I actually started to get a migraine when I sat down to read the BLOCKBUSTER REPORT put ot by the GAO (Government Accountability Office).
It is basically Government waste By the Numbers, A Report that Shows Dozens of Overlapping Programs.
I'm going to share a few pages of the GAO"S report with you, keep in mind this is a 344 page report.
Hereis where the budget could really use a trimming. OVERLAPPING SEVICES :
Section I: GAO Identified Areas of Potential Duplication, Overlap, and Fragmentation, Which, if Effectively Addressed, Could Provide Financial and Other Benefits
Table 1 presents 34 areas for consideration related to duplication, overlap, or fragmentation from GAO’s recently completed and ongoing work. In some cases, there is sufficient information to estimate potential savings or other benefits if actions are taken to address individual issues. In those cases, as noted below, financial benefits ranging from hundreds of millions to several billion dollars annually may be realized. In other cases, estimates of cost savings or other benefits would depend upon what congressional and executive branch decisions were made, including how certain GAO recommendations are implemented. Additionally, information on program performance, the level of funding in agency budgets devoted to overlapping or fragmented programs, and the implementation costs that might be associated with program consolidations or terminations, are factors that could impact actions to be taken as well as potential savings. Following the table are summaries for each of the 34 areas listed. In addition to summarizing what GAO has found, each area presents actions for the executive branch or Congress to consider. Each of the summaries contains a “Framework for Analysis” providing the methodology used to conduct the work and a list of related GAO products for further information.
Table 1: Duplication, Overlap, or Fragmentation Areas Identified in This Report
Missions Agriculture Defense
Areas identified 1. Fragmented food safety system has caused inconsistent oversight, ineffective coordination, and inefficient use of resources 2. Realigning DOD’s military medical command structures and consolidating common functions could increase efficiency and result in projected savings ranging from $281 million to $460 million annually 3. Opportunities exist for consolidation and increased efficiencies to maximize response to warfighter urgent needs
Federal agencies and programs where duplication, overlap, or fragmentation may occur The Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration are the primary food safety agencies, but 15 agencies are involved in some way Department of Defense (DOD), including the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force At least 31 entities within DOD
Page 8 13 18
4. Opportunities exist to avoid unnecessary redundancies and improve the coordination of counter-improvised explosive device efforts
The services and other components within DOD
23
5. Opportunities exist to avoid unnecessary redundancies and maximize the efficient use of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities 6. A departmentwide acquisition strategy could reduce DOD’s risk of costly duplication in purchasing Tactical Wheeled Vehicles
Multiple intelligence organizations within DOD DOD, including Army and Marine Corps
26 31
Page 5 GAO-11-318SP Section I: Duplication, Overlap, or Fragmentation
Section I: GAO Identified Areas of Potential Duplication, Overlap, and Fragmentation, Which, if Effectively Addressed, Could Provide Financial and Other Benefits
7.
Improved joint oversight of DOD’s prepositioning programs for equipment and supplies may reduce unnecessary duplication
DOD including Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps
34
8.
DOD business systems modernization: opportunities exist for optimizing business operations and systems
About 2,300 investments across DOD
38
Economic development
9.
The efficiency and effectiveness of fragmented economic development programs are unclear
USDA, Department of Commerce (Commerce), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Small Business Administration (SBA); 80 programs involved
42
10. The federal approach to surface transportation is fragmented, lacks clear goals, and is not accountable for
Five agencies within the Department of Transportation (DOT); over 100 programs
48
results
involved
11. Fragmented federal efforts to meet water needs in the U.S.USDA,
Commerce’s Economic
Mexico border region have resulted in an administrative
Development Administration,
burden, redundant activities, and an overall inefficient use of
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
resources
Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Indian Health Service,
52
Department of the Interior’s (Interior)
Bureau of Reclamation, HUD, and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Energy
12. Resolving conflicting requirements could more effectively
A number of agencies, including the
achieve federal fleet energy goals
Department of Energy (Energy) and the
General Services Administration (GSA)
55
play a role overseeing the
governmentwide requirements
13. Addressing duplicative federal efforts directed at increasing
EPA and the Department of the Treasury
domestic ethanol production could reduce revenue losses
59
by up to $5.7 billion annually
General government
14. Enterprise architectures: key mechanisms for identifying potential overlap and duplication
Governmentwide
62
15. Consolidating federal data centers provides opportunity to
Twenty-four federal agencies
improve government efficiency and achieve significant cost
66
savings
16. Collecting improved data on interagency contracting to
Governmentwide
minimize duplication could help the government leverage its
70
vast buying power
17. Periodic reviews could help identify ineffective tax
Governmentwide
expenditures and redundancies in related tax and spending programs, potentially reducing revenue losses by billions of
75
dollars
Health
18. Opportunities exist for DOD and VA to jointly modernize their electronic health record systems
DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
79
19. VA and DOD need to control drug costs and increase joint contracting whenever it is cost-effective
DOD and VA
82
20. HHS needs an overall strategy to better integrate nationwide public health information systems
Multiple agencies, led by HHS
88
Homeland
21. Strategic oversight mechanisms could help integrate
USDA, DOD, Department of Homeland
security/Law
fragmented interagency efforts to defend against biological
Security (DHS), HHS, Interior, and others;
enforcement
threats
more than two dozen presidentially
92
appointed individuals with responsibility for
biodefense
Page 6 GAO-11-318SP Section I: Duplication, Overlap, or Fragmentation
Section I: GAO Identified Areas of Potential Duplication, Overlap, and Fragmentation, Which, if Effectively Addressed, Could Provide Financial and Other Benefits
22. DHS oversight could help eliminate potential duplicating
DHS and other federal law enforcement
efforts of interagency forums in securing the northern
partners
96
border
23. The Department of Justice plans actions to reduce overlap in
Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau
explosives investigations, but monitoring is needed to
of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol,
101
ensure successful implementation
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
24. TSA’s security assessments on commercial trucking
DHS’s Transportation Security
companies overlap with those of another agency, but efforts are
Administration (TSA) and DOT
105
under way to address the overlap
25. DHS could streamline mechanisms for sharing security-
Three information-sharing mechanisms
related information with public transit agencies to help
funded by DHS and TSA
111
address overlapping information
26. FEMA needs to improve its oversight of grants and establish
DHS’s Federal Emergency Management
a framework for assessing capabilities to identify gaps and
Agency (FEMA); 17 programs involved
116
prioritize investments
International
27. Lack of information sharing could create the potential for
Principally DOD and the U.S. Agency for
affairs
duplication of efforts between U.S. agencies involved in
International Development
120
development efforts in Afghanistan
28. Despite restructuring, overlapping roles and functions still exist at State’s Arms Control and Nonproliferation Bureaus
Two bureaus within the Department of State (State)
123
Social
29. Actions needed to reduce administrative overlap among
USDA, DHS, and HHS; 18 programs
services
domestic food assistance programs
involved
125
30. Better coordination of federal homelessness programs may
Seven federal agencies, including
minimize fragmentation and overlap
Department of Education (Education), HHS, and HUD; over 20 programs
129
involved
31. Further steps needed to improve cost-effectiveness and
USDA, DOT, Education, Interior, HHS,
enhance services for transportation-disadvantaged persons
HUD, Department of Labor (Labor), and
134
VA; 80 programs involved
Training,
32. Multiple employment and training programs: providing
Education, HHS, and Labor, among
employment, and
information on colocating services and consolidating administrative structures could promote efficiencies
others; 44 programs involved
140
education
33. Teacher quality: proliferation of programs complicates
Ten agencies including DOD, Education,
federal efforts to invest dollars effectively
Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science
144
Foundation; 82 programs involved
34. Fragmentation of financial literacy efforts makes coordination essential
More than 20 different agencies; about 56 programs involved
151
Source: GAO analysis based on areas addressed in Section I of this report.
Page 7 GAO-11-318SP Section I: Duplication, Overlap, or Fragmentation
This is your tax dollars at work ! CALL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON AND PUT AN END TO IT !
Yours in Liberty !
Bob Yeager
It is basically Government waste By the Numbers, A Report that Shows Dozens of Overlapping Programs.
I'm going to share a few pages of the GAO"S report with you, keep in mind this is a 344 page report.
Hereis where the budget could really use a trimming. OVERLAPPING SEVICES :
Section I: GAO Identified Areas of Potential Duplication, Overlap, and Fragmentation, Which, if Effectively Addressed, Could Provide Financial and Other Benefits
Table 1 presents 34 areas for consideration related to duplication, overlap, or fragmentation from GAO’s recently completed and ongoing work. In some cases, there is sufficient information to estimate potential savings or other benefits if actions are taken to address individual issues. In those cases, as noted below, financial benefits ranging from hundreds of millions to several billion dollars annually may be realized. In other cases, estimates of cost savings or other benefits would depend upon what congressional and executive branch decisions were made, including how certain GAO recommendations are implemented. Additionally, information on program performance, the level of funding in agency budgets devoted to overlapping or fragmented programs, and the implementation costs that might be associated with program consolidations or terminations, are factors that could impact actions to be taken as well as potential savings. Following the table are summaries for each of the 34 areas listed. In addition to summarizing what GAO has found, each area presents actions for the executive branch or Congress to consider. Each of the summaries contains a “Framework for Analysis” providing the methodology used to conduct the work and a list of related GAO products for further information.
Table 1: Duplication, Overlap, or Fragmentation Areas Identified in This Report
Missions Agriculture Defense
Areas identified 1. Fragmented food safety system has caused inconsistent oversight, ineffective coordination, and inefficient use of resources 2. Realigning DOD’s military medical command structures and consolidating common functions could increase efficiency and result in projected savings ranging from $281 million to $460 million annually 3. Opportunities exist for consolidation and increased efficiencies to maximize response to warfighter urgent needs
Federal agencies and programs where duplication, overlap, or fragmentation may occur The Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration are the primary food safety agencies, but 15 agencies are involved in some way Department of Defense (DOD), including the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force At least 31 entities within DOD
Page 8 13 18
4. Opportunities exist to avoid unnecessary redundancies and improve the coordination of counter-improvised explosive device efforts
The services and other components within DOD
23
5. Opportunities exist to avoid unnecessary redundancies and maximize the efficient use of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities 6. A departmentwide acquisition strategy could reduce DOD’s risk of costly duplication in purchasing Tactical Wheeled Vehicles
Multiple intelligence organizations within DOD DOD, including Army and Marine Corps
26 31
Page 5 GAO-11-318SP Section I: Duplication, Overlap, or Fragmentation
Section I: GAO Identified Areas of Potential Duplication, Overlap, and Fragmentation, Which, if Effectively Addressed, Could Provide Financial and Other Benefits
7.
Improved joint oversight of DOD’s prepositioning programs for equipment and supplies may reduce unnecessary duplication
DOD including Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps
34
8.
DOD business systems modernization: opportunities exist for optimizing business operations and systems
About 2,300 investments across DOD
38
Economic development
9.
The efficiency and effectiveness of fragmented economic development programs are unclear
USDA, Department of Commerce (Commerce), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Small Business Administration (SBA); 80 programs involved
42
10. The federal approach to surface transportation is fragmented, lacks clear goals, and is not accountable for
Five agencies within the Department of Transportation (DOT); over 100 programs
48
results
involved
11. Fragmented federal efforts to meet water needs in the U.S.USDA,
Commerce’s Economic
Mexico border region have resulted in an administrative
Development Administration,
burden, redundant activities, and an overall inefficient use of
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
resources
Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Indian Health Service,
52
Department of the Interior’s (Interior)
Bureau of Reclamation, HUD, and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Energy
12. Resolving conflicting requirements could more effectively
A number of agencies, including the
achieve federal fleet energy goals
Department of Energy (Energy) and the
General Services Administration (GSA)
55
play a role overseeing the
governmentwide requirements
13. Addressing duplicative federal efforts directed at increasing
EPA and the Department of the Treasury
domestic ethanol production could reduce revenue losses
59
by up to $5.7 billion annually
General government
14. Enterprise architectures: key mechanisms for identifying potential overlap and duplication
Governmentwide
62
15. Consolidating federal data centers provides opportunity to
Twenty-four federal agencies
improve government efficiency and achieve significant cost
66
savings
16. Collecting improved data on interagency contracting to
Governmentwide
minimize duplication could help the government leverage its
70
vast buying power
17. Periodic reviews could help identify ineffective tax
Governmentwide
expenditures and redundancies in related tax and spending programs, potentially reducing revenue losses by billions of
75
dollars
Health
18. Opportunities exist for DOD and VA to jointly modernize their electronic health record systems
DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
79
19. VA and DOD need to control drug costs and increase joint contracting whenever it is cost-effective
DOD and VA
82
20. HHS needs an overall strategy to better integrate nationwide public health information systems
Multiple agencies, led by HHS
88
Homeland
21. Strategic oversight mechanisms could help integrate
USDA, DOD, Department of Homeland
security/Law
fragmented interagency efforts to defend against biological
Security (DHS), HHS, Interior, and others;
enforcement
threats
more than two dozen presidentially
92
appointed individuals with responsibility for
biodefense
Page 6 GAO-11-318SP Section I: Duplication, Overlap, or Fragmentation
Section I: GAO Identified Areas of Potential Duplication, Overlap, and Fragmentation, Which, if Effectively Addressed, Could Provide Financial and Other Benefits
22. DHS oversight could help eliminate potential duplicating
DHS and other federal law enforcement
efforts of interagency forums in securing the northern
partners
96
border
23. The Department of Justice plans actions to reduce overlap in
Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau
explosives investigations, but monitoring is needed to
of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol,
101
ensure successful implementation
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
24. TSA’s security assessments on commercial trucking
DHS’s Transportation Security
companies overlap with those of another agency, but efforts are
Administration (TSA) and DOT
105
under way to address the overlap
25. DHS could streamline mechanisms for sharing security-
Three information-sharing mechanisms
related information with public transit agencies to help
funded by DHS and TSA
111
address overlapping information
26. FEMA needs to improve its oversight of grants and establish
DHS’s Federal Emergency Management
a framework for assessing capabilities to identify gaps and
Agency (FEMA); 17 programs involved
116
prioritize investments
International
27. Lack of information sharing could create the potential for
Principally DOD and the U.S. Agency for
affairs
duplication of efforts between U.S. agencies involved in
International Development
120
development efforts in Afghanistan
28. Despite restructuring, overlapping roles and functions still exist at State’s Arms Control and Nonproliferation Bureaus
Two bureaus within the Department of State (State)
123
Social
29. Actions needed to reduce administrative overlap among
USDA, DHS, and HHS; 18 programs
services
domestic food assistance programs
involved
125
30. Better coordination of federal homelessness programs may
Seven federal agencies, including
minimize fragmentation and overlap
Department of Education (Education), HHS, and HUD; over 20 programs
129
involved
31. Further steps needed to improve cost-effectiveness and
USDA, DOT, Education, Interior, HHS,
enhance services for transportation-disadvantaged persons
HUD, Department of Labor (Labor), and
134
VA; 80 programs involved
Training,
32. Multiple employment and training programs: providing
Education, HHS, and Labor, among
employment, and
information on colocating services and consolidating administrative structures could promote efficiencies
others; 44 programs involved
140
education
33. Teacher quality: proliferation of programs complicates
Ten agencies including DOD, Education,
federal efforts to invest dollars effectively
Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science
144
Foundation; 82 programs involved
34. Fragmentation of financial literacy efforts makes coordination essential
More than 20 different agencies; about 56 programs involved
151
Source: GAO analysis based on areas addressed in Section I of this report.
Page 7 GAO-11-318SP Section I: Duplication, Overlap, or Fragmentation
This is your tax dollars at work ! CALL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON AND PUT AN END TO IT !
Yours in Liberty !
Bob Yeager
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