White House Delivers on Spending Cuts. Whoo.
Remember back in April when Obama ordered his cabinet to find and eliminate $100 million of unnecessary spending?
Yesterday, the Office of Management and Budget reported that cabinet members and agency heads finally delivered on their first round of spending cuts. And the list of 77 cost-saving measures is even more laughable than the idea that $100 million would actually put a dent in overall federal spending.
A few of my favorites:
- The Department of Agriculture's Forest Service is to save $1.8 million in FY 2009 by no longer repainting newly purchased vehicles.
- The Department of Commerce will put a moratorium on "unnecessary office renovations" to save $131,000.
- Department of Education will start hosting meetings in their conference room, saving $65,000 a year.
- Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services has cancelled a meeting in Australia costing $36,000.
- The Department of Justice will save an estimated $4 million in FY 2010 by requiring personnel to make their travel arrangements online, rather than relying on travel agents.
It only took bureaucrats 98 days to come up with a ground-breaking $243 million in savings, more than twice as much as requested. Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty!
Nick Gillespie on Obama and the deficit here.
