SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

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 »

Representatives should be limited to six Terms - (12 Years) and Senators limited to three Terms - (18 Years). Too many of these "representatives of the people" have been in Congress so long that they have completely lost touch with the people they are supposed to be representing. Being in Congress should not be a career or profession - it should be something someone does for a short period to serve their community and... 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 »

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.

The Rollover Budget Initiative (RBI) would allow units to maintain their annual budgets without being penalized for not fully utilizing the last year’s budget. Any remaining money from a fiscal year would be the base amount for the next fiscal year, which will then have additional money added to meet the unit’s requested budget. For example, if a unit requests $10,000 and has $2,000 left over from the previous year, that... more »

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 »

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 »

Require warmer facility temperatures in summer and cooler facility temperatures in winter. Encourage people to dress appropriately for the season. Most facilities could change their temperatures a degree or two with little difference in occupant comfort. Over the entire federal government a huge cost savings can be recognized. Unoccupied spaces can be adjusted more significantly.

The military ,every year moves hundreds of thousands of members just for career advancement.The taxpayer not only foots the bill for the expensive move but also in the 2-3 months of lost productivity Cut these permanent change of station moves by 2/3. Raise the time on station limit to 6 years before someone can move to another base.

Turn off computer monitors at night. Computer monitors can always be turned off at night. Computer upgrades can occur with monitor screens switched off. Leaving computer monitors on at all times is a huge waste of energy and dollars. It is completely unneccessary!! Let's save those dollars! Let's save that energy! It will also cut our greenhouse gas emissions!

When vehicles are replaced, buy the most efficient vehicles that are available at a reasonable cost. This will save operating costs in vehicle fleets.

Turn off lights that are not in use. This can be done manually, with sensors or by utilizing daylight. This will save money, energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Over the past 12 years in federal service, I have noticed a dramatic increase in the number of political appointees with little or no work experience filling the ranks of federal agencies. They use federal positions to springboard their pay status to become consultants and lobbyists, and not always to serve for the benefit of the public.These folks should be paid by the political committee that places them there, not... more »

Solar hot water is very efficient. Greater use of these systems can save money, energy and greenhouse gases.

For court proceedings we are CONSTANTLY printing 145 page Mexico packets to submit to the court. We also do this for other country packets that are even larger! My propsal is to digitize country profiles and reports and have a set copy already at the courts. We go through boxes and boxes of paper at our office and i'm positive that we would be able to reduce paper costs dramatically if the courts had a disk with country... more »