The General Service Administration is on the hunt for great ideas. The acquisition and facilities management arm of the federal government is looking for ways to become leaner, said Dan Tangherlini, GSA’s acting administrator, and it is enlisting the help of its entire workforce. The Great Ideas Hunt, which spawned 600 new concepts and more [...]
Posts Categorized / Government Spending
Administration Specifies Forthcoming Sequestration Spending Cuts
On Sept. 14, the Obama administration released a new report specifying cuts in federal spending that will take effect starting Jan. 2, 2013, if Congress does not take corrective action before then stopping the cuts from taking place. The report was mandated by the Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 (P. L. 112–155), enacted on Aug. [...]
Simpson-Bowles 2.0
The leaders of a bipartisan panel that unsuccessfully pushed forward a deficit reduction plan last year are quietly meeting behind the scenes to lay the ground work for another push after the November elections, according to an August 17 report in the National Journal: A crowd of ex-politicians and business executives, led by former Sens. [...]
Possible 2013 Budget Cuts to Be Specified Within a Month
The outlines of a broad set of possible cuts in federal domestic and defense-related programs in early 2013 should become more clear within the next month. Under new legislation signed into law on Aug. 7, called the Sequestration Transparency Act, the Obama administration must lay out how an expected $109 billion in cuts will be [...]
EADS and BAE Deny They May Change Terms of Merger
The companies face continued resistance from Germany and France to key terms of their proposed $49 billion merger.
France Voices Concerns on BAE and EADS Merger
The French government on Monday laid out a series of concerns it said needed to be addressed in the proposed merger of European Aeronautic Defense & Space and BAE Systems.
Taking Contractor Accountability to the Next Level
Since coming into office in 2009, President Obama has made great strides in making government more accountable to the American people, pursuing tough reforms to cut waste and act as responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. In the area of contracting, this Administration has slashed billions in spending and taken aggressive steps to hold contractors accountable [...]
Spending Less, Spending Smarter
Under the Administration’s Campaign to Cut Waste, we are scrutinizing every dollar of Federal spending to make sure that funds are spent efficiently and effectively. As part of the campaign, last fall, in Executive Order 13589, “Promoting Efficient Spending,”the President charged Federal agencies with tightening their belts to find efficiencies and savings in areas such [...]
Eliminating Red Tape to Boost Trade & Economic Growth
Today the Administration is publishing a joint U.S. and EU request for public input on how to promote greater transatlantic regulatory compatibility. By eliminating unnecessary burdens to trade, we can promote economic growth and job creation here in the United States, while ensuring the protection of health, safety, welfare, and the environment. As has [...]
Building-Blocks of a 21st Century Digital Government
Today marks three months since we released the Digital Government Strategy (PDF/ HTML5) – as part of the President’s directive to build a 21st Century Government that delivers better services to the American people. Executing on this vision of government cannot happen alone. To provide the highest value of services, we must rethink from step one [...]
The Disconnect Between American Voters and Members of Congress
This afternoon, the Senate voted 51-48 to restore reasonable tax rates on the top two percent of Americans. Ending the Bush tax cuts for households making more than $250,000 would generate almost a trillion dollars in revenue over the next ten years. This revenue could be used to pay down the deficit and build a [...]
Treasury Department: We’re Going to Show You the Money
Testifying before a Senate hearing on federal spending transparency, Richard L. Gregg, the Treasury Department’s Fiscal Assistant Secretary, announced a major advancement in federal spending transparency: starting in 2013, the public will be able to see Treasury data on agency expenses and payments to recipients of federal contracts, grants, and loans. <!–break–> This data is [...]
New Jersey Assemblyman Accused of Writing Bad Checks Blames Economy
Robert Schroeder, a Republican from Washington Township in Bergen County, said his military-contracting business had been “in decline during the Obama administration.”
After Its Founder’s Death, Speculation About Cubic Corp.
It’s a decision many entrepreneurs face – whether to hold on to the company they built from the ground up or sell and potentially give up control. For Walter J. Zable, the founder of the military contractor Cubic Corporation, the answer was easy: no sale. But after his death last month, speculation has re-emerged that [...]
Two Very Troubled Fighter Jets
At a time of budget cuts, the Pentagon needs to ensure that every defense dollar is spent wisely. Yet problems with two major jets show it is far from that goal.
A Smarter Approach to Regulation
Since taking office, President Obama has been committed to eliminating red tape and ensuring that when rules are issued to protect safety and health, they are sensitive to the economic situation and attuned to the importance of job creation and economic growth. As this White House White Board shows, the net benefits, or the benefits [...]
A Regulatory Reformer Leaves His Mark
With regret and deep gratitude, I am announcing that Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Cass Sunstein will be leaving OMB this month. Having served in the Administration since the very start, and with the recent birth of a baby daughter and the coming of the new school year, Cass will be rejoining Harvard [...]
Regulatory Cooperation in Action
Today we are pleased to announce an important step forward for a joint effort launched by President Obama and Prime Minister Harper to cut unnecessary red tape for companies small and large that want to do business cross our shared border. On December 7, 2011, President Obama and Prime Minister Harper announced the launch of [...]
Mid-Session Review 2013
Today, OMB released the Mid-Session Review (MSR), which updates the Administration’s estimates for outlays, receipts, and the deficit in light of economic, legislative, and other developments since the President’s 2013 Budget was released in February. As it does each year, the MSR shows the budget outlook under the Administration's policies, which for fiscal year 2013 include [...]
Communications Update
After three and a half years as a valued advisor and strategist and four budgets, OMB’s Associate Director for Communications and Strategic Planning and senior advisor Ken Baer departed last week. Ken leaves a legacy that includes bringing OMB communications into the 21stcentury with the OMBlog and OMB’s twitter presence as he heads to the [...]