OMB boasts progress in eliminating government waste

Federal agencies are making strides in managing costs and eliminating waste, fraud and abuse, the Office of Management and Budget reported Tuesday.

Agencies are gathering more timely and accurate financial data, bolstering performance, cracking down on erroneous payments and improving efficiency through competitive sourcing, OMB said in a report to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Budget, Appropriations and government oversight committees.

The report, "Managing Cost in the Federal Government," coincides with the end of the tax season and updates Congress on "what the ... government is doing to responsibly manage costs," said Clay Johnson, OMB's deputy director for management, in a written statement. "This report shows that departments and agencies are reviewing themselves to see if they're accomplishing the desired result at an acceptable cost."

OMB already has touted many of these accomplishments in documents accompanying President Bush's fiscal 2005 budget request and in separate reports.

Agencies have accelerated the timetable for submitting financial statements, and most are achieving clean audits, OMB said.

The report also praised agencies for meeting detailed performance goals. For instance, the Small Business Administration has centralized its loan liquidation program to one office from 69 district offices. The centralization will reduce the annual amount SBA spends liquidating loans to $15 million from $44 million. The overhaul has also "freed district employees to focus on the delivery of targeted programs and services rather than liquidation," the report stated.

President Bush's competitive sourcing initiative-a controversial effort to let contractors bid on tens of thousands of federal jobs--has also yielded benefits for taxpayers, OMB said. For instance, a job competition for financial services work will likely result in $31 million in savings for the Energy Department over five years, according to the report.

Agencies are also getting a better handle on the extent of improper payments, and figuring out how to reduce payment errors, OMB said. Payment mistakes typically occur when agencies distribute benefits to ineligible applicants, over- or underpay beneficiaries, or send out duplicative payments. The report praised the Food Stamps program for reducing payment errors to 8.26 percent in 2002--the lowest error-rate ever for that program.