Want to increase accountability and simplify things at the same time? Give every employee their own credit card with a yearly limit for travel and office purchases.

Sound crazy? Individual accountability is the key to reigning in costs. Reward those employees that spend the least. If they want to go over their personal limit the office director has to take... more »

Enforce existing accountability. Senior officials, department heads, managers, etc., should be held accountable for wastes incurred in their respective offices. Management, at all levels, could do more to reduce waste--complacency stands out here. A great many of these suggestions could be implemented at lower levels; they should never reach this forum. Group similar suggestions together and implement as a single, government... more »

Similar to rollover budget and end of year spending.

Every year with about 2-3 months left in the fiscal year, not just my Field Office, but I'm sure every agency within the U.S. Government spends the rest of their budget, out of fear of not getting the same amount or more money the following year, and I'm sure as a way to justify asking for more funding. Field Offices should be able to spend what they need to complete... more »

I will not say elminate all political appointees but would say the number of political appointees must be reduced to the President's Cabinet positions and the President's and Vice President's direct staff positions. All other Department and Agency political appointee positions should be eliminated and an Executive Order issued by the President controlling their numbers and assiging their Executive Branch duties to the... more »

Develop a "Task Assignment and Monitoring Database" to improve employee performance, increase management efficiency, and productivity by creating a standardized trans-agency web-based task monitoring database. It should be simple and easy to use unlike many elaborate project management tools. A daily task check-in for employees and managers would improve performance across the board. There will always be those few employees... more »

Make IRS management accountable. There are consistenly issues between management and employees where the union is involved. Approximately 90 percent of the time management is misinterpreting the Laws and the Union Contract on purpose to cause harm to employees. If the IRS commissioner held management accountable instead of condoning such behavior out of the executives there would be a significant reduction in the amount... more »

The US Government wastes millions of dollars on unnecessary printing by Federal employees. Not only are paper, toner, and printer maintenance expensive, but storage, destruction, and time searching through hard-copies costs money.

We need to use the print servers to track and report usage by user/branch/department/command. By shining a light on current and historical usage, users will adjust their habits and save money.... more »

Federal managers suffer no consequences for being bad managers. The number of grievances and EEO suits filed is a red alert that something's going wrong in the office. These should be part of a manager's record, and a grievance/suit lost or settled by the agency should automatically result in a suspension of management duties.

If the Paperless program used by processing centers was expanded, and made accessible by field offices, teleservice centers, and all employees, it would reduce duplicate materials, save on material and non-material resources (specifically time), expand accountability, and reduce miscommunication.

As it is now, if a form is sent to a field office, and someone calls the teleservice center to see that it was received, the... more »

Hire accountants to look at our government spending that are independent from the political parties to make suggestions to change the budget.

 

Basically, how would you run a business to break even? Or with a little surplus to take care if something happens?

Spending throughout Government organizations can easily be cut if the hiring process would support ACTUAL qualified applicants for the job. Far too often the "good ol boy" network has taken over throughout government positions and the employee pool is stacked with underqualified individuals filling important positions. No longer are the qualifications determined by what you know or the experience you have, but more... more »

Managers from top down should be trained in quality management (ISO/CMMI), implement quality systems in their organizations, and be held accountable for the success of these endeavors during annual performance review

On command-level annual personnel reports, include a line to document the percent spent compared to the prior commander. Use an entire line to document unusual circumstances such as major storm events which may necessate extra expenditure. Reward commanders who are thrifty (yet fully accomplish the mission) appropriately, such as by accelerating their career paths. Promote them faster than commanders who spend more... more »