Archive

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Document Name: Appendix C: New Recommendations by Agency
Date: 09/07/95
Owner: National Performance Review
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Appendix C: New Recommendations by Agency

In December 1994, President Clinton asked Vice President Gore to conduct a second review of agencies to identify opportunities for additional savings, program terminations, and privatization of selected functions. Following are more than 180 recommendations that, if adopted, would result in nearly $70 billion in savings over five years; these savings have been incorporated into the President's recent balanced budget proposal.

Each recommendation is followed by a number in parentheses that indicates the necessary avenue for effective implementation:

1. agency heads can do themselves;

2. President, Executive Office of the President, or Office of Management and Budget (OMB) can do; or

3. may require authorizing legislation.

Department of Agriculture

USDA2-01	Centralize Servicing of Single-Family Housing Loans (1) Change the servicing of a $30 billion loan portfolio to a centralized system that could close additional Department of Agriculture (USDA) county offices and reduce staff by up to 1,200 full-time equivalents (FTEs). Savings: $250 million
USDA2-02	Change Family Day Care and Child Care Rates (3) Offer families in day care homes that are not located in low-income areas two means-testing options: one would continue the standard per meal subsidy at a reduced rate; the other would provide full meal subsidies to children below 185 percent of the poverty level and reduced subsidies to others. Day care homes in all other areas would continue to receive full meal subsidies for all children. Savings: $1.7 billion
USDA2-03	Allow States Greater Flexibility in Food Stamp Program (3) Give each state the authority to change food stamp program administrative procedures to better help the needy, promote personal responsibility of parents, and help those who can work to prepare for and find work. This authority will let states extend certification periods up to 24 months and will maintain the program as a national nutrition "safety net." Savings: $140 million
USDA2-04	Include Food Stamp Anti-Fraud Provisions for Retailers and Recipients (1) Improve the integrity of the food stamp program by ensuring that only legitimate stores participate in the program, strengthening penalties against offenders, and accelerating the use of technology as an enforcement tool. Savings: $40 million
USDA2-05	Terminate the Emergency Farm Loan Program Administered by the Farm Service Agency (3) The Emergency Farm Loan Program has a 41-percent delinquency rate. Also, the need for this program was reduced by the Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994. Eliminate the program by FY 1997. Savings: $142 million
USDA2-06	Shift USDA's Peanut Program to a No-Net-Cost Basis (3) Change the peanut program to one that is industry-financed with no cost to U.S. taxpayers. USDA would continue to operate the program, but the costs of direct subsidy to peanut growers would be borne by the industry through increased assessments. Alternatively, eliminate the subsidy by reducing the guaranteed loan rate support price and/or by reducing the minimum quantity (quota) of peanuts supported at above-market levels. Savings: $309 million
USDA2-07	Reform Forest Service Land Acquisition (1) Perform a two-year review of the Forest Service's land ownership mission and land stewardship resource allocation. Review regulations and statutes affecting land ownership to determine the scope of public purposes that need to be served through continued, or expanded, Forest Service land ownership. Savings: $105 million
USDA2-08	Consolidate Nutrition Program for the Elderly With the Administration on Aging Congregate Feeding Programs (3) Transfer the USDA Nutrition Program for the Elderly to the Health and Human Services' Administration on Aging program. Savings: none
USDA2-09	Streamline USDA Rural Development Programs (3) Combine 14 rural development loan and grant programs and allow USDA state directors to work with states, localities, and other organizations to jointly set priorities. Measure results. Savings: $68 million

By implementing these recommendations, USDA will save $2,754 million over five years.

Department of Commerce

DOC2-01	Transform the Patent and Trademark Office into a Performance-Driven, Customer-Oriented Agency (3) The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) should be granted the flexibility to use commercial business practices and given waivers from selected government controls in exchange for being accountable for agreed-upon performance gains. Since PTO produces clearly identified "products" and has a basis for a measurement system, it is expected that productivity would be significantly enhanced. Savings: none (fee-funded)
DOC2-02	Transform the National Technical Information Service into a Performance-Driven, Customer-Oriented Agency (3) The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) receives no appropriated funds, but relies on revenues from sales to the public. Like PTO, NTIS should be given the flexibility to use commercial business practices, be granted waivers, and be accountable for agreed-upon performance gains. For example, NTIS could provide services to other federal government agencies, such as on-line services through FedWorld, production and dissemination, and technology transfers. Savings: none (fee-funded)
DOC2-03	Transform the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Mapping and Charting Service into a Performance-Driven, Customer-Oriented Agency (3) This function has products that are clearly identified and measured, and its customer base is well recognized. Like PTO, it should be restructured to use commercial business practices, be granted waivers, and be accountable for agreed-upon performance gains. Benefits expected include improved printing quality, reduced nautical accident rates, and expanded implementation of Global Positioning Systems. Digitizing will result in reductions in overhead costs and per chart/map cost. Savings: $2 million
DOC2-04	Privatize Portions of the Seafood Inspection Service (3) This function is currently voluntary and fee-funded. The bulk of the program would be privatized, with federal oversight to ensure integrity and user acceptance. Benefits to be gained include continuation of valuable services to industry with substantially fewer federal employees. Savings: none (fee-funded)
DOC2-05	Eliminate the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps (1) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration corps is the smallest uniformed military service. It consists of about 400 officers who command a fleet of fewer than 10 obsolete ships. Reduce the current corps to 130 FTEs and eventually eliminate it. Savings: $35.2 million
DOC2-06	Expedite Closure of National Weather Service Field Offices (3) The weather service is in the midst of a major restructuring and modernization initiative that will deploy modern technology to improve forecasting and significantly shrink its field office structure. Therefore, P.L. 102-567, Title 7, should be amended to expedite the closure of about 200 unneeded weather stations. Savings: $118 million
DOC2-07	Reengineer Census 2000 (1) The Census Bureau is reengineering the 2000 census by changing the questionnaire to an easy-to-fill-out machine-readable format, using sampling and estimation procedures to reduce the differential in the count, and using sampling and estimation to complete the enumeration. This last item is one of the most important proposed changes. Past censuses have used the very expensive method of attempting to physically locate every nonrespondent through multiple visits. Sampling is a statistically proven, cost-effective technique used extensively in the private sector. Compared to 1990, 200,000 fewer temporary employees will be hired. This recommendation expands on a similar one made in the first NPR report (DOC-13). Savings: $780 million
DOC2-08	Increase Entrepreneurship at the Census Bureau (3) The Census Bureau should establish a laboratory to work with the private sector to develop and market custom tabulations, with copyright protection, of decennial census data. Revenues: $50 million
DOC2-09	Streamline Administrative Services (1) The Department of Commerce has initiated several projects, many using business process reengineering techniques, in the areas of personnel, procurement, organizational structure, customer service, the government purchase card, budget formulation, and financial management. The broad-based initiative cuts across bureau lines. The goal is to implement radical, breakthrough improvements in the delivery of critical administrative services. Savings: to be determined
DOC2-10	Privatize Portions of the National Weather Service (3) Privatize specialized weather services, thereby permitting a more active role for the commercial weather services industry which is able to provide specialized weather information for aviation, marine, and agricultural users Savings: $47 million

By implementing these recommendations, Commerce will save $1,032 milion over five years.

Department of Defense

[Recommendations to be announced in Fall 1995.]

Department of Education

ED2-01	Restructure the Department and Reduce Personnel (3) Through streamlining and restructuring, reduce agency personnel by 12 percent (616 FTEs) and eliminate three senior officer positions. Savings: $100 million
ED2-02	Reduce Regulations (1) Through simplification and elimination, cut the department regulations governing those who seek and use federal education grants by 56 percent and reinvent an additional 37 percent. Savings: none
ED2-03	Improve Debt Collection (1) Improve student loan debt collection by implementing a new and aggressive default management strategy. Although the savings are not scorable, the department projects savings of $900 million through increased collections. Revenues: none
ED2-04	Terminate Low-Priority Education Programs (3) Terminate 10 low-priority programs providing subsidies to certain colleges, and finance a number of special scholarship and fellowship programs. Savings: $723 million

By implementing these recommendations, Education will save $823 million over the years.

Department of Energy

DOE2-01	Terminate the Clean Coal Technology Program When Ongoing Projects Are Completed (3) No new projects demonstrating clean coal technologies will be proposed in this program. Furthermore, if any ongoing project is canceled, its funding will be used to meet the needs of remaining ongoing projects, or rescinded if the funds are not needed by the program.
DOE2-02	Privatize the Naval Petroleum Reserves in Elk Hills, California (3) The government established Elk Hills in the early part of this century; it no longer serves its original strategic purpose for the Navy.
DOE2-03	Sell Uranium No Longer Needed for National Defense Purposes After Rendering It Suitable for Commercial Power Reactors (3) Sell the excess inventory of natural and enriched uranium. The enriched and natural uranium will be blended before sale to limit its use to commercial reactors.
DOE2-04	Significantly Reduce Costs in DOE's Applied Research Programs (1) This can be accomplished by requiring more cost-sharing and through cuts in lower priority programs.
DOE2-05	Improve Program Effectiveness and Efficiencies in the Environmental Management of Nuclear Waste Cleanups (1) Five separate improvement efforts are planned to save an estimated $4.4 billion: improving cost controls, using site-based budgeting, improving resource allocations, working closer with partners, and reauthorizing Superfund.
DOE2-06	Strategically Align Headquarters and Field Operations (1) Realign headquarters program and administration offices with departmental goals, consolidate headquarters space, reduce headquarters support services contractors, integrate and streamline information management activities, reduce headquarters and field staffing levels, cut travel costs, sell excess inventories of metals and gases, and streamline National Environmental Policy Act processes.

By implementing these recommendations, Energy will save $23,495 million over five years.

Environmental Protection Agency

EPA2-01	Consolidate State Revolving Funds Into a Performance Partnership (3) Consolidate the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. Both of the current programs provide capitalization grants to the states, which then use the funds to provide low-interest loans to municipalities. Savings: none
EPA2-02	Reduce EPA Oversight of States, Regions, and Federal Agencies (3) Cut duplication of effort for a range of activities where Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responsibilities overlap those of its federal and state partners. EPA would reduce oversight of state-delegated programs, including eliminating parallel reviews of state-issued pollution control permits. Savings: $100 million
EPA2-03	Broaden State Participation in Superfund Program (3) Increase the state role in the Superfund program while implementing needed reforms in the program and reducing the federal role. The previously proposed Superfund reform legislation would be enacted, including retention of retroactive liability. EPA would pursue state implementation more aggressively than under last year's proposal, providing new incentives to the states such as lower cost share and greater program implementation flexibility. Savings: $283 million
EPA2-04	Improve Coordination of Superfund Research by National Institute of Environmental Health Science (1) Require EPA's concurrence in the institute's annual research plan, EPA consultation on specific research projects, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the research to address EPA's concerns that the institute's basic research has provided little benefit to the Superfund clean-up program. Savings: none
EPA2-05	Terminate OMB Circular A-106 (2) Eliminate the OMB circular and, for ongoing data requirements, allow agencies to report once a year under Executive Order 12088 using their own in-house data systems. Savings: none
EPA2-06	Create Sustainable Development Challenge Grants (3) In the 1997 budget, include a New Sustainable Development Challenge Grant program within EPA as announced by the President as part of Reinventing Environmental Regulations. Cost: $60 million
EPA2-07	Create Performance Partnership Grants (3) Allow states and tribes to receive one or more consolidated grants as a substitute for several environmental categorical grants (e.g., air, water, hazardous waste). This initiative provides states and tribes an opportunity to target resources toward their most pressing environmental statutes and EPA program regulations and standards. Savings: $103 million

By implementing these recommendations, EPA will save $426 million over five years.

Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA2-01	Sell Disaster Housing Mobile Home Inventory (1) Terminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) hands-on operational role in owning, storing, transporting (via contract), and refurbishing (via contract) mobile homes for disaster victims. FEMA should eliminate two permanent storage sites and sell its current inventory of about 4,000 mobile homes and 2,000 travel trailers. The agency should develop standby contracts and lease agreements to provide mobile homes, should the need arise.
FEMA2-02	Transition Federal Crime Insurance Program (3) This program was created at a time when many American cities were experiencing riots and incidents of civil unrest, resulting in heavy losses for private insurers. Participation in the program has decreased from 80,000 policyholders in 31 states to 16,500 policyholders in 10 states, Washington, D.C., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. This proposal would begin to transition federal sponsorship of the program to the states and private sector.
FEMA2-03	Privatize Open Learning Fire Service Program (3) Privatize the degree program for firefighters that is currently run jointly by the National Fire Academy and seven degree-granting institutions. The academy will continue to participate in the program, but will reallocate administrative resources to initiate new programs in partnership with the Emergency Management Institute.
FEMA2-04	Develop Performance Partnership Agreements With the States (3) Integrate disparate FEMA programs and consolidates funding streams into a multi-year performance-based partnership agreement between the President and the governor of each state. The performance partnership agreement would be risk-based, tailored to each state, focus on performance outcomes and capability development, provide incentives for increasing state capabilities in responding to disasters, establish criteria for presidential disaster declarations based on each state's unique capabilities, and reduce grant reporting requirements. FEMA would establish two funding streams: pre- and post-disaster.
FEMA2-05	Devolve State Disaster Trust Funds (3) Encourage and provide incentives for states to establish state disaster trust funds. These funds could be used by states to enhance their existing emergency management capability. Trust fund money could be used to implement and administer state and local emergency management programs, including mitigation, for relief from nonfederally declared disasters. Revenue collection for the trust funds would have to be coordinated with the development of multi-hazard insurance to prevent duplicative reliance on the same revenue sources.
FEMA2-06	Devolve Post-Disaster Mitigation Grants (3) Devolve administration of federal post-disaster mitigation grants to state and local jurisdictions, and eliminate FEMA's project-by-project review of mitigation activities funded by the Disaster Relief Fund. Eligible use of funds would be contingent upon federal approval of a state's adopted mitigation plan and that state's achievement of mitigation performance standards.
FEMA2-07	Franchise Mount Weather Conference Facilities (3) Offer Mount Weather conference facilities for use by other federal agencies on a fee basis.
FEMA2-08	Franchise Mount Weather National Teleregistration Capabilities (3) FEMA will, at a minimum, conduct a market survey within the federal government to determine interest in its providing telephonic/teleregistration services.
FEMA2-09	Expand the Use of Volunteers (1) Use national organizations' volunteers as outreach workers to supplement disaster assistance employees during presidentially declared disasters.
FEMA2-10	Reinvent Multi-Hazard Mitigation Strategies (3) Reinvent FEMA's mitigation efforts to focus on multi-hazard strategies that are cost-effective, contain incentives, and begin to address the economic impact of natural hazards. Under this proposal, direct federal assistance to state and local jurisdictions for new building construction could be tied to the adoption and enforcement of building codes that provide for life safety against seismic and wind hazards in new buildings. The proposal, which is consistent with the Administration's policy on disaster reform, would clearly focus FEMA on multi-hazards strategies and designate the agency as the lead for those activities.
FEMA2-11	Streamline Regional Resources (1) Produce and implement a regional office strategic restructuring plan to advance the performance partnerships, improve program delivery and implementation, accomplish mission priorities, strengthen and revitalize FEMA's field resources, and reduce operating costs. The plan will include a comprehensive evaluation of purpose, roles, authorities, risk areas, customer needs, and mission of field offices, as well as a determination of the appropriate regional location, budget, and staff. A preliminary plan has been developed.
FEMA2-12	Streamline Staffing (1) Develop a long-term strategic plan addressing resource utilization. This activity would include a comprehensive review of the agency's mission and function, completion of a skills analysis for all employees, and development of criteria for determining appropriate use of contract versus staff resources. A preliminary strategic staffing plan has been developed by FEMA employees. A corresponding implementation plan is being finalized.
FEMA2-13	Streamline/Consolidate Mobile Emergency Response Support (1) Eliminate one of five support units and consolidate the remaining four. This initiative is being reevaluated in light of the demands for such support services as a result of the Oklahoma City bombing and similar threats.
FEMA2-14	Apply a State Insurance Requirement and Fixed Cost Shares for Public Assistance (3) Adopt the Administration policy proposal to establish a state $5 per capita insurance/self-insurance requirement for public facilities. If a presidential disaster declaration is made, a state would pay for uninsured public facilities repairs equal to $5 per capita before federal assistance would be applied to all other eligible repair costs. This requirement would be implemented over a five-year period. The proposal also implements a $75 per capita threshold below which the federal cost share is 75 percent. It provides a favorable cost share of 80 percent federal as an incentive for states that have implemented mitigation measures and developed their emergency management capabilities; the federal cost share is capped at 90 percent for disasters more than $75 per capita.
FEMA2-15	Convert the National Defense Executive Reserve Program (3) This program has never been activated, yet FEMA spends more than $200,000 per year training and managing the National Defense Executive Reserve. This proposal integrates the reservists into the Disaster Assistance Employee program, thereby providing a mechanism by which reservists can be used on an all-hazards basis.
FEMA2-16	Streamline the National Dam Safety Program (1) FEMA is working with dam safety organizations and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to ensure the most cost-effective accomplishment of the National Dam Safety Program.
FEMA2-17	Identify Options for Improving the Effectiveness of the Federal Insurance Administration (2) The Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) provides flood insurance and supports nationally consistent floodplain management actions at the state, local, and private levels. FIA should pursue further flood insurance reforms that allow the National Flood Insurance Program to operate more in line with private insurance. It should explore how to transition the provision of flood insurance into the private sector.
FEMA2-18	Transfer Resource Preparedness to Other Agencies (1) FEMA and other relevant agencies should jointly study the viability of transferring resource preparedness functions under the Defense Production Act to other federal agencies. The review of these resource preparedness functions is under way.
FEMA2-19	Transfer National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Lead Agency Responsibility (3) FEMA's lead agency responsibilities are clearly defined in the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, as amended, but believes full authority to fulfill lead agency assignments is not provided. FEMA is currently working with the Office of Science and Technology Policy and other National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program agencies to identify the optimal solution to this issue.
FEMA2-20	Franchise Operations of Mount Weather's National Emergency Coordination Center (3) The center's operations should be franchised. Under a reimbursable agreement, the center would provide 24-hour telephone coverage for other agencies using existing technology and resources. This service would be available to all federal agencies, with emphasis on Federal Response Plan agencies.
FEMA2-21	Coordinate Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness (1) EPA, the Departments of Transportation and Energy, and FEMA all have responsibilities related to hazardous materials. FEMA should study how best to coordinate the resources of these agencies, develop a unified federal hazardous materials program, and consolidate hazardous material grant programs and funding to the states. An interagency board could be formed with participating agency representatives to set technical standards and ensure that funding execution meets agencies' missions. The FEMA Director has met with the Secretaries of the Departments of Transportation and Energy and the Administrator of EPA to initiate this process.
FEMA2-22	Integrate Federal Disaster Planning (1) Consolidate disparate, hazard-specific federal disaster planning efforts-and existing plans-into one integrated FEMA-led planning initiative for all hazards.
FEMA2-23	Coordinate Federal Disaster Assistance Activities (3) Identify options for integrating and coordinating the appropriate disaster assistance functions of FEMA and the Small Business Administration (SBA). Activities that could be explored include post-disaster inspections.

By implementing these recommendations, FEMA will save $52.3 million over five years ($22.3 million in program and disaster relief funds, and $30 million in receipts from an asset sale).

General Services Administration

GSA2-01	Consider Various Forms of Privatization (3) The Business Line analyses underway in the Federal Operations Review Model (FORM) process have already begun to provide useful information regarding how GSA does business, where its strengths lie, and where it has room for improvement and for potential savings to the taxpayer. As the process continues, the agency will be able to identify ways to improve the means through which the government provides those services and products for which GSA is responsible.
GSA2-02	Encourage Agencies to Franchise These Activities to Avoid Duplication and Maximize Efficiency (3) Provide expertise and experience in franchising support services and reducing the cost of these services for participating agencies. Through the Cooperative Administrative Support Units (CASU) program, redundant administrative services are being eliminated through centralization in lead agencies. GSA is evaluating additional opportunities to expand the franchising of sevices to lead agencies where appropriate.
GSA2-03	Give Agencies Expanded Authority to Acquire Services and Assets (1) GSA will delegate responsibilities to other agencies when that is the most cost-effective option for the taxpayer. This is one of several options GSA is evaluating in detail as part of the FORM review of its major business lines.
GSA2-04	Involve Employee Unions in Designing and Implemention Reinvention Details (1) GSA's Labor-Management Partnership is based upon the understanding that involving its union partners in the pre-decisional planning and design of its reinvention activities will lead to better, more comprehensive ideas from the start of an initiative through its implementation. By including its unions from the outset, GSA is working to obtain the highest degree of cooperation, contribution, and consensus possible.

By implementing these recommendations, GSA will save $1,400 million govenmentwide over five years.

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS2-01	Strengthen Medicare Program Integrity (3) Provide tools to ensure that the billions-and perhaps more-currently saved continue to be saved for years to come, and that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can react and adapt to the ever-changing nature of fraud in the health care industry. The three components of this initiative are: * Create an interdisciplinary team to target Medicare and Medicaid abuse in five key states where health care fraud is of particular concern. * Propose new legislation for a new health care fraud fund for investigating and prosecuting illegal activities. * Create a more stable budget mechanism to fund Medicare program integrity activities. Savings: to be determined
HHS2-02	Create Performance Partnerships (3) Consolidate 107 health programs into six performance partnership programs and 11 consolidated clusters of grants administered by state and local governments and private providers. These partnerships will permit greater flexibility to measure and improve program effectiveness. Savings: $218 million
HHS2-03	Consolidate Management (1) Eliminate an entire layer of management by consolidating into a single corporate headquarters two major department policy, leadership, and coordinating offices: the Office of the Secretary and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Many centrally provided administrative services will be franchised as internal business units that offer services competitively. Savings: $146 million
HHS2-04	Consolidate Surveys and Coordinate Data Standards (1) Start a thorough study to ensure that (1) policy-relevant information is available in a timely manner, (2) gaps in existing data that inhibit analysis are eliminated, and (3) departmental data standards are coordinated and consistent from program to program. Savings: none
HHS2-05	Improve Coordination of Programs for Older Americans (3) Refocus and consolidate programs for the aging to improve HHS effectiveness and better focus programs on the needs of older Americans. Programs in other departments that serve the needs of the elderly may be transferred to the HHS Administration on Aging. Savings: $20 million
HHS2-06	Privatize National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Management (3) Privatize the management of the Clinical Center as determined by a planned analysis of the center's cost structure. The option of contracting center functions and alternative approaches to financing the construction of a new hospital of no more than 250 beds will be fully considered. Savings: $87 million
HHS2-07	Privatize Clinical Practice Guidelines (1) Currently, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research develops clinical practice guidelines. Under this proposal, four private sector centers will be established to develop multiple guidelines simultaneously, and thereby achieve new efficiencies and quality improvements. Savings: $15 million
HHS2-08	Privatize Technology Assessment (1) Shift the function of assessing new technologies from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to the private sector using collaborative arrangements with health care organizations, payers, manufacturers, clinicians, and assessors. Savings: $3 million
HHS2-09	Reduce Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health Management Control Positions (1) Increase the proportion of FTE reductions in the department's streamlining plan that derive from management control positions at subject organizations. Savings: $136 million
HHS2-10	Merge Two Agencies (3) Merge the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Savings: $9 million
HHS2-11	Reform the Food and Drug Administration's Regulatory Process (1) Improve the regulatory process while maintaining critical public health and safety standards. Some of the reinvention initiatives speak directly to reduced time for review and approval. Others aim to reduce excessive regulatory burdens that cost industry unnecessary time and money, and cost the agency precious resources. Savings: $37 million
HHS2-12	Privatize the Federal Employee Occupational Health Program (3) Privatize this health program, which provides reimbursable health consultation and services to more than 4,000 departments, agencies, and offices. This will save 100 FTEs by FY 2000. Savings: none

By implementing these recommendations, HHS will save $671 million over five years.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUD2-01	Consolidate 60 Programs Into Three (3) * The Housing Certificates for Families and Individuals will consolidate HUD's rental assistance public housing programs into one fund providing rental assistance for low income tenants, especially working poor families. * The economic development programs will be folded into a Community Opportunity Fund providing flexible resources to mayors and governors for critical economic revitalization of distressed communities. * The Affordable Housing Fund will give mayors and governors the flexible funding they need to support the development, acquisition, and rehabilitation of affordable housing, as well as homeownership opportunities for low-income families.
HUD2-02	Transform Public Housing (3) Under this proposal, federal assistance will no longer go to public housing projects, but will instead go directly to the people.
HUD2-03	Reinvigorate the Federal Housing Administration (3) Make the Federal Housing Administration a government-owned corporation and give it a new entrepreneurial, private enterprise approach.

By implementing these recommendations, HUD will save $825 million in administrative costs over five years.

Intelligence Community

INTEL2-01	Consolidate Imagery Intelligence (1) By October 1, 1996, imagery activities will be placed under a coherent management structure to include consolidation of specific functions across the community, improving the effectiveness and efficiency of resource allocation, and providing more responsiveness to national- and tactical-level customers.
INTEL2-02	Integrate Military and Intelligence Satellite Acquisition (1) The Intelligence Community is working with the Department of Defense (DOD) to integrate the management of Defense and Intelligence space programs and thereby reduce costs.
INTEL2-03	Reform Human Resource Management (1) The Intelligence Community is committed to a major reform of human resource management at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and throughout the community over the next decade. Already completed groundwork will pave the way for reform.
INTEL2-04	Consolidate Intelligence Collection Activities (1) Based on changing customer priorities and reduced resources, and supported in part by new technologies, the Intelligence Community plans to reduce the number of sites used for intelligence collection efforts worldwide. This effort-which is ongoing and will be accomplished over the next several years-will result in improved effectiveness and significant cost savings.
INTEL2-05	Consolidate Office Space (1) In an effort to reduce costs, the Intelligence Community is consolidating many of its operations in the greater Washington, D.C., area.
INTEL2-06	Consolidate Warehousing (1) Through the use of improved inventory management techniques, large reductions of required space are possible. The National Security Agency (NSA) and CIA alone estimate eliminating 55 percent of overall warehouse space by the end of FY 1997.
INTEL2-07	Privatize Supply and Equipment Acquisition (1) A sizable workforce and infrastructure has been established over the years to purchase, store, and distribute supplies and equipment to customers throughout the community. The Intelligence Community will develop partnerships with vendors for the direct delivery of supplies and equipment, helping ensure the timely delivery of supplies and equipment at competitive prices.
INTEL2-08	Franchise Microelectronics Production (1) In order to fulfill its requirement for specialized computer chips, NSA currently operates its own design and manufacturing facility in partnership with the National Semiconductor Corporation. With initial coordination from the community management staff, any excess production capacity at this facility will be franchised out to other community components or possibly to other government agencies, all on a fee-for-service basis.
INTEL2-09	Reinvent Travel (1) Under current travel policies, significant resources are expended on the administrative aspects of the travel process. Through its pilot project, NSA has already shown how reengineering and automation can streamline the travel process and reduce administrative costs by more than 70 percent. These efforts are being evaluated for application throughout the Intelligence Community.
INTEL2-10	Reinvent Community Courier Service (1) Because each member of the Intelligence Community maintains its own courier service, significant overlap exists between the destinations and routes of the various courier services. Preliminary estimates indicate that courier costs could be reduced by at least 30 percent through cross-agency work-sharing agreements and the use of one or more common hubs.
INTEL2-11	Reinvent Training and Education (1) At present, several members of the Intelligence Community maintain their own training components, with little cross-coordination between programs. All aspects of community training will be examined in an effort to eliminate duplication, terminate courses with marginal participation, find opportunities for privatization, and increase the use of technology.
INTEL2-12	Reinvent Excess Equipment Reutilization (1) With the assistance of waivers from the Defense Logistics Agency, process reengineering by NSA has significantly reduced cycle time, handling costs, and storage costs for removing and disposing of excess equipment. The Intelligence Community is evaluating NSA's procedures for wider adoption within the community and is working to improve cross-agency coordination of equipment availability and acquisition.
INTEL2-13	Reinvent Security (1) Through the work of the Security Policy Board, the Intelligence Community is reinventing its security systems to ensure that they match threats and are flexible, consistent, cost-effective, and affordable. Significant long-term savings should result for both the Intelligence Community and its private sector partners.
INTEL2-14	Reinvent Foreign Language Activities (1) The DCI Foreign Language Committee, as the focal point for all foreign language-related issues within the Intelligence Community, will standardize foreign language testing. It will also develop and coordinate plans for a unified language training system, explore ways to open the system to other federal agencies, create partnerships with the private sector, and market government-developed language training materials for secondary commercial use. Finally, it will explore ways to leverage the use of technology for improved training and operational use.

Department of the Interior

DOI2-01	Eliminate the Office of Territorial and International Affairs (1) Eliminate an assistant secretary position and transfer the bureau's remaining office functions to the Office of the Secretary. Create, with the concurrence of the Domestic Policy Council, an insular affairs working group to provide a focal point for resolving cross-cutting insular issues. (These activities were accomplished by a Secretarial Order signed August 4, 1995). Savings: $5 million
DOI2-02	Accelerate the Transfer of Bureau of Indian Affairs Program Operations to Tribes (1) This transfer reflects the Administration's commitment to the policy of self-determination and local decisionmaking. The proposed transfer would build on an ongoing process of consultation with the tribes. The Bureau of Indian Affairs will streamline central and area offices, with savings provided to the tribes. Savings: none
DOI2-03	Transfer Bureau of Reclamation Facilities and Terminate Five Small Reclamation Programs (3) Implement an aggressive program of transferring title and operations/maintenance responsibilities for bureau facilities to state or local units of government or other nonfederal entities. (The program does not apply to facilities of national importance.) The bureau will also eliminate five programs no longer essential to its mission. Current commitments will be honored and completed as soon as possible. Savings: $126 million
DOI2-04	Transfer the Baltimore-Washington, George Washington-Clara Barton, and Suitland Parkways to Maryland and Virginia (3) Transfer these commuter parkways to the states. Interior will provide operating grants to phase out its maintenance activities over five years. Savings: $13 million
DOI2-05	Eliminate, Reduce, or Reinvent 10 U.S. Geological Survey Programs (1) Eliminate funding for the Water Resources Research Institute; reduce components of the Geothermal Program; commercialize aspects of its information dissemination services; privatize ship and laboratory operations of the marine, water, and mineral programs; and reinvent its scientific technical publications. Savings: $64 million
DOI2-06	Reinvent Bureau of Land Management Energy and Road Maintenance Programs (3) Transfer the inspection and enforcement operations in the onshore energy and minerals program to states and tribes, improve interagency coordination of road maintenance, and improve cost recovery for bureau energy/minerals management. Savings: $31 million
DOI2-07	Divest Fish and Wildlife Service Activities (3) Divest waterfowl protection areas (2.2 million acres) and coordination areas (0.3 million acres), as well as up to 15 fish hatcheries, to the states. Savings: $51 million
DOI2-08	Consolidate the Activities of the National Park Service's Denver Service Center With Similar Operations (1) Consolidate the activities of the Denver service center with those of similar Interior operations. Savings: $17 million
DOI2-09	Reinvent the Office of the Secretary (1) A new mission for the Assistant Secretary of Policy, Management, and Budget will focus on policy coordination and guidance. All nonpolicy activities will be transferred to a new fee-for-service support center, resulting in a streamlined and more efficient Office of the Secretary. Savings: $10 million
DOI2-10	Allow Offshore Royalty Buy-Outs (3) Current offshore oil and gas royalties may be acquired through buy-out alternatives to be identified and evaluated by an interagency working group with the goal of obtaining greater value for the public from royalty proceeds while reducing the public and private costs of obtaining that value. Savings: $3,120 million
DOI2-11	Issue a National Park Service Commemorative Coin (3) Legislation to authorize six commemorative coins, two of which would create revenue for Interior and the National Park Service, is currently in Congress. Other fundraising methods are also being considered. Revenues: $15 million
DOI2-12	Reinvent the Bureau of Mines (1) Streamline bureau functions and consolidate field research centers into four "centers of excellence" and by eliminating programs that states or the private sector would more appropriately conduct. Savings: $140 million
DOI2-13	Privatize the Helium Program (3) Privatize this program by selling the Bureau of Mines production facility in Amarillo, Texas, or by entering a long-term lease with a private entity, and begin to liquidate its crude helium reserve through annual sales. Savings: none
DOI2-14	Expand Lease Authority to the National Park Service (3) Draft legislation to expand federal authority to place unused national park system facilities under long-term leases or special concessions contracts was submitted to Congress in May 1995. The proposal will allow for the productive use of unused facilities in a businesslike fashion, while maintaining the integrity of the parks. Savings: $54 million

By implementing these recommendations, Interior will save $3,950 million over five years.

Department of Justice

DOJ2-01	Reinvent the Immigration and Naturalization Service Field Structure (1) Under this proposal, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) will continue its reinvention efforts. INS has selected two district offices, in Detroit and El Paso, as customer service reinvention laboratories. At these sites, employee teams will work with consultants to design and test new ways of working that put the customer first. At other sites, INS has joined with the Customs Service to conduct a series of pilot projects to test new, cooperative approaches to inspections. INS has also reengineered its naturalization process to eliminate backlogs and reduce cycle time; it will initiate a pilot project at selected district sites.
DOJ2-02	Consolidate Administrative Support Services to Bureau of Prisons' Correctional Institutions (1) Bureau of Prisons correctional institutions traditionally have been given the authority and resources to conduct their own administrative support activities. These support activities should be consolidated at six regional offices. A 25 percent reduction in administrative personnel should result from this effort.
DOJ2-03	Consolidate U.S. Marshals Service Prisoner and INS Detainee Transportation (1) The air fleets used by the U.S. Marshals Service and INS to transport prisoners and detainees should be consolidated to form a new Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System. When fully implemented, this system will improve the department's efficiency and deportation capacity.
DOJ2-04	Create "One-Stop Shopping" for Customers (1) Collocating Justice offices with similar missions or serving the same clientele will facilitate one-stop shopping for customers. It also may improve program coordination and increase the efficiency of support activities. The department has approximately 2,000 domestic field offices, more than 55 percent of which (1,099) have 10 or fewer employees. Under this proposal, many of these small offices would be considered for possible collocation to achieve customer and staff efficiency and convenience.
DOJ2-05	Permit Nonjudicial Foreclosures (3) Enacting legislation to create a comprehensive federal nonjudicial foreclosure act would free department attorneys from handling routine foreclosure cases. Justice attorneys, most often Assistant U.S. Attorneys, now have to apply for judicial foreclosure of a number of mortgages-thus reducing the time they can devote to the department's core mission. Therefore, the department has drafted legislation to establish a uniform, nationwide system of nonjudicial foreclosures which has been included in an omnibus debt collection legislative proposal prepared by the Department of the Treasury.
DOJ2-06	Require Hospitals to Charge Federal Prisoners Medicare Rates (3) In a recent study, the Justice Management Division found that Bureau of Prisons, INS, and the U.S. Marshals Service each occasionally seek outside hospital care for prisoners and detainees and that hospital care rates vary widely among localities. In some locations, Justice entities have negotiated/contracted with hospitals for the federal Medicare rate as the standard rate of reimbursement for their federal prisoners and detainees treated in hospitals that provide Medicare services. This proposal seeks legislation requiring hospitals to charge the Medicare rate in all applicable cases.
DOJ2-07	Privatize Printing, Audiovisual, and Graphics Services (1) To the extent feasible and cost-effective, Justice will contract out for printing, audiovisual, and graphics services rather than maintain an in-house capability. The agency increasingly has been procuring these services from the private sector. Legislation should be enacted to allow Justice-as well as other agencies-to use sources other than the Government Printing Office.

Department of Labor

DOL2-01	Streamline Alien Labor Certification (3) Streamline and speed up the Department of Labor (DOL) Alien Labor Certification process by decentralizing authority to state employment security agencies, consolidating DOL regional processing centers from 10 to four, and automating forms processing. Under this proposal, DOL will conduct spot audits of about 2 percent of its cases rather than review all state certifications. Also, states will be authorized to charge user fees to those few employers who use this service. Savings: $223.8 million
DOL2-02	Transfer the Community Service Employment for Older Americans Program to the HHS Administration on Aging (3) The Community Service Employment for Older Americans program finances federal project grants to public and private nonprofit national organizations and to state governments. These projects provide job training and direct services to older Americans. By transferring this program to HHS-as part of the 1995 reauthorization of the Older Americans Act-the federal government's ability to provide integrated services to older Americans will improve. This proposal also increases the state/local match requirement, thereby further leveraging federal dollars. Savings: $326 million
DOL2-03	Privatize All DOL Penalty and Debt Collection (1) Use private sector firms to perform its penalty and debt collection functions. Currently, penalties are collected by DOL employees, and debts are collected by DOL personnel and private sector firms. Following the Department of Education's successful collection model, this proposal will likely result in increased collections. Savings: none
DOL2-04	Simplify Procedures of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (1) Simplify the benefit determination process by taking advantage of the new Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and General Agreement on Trade and Tariff Act amendments. This simplification will feature an increased reliance on employer calculations and on simplified methods of dealing with complex plan provisions. Savings: $6 million
DOL2-05	Limit the Mine Safety and Health Administration State Grant Program to Four States (3) This program funds training and awareness programs focusing on current accident trends and small mines. Currently, 43 states and the Navajo Nation participate in the programs, but 33 states receive less than $100,000 a year. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) grant program should be limited to four states: Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. These are the main coal mining states, and they receive the largest grants for MSHA training programs. Savings: $16.7 million
DOL2-06	Eliminate Written Certification of Nonsegregated Facilities (1) Successful enforcement of civil rights law has ensured that employers are aware that segregation in employee facilities is unlawful. Consequently, DOL will eliminate the requirement for federal contractors and subcontractors to provide written certification that their facilities are not segregated on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin. DOL will continue to require that facilities be nonsegregated, and hold compliance reviews and investigate complaints to ensure this. Federal contractors will save 875,000 hours annually as a result of this initiative. Savings: none
DOL2-07	Streamline Affirmative Action Plans for Federal Contractors (1) The affirmative action plans submitted by contractors and subcontractors will be simplified. The factors used to determine the availability of minorities and women for employment will be reduced from 16 to four. Action-oriented plans will only be required if the participation of women and minorities does not approximate their availability for employment. The requirement that contractors reconfigure their workforce by artificially composed job groups will be eliminated. Finally, unless selected for random audit, contractors with satisfactory plans will be exempted from further audit. This proposal will save contractors 4.5 million hours annually. Savings: none
DOL2-08	Improve Alignment of Tasks With Office Functions (1) Certain enforcement tasks will be realigned among DOL offices to improve efficiency and effectiveness. For example, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) should enforce certain environmental "whistle-blower" statutes formerly enforced by the Wage and Hour Division. The Wage and Hour Division, in turn, should enforce certain health and safety standards in areas affecting agricultural workers that were formerly enforced by OSHA. Realigning such tasks will enhance enforcement activities. Savings: none
DOL2-09	Consolidate Regional Functions of the Wage and Hour Division (1) Some functions of the Wage and Hour Division should be consolidated. Each of the division's eight regions now performs administrative functions related to homework certification, sheltered workshop certification, and farm labor contractor registration processing. Under this proposal, homework certification and sheltered workshop certification will each be consolidated in a single region, and farm labor contractor registration processing will be consolidated in two regions. Savings: none
DOL2-10	Consolidate OSHA's Technical Centers and MSHA's Engineering Offices (1) OSHA's two technical centers will be consolidated into the existing Salt Lake City center. Similarly, MSHA's engineering services will be consolidated by closing the Denver office and relocating resources and staff to its office in Bruceton, Pennsylvania. Savings: $5.4 million
DOL2-11	Expand Private Sector Use of the MSHA Academy (1) Use of the MSHA Academy-the central training facility for federal mine inspectors and mine safety professionals-will be more aggressively marketed to increase its use by the private sector. Increasing private sector use will improve efficiency and yield administrative savings. Savings: $2.5 million
DOL2-12	Institute a Flexi-Place Program for MSHA Inspectors (1) The Administration intends to equip mine inspectors to work out of their homes, as the majority of these inspectors spend most of their time on the road or in mines. This proposal will improve mine inspector morale and increase productivity. Savings: $2.4 million
DOL2-13	Unify DOL's Adjudicative Boards (1) Unify the Benefits Review Board, the Employee Compensation Appeals Board, the Wage Appeals Board, and the Office of Administrative Appeals within DOL. This will facilitate better sharing of resources and distribute workloads more evenly. Savings: $5.6 million
DOL2-14	Privatize OSHA and MSHA's Accreditation Process (1) Privatize the process for accrediting and performing gear, crane, and laboratory certifications. Private concerns should pay fees for these accreditation and certification activities. Savings: $2.5 million
DOL2-15	Consolidate DOL's Administrative and Personnel Functions (1) DOL's personnel and administrative functions will be substantially consolidated at the headquarters and regional levels. Duplicate functions will be eliminated, and the number of staff devoted to administrative and personnel matters will be significantly reduced. Savings: $65 million
DOL2-16	Simplify Reporting Requirements for Federal Construction Contractors (1) Eliminate the monthly utilization report documenting the employment hours of women and minorities in the construction trades. This proposal will save private sector contractors 400,000 hours of effort annually. Savings: none
DOL2-17	Streamline the ERISA Summary Plan Description Filing Requirement (3) Eliminate ERISA's statutory requirement that employee benefit plans file summary plan descriptions (SPDs) with DOL. Plans would still need to prepare and furnish SPDs to plan participants and beneficiaries, and the department could still obtain SPDs from plan administrators to respond to individual requests or to monitor compliance. Eliminating this filing requirement would substantially reduce costs and burdens for private plans and for the department. Savings: 7 million
DOL2-18	Privatize OSHA Training Activities (1) OSHA will expand its use of private education centers offering OSHA-approved courses on a nationwide basis. Savings: $2 million
DOL2-19	Streamline the ERISA Annual Report (1) The Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, is streamlining the Form 5500 Series annual reporting requirements for employee benefit plans and pursuing establishment of an automated filing system for receiving and processing reports. This initiative should significantly reduce costs and burdens for the more than 750,000 employee benefit plans required to file reports. Savings: to be determined

By implementing these recommendations, DOL will save $803 million over five years.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA2-01	Eliminate Duplication and Overlap and Consolidate Functions Between NASA Centers (1) NASA recently completed a zero-based review of all the agency's activities and established clearly defined missions for each of its 10 field centers to reflect its role in the agency's five strategic enterprises. NASA has also established a realignment plan to eliminate overlap and duplication among the field centers. The implementation of these objectives is being incorporated in the FY 1997 budget estimates.
NASA2-02	Transfer Functions to Universities or the Private Sector (3) NASA is moving to transition the management of some science programs to institutes located on or near NASA sites. These science institutes will be operated by a university, private industry, or a teaming arrangement.
NASA2-03	Reduce Civil Servant Involvement With and Expect More Accountability From NASA Contractors (1) NASA will fundamentally change its relationship with the contractor community. NASA will be responsible for defining program requirements and then exercise minimal oversight. This represents a profound change from the current way of doing business.
NASA2-04	Emphasize Objective Contracting by Defining Specific Products and Deadlines (1) NASA is moving toward performance-based contracting; this will build valuable partnerships between government and industry.
NASA2-05	Use Private Sector Capabilities Whenever Possible (1) Consolidation of the space shuttle contracts is planned over the next several years. Outsourcing and use of commercial services will be maximized.
NASA2-06	Work to Change Regulations So NASA Can Perform Less Engineering Oversight and Reporting and More Procurement Streamlining (1) NASA is reengineering its regulations and policies in an effort to reduce them by 50 percent. NASA has also initiated a series of procurement initiatives to improve its contracting processes.
NASA2-07	Return NASA to Its Status as a Research and Development (R&D) Agency by Focusing on High-Priority R&D and Drastically Reducing Operational Functions (1) NASA is moving toward performing more state-of-the-art R&D and allowing the private sector to perform operational functions.
NASA2-08	Rely on the Private Sector for NASA Communication With Spacecraft (3) The incorporation of commercial practices in the Transfer and Data Relay Satellite program will result in $200 million in savings.

By implementing these recommendations, NASA will save $8,720 million over five years.

National Science Foundation

NSF2-01	Devolve Support for Research Facilities (1)Phase out support for modernization of academic research facilities and devolve where universities, state and local governments, and the private sector are expected to assume these responsibilities. Savings: $1,270 million
NSF2-02	Reduce Research Projects Support (1) Reduce support for some research projects and associated user facilities through a planning process that establishes priorities in the context of NSF and federal programs in support of fundamental sciences. Savings: $260 million
NSF2-03	Continue Streamlining Administrative Operations (1) Continue internal administrative streamlining and reinventing efforts. Savings: $80 million

By implementing these recommendations, NSF will save $1,631 million over five years.

Office of Personnel Management

OPM2-01	Transform OPM Into an Agency That Supports a Private Sector Model for Training, Investigations, and Staffing Services to Agencies (3) Privatize OPM's 800-person background investigations service by creating an employee-owned corporation that will ultimately compete in the private sector. OPM has already privatized its Workforce Training Service, moving 220 people off the federal payroll while providing a seamless transition for customer agencies.
OPM2-02	Allow Agencies to Perform Personnel Management Functions on Their Own, or Procure Them From the Private Sector or From Privatized OPM Business Units (1) Working through the Interagency Advisory Group of executive branch personnel directors, OPM has made the federal personnel community a true partner in the development of personnel policy. With OPM support, the group has played a major role in the final sunset of the Federal Personnel Manual, development of human resources management reform legislation, consolidation of the classification system, and development of a career transition business plan for federal employees facing layoff.
OPM2-03	Continue OPM Leadership and Oversight Role (1) OPM has implemented a reorganization, or redesign, of the agency that has underscored its core mission as guardian of the merit system and strengthened the agency's commitment to customer service. As part of its redesign, OPM created a strong Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness to oversee merit standards across government and ensure that agency human resource management programs are consistent with the merit system principles.

By implementing these recommendations, OPM will save $30 million governmentwide over five years.

Small Business Administration

SBA2-01	Reduce the Government's Cost of Financing Small Business While Serving More Customers (3) SBA should shift the cost of its Section 7(a) and Section 504 loan guaranty programs from taxpayers to program beneficiaries-lenders and borrowers. SBA will reduce the government's cost of these loans to zero, imposing fees on lenders and borrowers and reducing the government-guaranteed portion of some loans. This proposal will allow SBA to provide more small businesses with loan guarantees with fewer federal dollars. Savings: $946 million
SBA2-02	Consolidate Field Operations by Making Greater Use of Public-Private Partnerships (1) Streamline the SBA field office structure by collocating its 10 regional offices with the local district offices and consolidating its district satellite offices. As a result, SBA will work more closely with its partners-especially private lenders-and with the Small Business Development Centers that provide business counseling. Savings: $122 million
SBA2-03	Centralize Processing to Achieve Economies of Scale and Use Current Technology (1) Consolidate loan processing in several centers around the country and continue to centralize loan servicing. Savings: $14 million
SBA2-04	Relocate More Headquarters Functions to Less Costly Field Locations (1) Move SBA financial operations and the administration of several other programs to existing field offices. Savings: $104 million
SBA2-05	Reduce the Government's Cost of Providing Surety Bond Guarantees (3) SBA will shift some of the cost of its Surety Bond Guarantee program, which provides small contractors with bonding from private surety firms, to program beneficiaries. Savings: $15 million

By impementing these recommendations, SBA will save $1,201 million over five years.

Social Security Administration

SSA2-01	Provide Payment Day Cycling for New Beneficiaries (1) Stagger payments for new beneficiaries over a number of dates throughout the month to eliminate workload spikes and allow the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide better customer service without adding staff. Current beneficiaries and all Supplemental Security Income recipients will be unaffected by this change. Savings: $233 million
SSA2-02	Improve 1-800 Telephone Service (1) SSA has compared itself with some of America's top-rated telephone customer-service companies. Based on what it has learned, SSA will make improvements in its 1-800 service to help it provide world-class service to its customers, the existing and prospective beneficiaries of the social security system. Savings: none
SSA2-03	Increase Direct Deposit/Electronic Benefit Transfer Services (3) Increase the number of recipients paid by direct deposit in three phases over four years. In the first phase, already under way, SSA presumes the use of direct deposit by all new beneficiaries who have bank accounts. This initiative includes seeking legislation that would eventually require all government payments to be issued by direct deposit. Once legislation is enacted, phase two will mandate that all beneficiaries with bank accounts use direct deposit services. The third phase, also contingent on this legislation, will require that all beneficiaries without bank accounts select one of the electronic benefits transfer services that will be available for them to receive their benefit payments. Savings: $289 million
SSA2-04	Promote "One-Stop" Benefit Application (1) Explore the development of a controlled, confidential electronic process by which employees at large companies can quickly file for retirement and/or Medicare through their company personnel office. This option would allow workers to apply for a company pension, social security, and health benefits all at one time and in one place. SSA is currently assessing the interest of companies and organizations in participating in such a process. Savings: $8 million
SSA2-05	Stop Collecting Attorney Fees (3) Stop being a collection and disbursement agency for attorneys and others whose clients appeal social security judgments. Under this proposal, SSA workers now involved in paying attorneys will instead be able to provide direct services to beneficiaries. There will be statutory limits on what claimant representatives may charge. Savings: $80 million
SSA2-06	Expand Employer Electronic Wage Reporting (3) Develop legislation to allow flexibility in developing options that would gradually increase the number of employers who file W-2 wage reports electronically. The time and effort now spent on processing and checking paperwork will be reduced, allowing SSA to focus more on better and faster service to the public. Savings: $39 million
SSA2-07	Improve the Disability Adjudication Process (1) Establish, with state participation, minimum performance standards and a period of time during which states will be required to meet these standards. Performance enhancement teams from the highest performing states should be made available as needed to provide on-site assistance to lower performing states. SSA will encourage the formation of labor-management partnerships to raise the level of the lowest performing states and narrow the gap between the highest and lowest performing states. Savings: $120 million
SSA2-08	Provide "One-Stop" Service for Aliens Applying for Social Security Cards (1) Aliens will apply for social security cards at the time they complete INS paperwork. Currently, alien applicants are required to furnish almost the same information to both SSA and INS. This one-stop service will reduce the potential for issuing social security cards based on fraudulent INS documents, and will result in efficiencies for the government. Savings: $18 million
SSA2-09	Reduce Burden Associated With Reporting Wages (1) Social security beneficiaries who work and earn more than the exempt amount must report their earnings to SSA by April 15th of each year. They are also required to report their wages to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the previous year during the same period. SSA is developing a process that will reduce the paperwork burden associated with its current annual earnings reporting operation. A reduction in overall wage reporting burden will result in better service to the public. Savings: to be determined

By implementing these recomendations, SSA will save $787 million over five years.

Department of State/U.S. Information Agency

[Recommendations to be announced in the fall of 1995.]

Department of Transportation

DOT2-01	Create a Unified Transportation Infrastructure Improvement Program (3) Highway, transit, rail, and airport capital improvement projects would be eligible for the program. Funds would be allocated by formula to states, localities, and large airports. Existing highway and aviation user charges would be the revenue sources for these programs.
DOT2-02	Capitalize State Infrastructure Banks (3) These banks would give states flexibility to leverage federal seed money in partnership with state and local governments and private businesses for infrastructure priorities.
DOT2-03	Streamline DOT's Organizational Structure (3) Consolidate DOT's 10 existing agencies into three-one for surface transportation programs, one for the Coast Guard, and one for aviation programs.

By implementing these recommendations, Transportation will save $17,874 million over five years (when compared to the baseline spending that would otherwise be required to maintain existing programs).

Department of the Treasury

TRE2-01	Implement Small Business and Simplified Tax and Wage Reporting System (1) Simplify tax compliance and payroll recordkeeping regulations, which are the most burdensome concern of businesses with 10 or fewer employees, or about 79 percent of American businesses. The initiative will eventually enable employers to file W-2 data through single returns electronically with both the federal and state governments; it also simplifies the laws, definitions, and procedures related to tax and wage reporting.
TRE2-02	Relieve Duplicate Filing Burden on Employers (1) President Clinton presided over the signing of an agreement among the heads of the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the Social Security Administration that commits those agencies to work together with state agencies to eliminate duplicate tax data filing requirements on businesses and taxpayers.
TRE2-03	Streamline Treasury Field Offices (3) Further streamline and/or consolidate field offices and improve use of space. The agency now has more than 1,700 field offices.
TRE2-04	Consolidate Administrative Functions That Yield Savings and Produce Better Service (1) Consolidate Treasury services in personnel, procurement, accounting, and budget with a goal of reducing FTEs by at least 1,500 in four years.
TRE2-05	Improve Collection of Delinquent Debt Owed the Federal Government (3) Propose legislation to improve the government's ability to recover delinquent tax and nontax debt. Revenues: $1 billion
TRE2-06	Assist in the Use of Smart Cards (1) Study the feasibility of an electronic smart card to determine an appropriate role for Treasury in this emerging field.
TRE2-07	Improve Collection Systems Under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (1) The Department of the Treasury, in cooperation with DOL, is conducting a comprehensive analysis of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) to improve the 60-year-old system. The goals of the study and subsequent implementation efforts will be to reduce the employer burden imposed by both the federal and state unemployment insurance systems and to reduce government's overall cost in administering the system. All alternatives and innovations will be considered, including consolidation, devolution, and an enhanced state role in FUTA collection. Savings: to be determined

By implementing these recommendations, Treasury will produce $1 billion in additional revenues, $400 million in cost savings, and $3 billion in reduced taxpayer burden over five years.

U.S. Agency for International Development

[Recommendations to be announced in the fall of 1995.]

Department of Veterans Affairs

DVA2-01	Reform VA Health Care Eligibility and Treatment (3) Existing laws limit the ability of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide the most appropriate care in the most appropriate setting. For example, VA doctors are presently forced to hospitalize veterans who only need such care as blood pressure treatment or crutches. The result could be an approximate 20 percent shift from inpatient to outpatient workload over two years. Savings: none
DVA2-02	Develop Pilot Programs Allowing Use of Medicare Benefits (3) A team of experts from VA, HHS, and OMB will develop a range of options to test the feasibility of allowing higher income veterans to use their Medicare benefits to obtain treatment at certain VA facilities. Savings: none
DVA2-03	Allow VA to Retain a Greater Portion of Collections From Third-Party Insurers for Treating Veterans' Nonservice-Connected Conditions (3) VA has the authority to collect from third-party insurers for the treatment of nonservice-connected conditions; however, it must return all funds in excess of the collection operating costs to the Treasury. As a result, it has little incentive to collect these funds due the government. VA should be allowed to retain 25 percent of the funds collected that exceed the budget baseline as an incentive to collect these funds. (This recommendation is related to DVA06, and revenues appear there.)
DVA2-04	Simplify Means Testing in Determining Health Care Eligibility (1) VA is required by law to assess the financial means of veterans to pay for their health care. The existing process involves a questionnaire containing 93 questions that must be completed annually or each time a veteran seeks care at a different facility. The data in this questionnaire is then verified with IRS and the Social Security Administration after the fact. This process should be changed to allow veterans to permit immediate access to their IRS information and simply affirm that they are within allowable income ranges rather than complete the complicated questionnaire. Savings: $46 million
DVA2-05	Study the Expansion of VA and Defense Department Health Care Sharing Agreements (1) VA and DOD provide direct medical care to beneficiaries through 173 VA medical centers and 132 DOD hospitals. Many have cooperative arrangements, but operate independently of each other. Both serve the military retiree population. The Secretaries of VA and DOD should study and report to the Vice President on the feasibility of greatly increasing sharing and integration of the two health care systems. Savings: to be determined
DVA2-06	Consolidate, Integrate, and Privatize Various Support Services (1) VA should improve support services through automation, consolidation, or privatization. These services should include laundry, housekeeping, food preparation, grounds maintenance, transportation, painting and drafting, canteens, VA police, construction management, third-party health insurance collections, and cemetery headstone application processing. Savings: $106 million
DVA2-07	Transfer Veterans' Education Benefits Electronically (1) Reengineer the administration of the GI Bill education program by replacing the current paper-based claims processing system with an electronic system. This will reduce costs and improve accessibility, timeliness, and quality. Savings: $21 million
DVA2-08	Study the Privatization of VA's Insurance Activities (1) VA directly administers seven insurance programs, including a mortgage life insurance program, covering 2.8 million veterans and amounting to $25.7 billion in coverage. These programs operate as a mutual life insurance company. VA should study the feasibility of privatizing these programs. Savings: none
DVA2-09	Consolidate VA Insurance Operations in St. Paul With the Philadelphia Regional Office and Insurance Center (3) VA can achieve savings by consolidating the insurance activities of its St. Paul, Minnesota, office with those of its Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, office where 86 percent of its insurance staff is currently located. Savings: $2.2 million
DVA2-10	Terminate the Manufactured (Mobile) Home Loan Guaranty Program (3) The number of veterans obtaining VA-guaranteed loans for mobile homes has dropped significantly; only 24 loans were guaranteed in 1994. Eliminating this program would save administrative costs. Eligible veterans could receive loans under other existing federal or VA programs. Savings: less than $1 million
DVA2-11	Study Current Policies for Acquiring Defaulted Properties on VA-Guaranteed Loans and Issuing VA Loans to Nonveteran Buyers on These Properties (1) VA acquires properties from mortgage lenders following foreclosure of defaulted guaranteed home loans when, following a statutory-based formula, VA determines it benefits the government. These properties are then resold to recover the government's investment, and VA provides financing. VA should study whether it would be cost-beneficial to continue doing this or to pay only the guarantee and rely on commercial lenders to provide financing. Savings: none
DVA2-12	Contract Out the Servicing and Accounting of VA's Loans Portfolio (1) Most loans in the VA portfolio are direct loans made to enable the department to sell foreclosed properties. VA has a mortgage service operation of approximately 29,000 loans with a value of $1.1 billion. VA should, like the private sector, contract out this operation to service its mortgages. Savings: $34 million

By implementing these recommendations, VA will save $209 million over five years.

Other

OTH2-01	Terminate the Interstate Commerce Commission (3) Eliminate the bulk of the Interstate Commerce Commission's activities, including most remaining motor carrier regulatory functions and some rail functions that have outlived their usefulness. The remaining activities would be transferred to the Departments of Transportation and Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. Savings: $129 million
OTH2-02	Terminate the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (3) The board's important functions will be accomplished through increased funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Its elimination would in no way compromise emergency responses to chemical accidents, subsequent investigations, or the issuance of regulations to prevent accidents. Savings: $1 million
OTH2-03	Modify U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Local Projects Role (1) Phase out the Army Corps' role on beach erosion and construction and maintenance of recreational harbors that primarily provide local benefits which are best left to state and local governments. In addition, modify the Army Corps' role in local flood projects. Savings: $960 million
OTH2-04	Mandate a State Bank Examination Fee (3) Require the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Federal Reserve to assess fees on state-chartered banks and bank holding companies, leveling the playing field among the banking regulators and eliminating an unwarranted subsidy to state banks. Banks with assets under $100 million would be exempted..

Revenues: $429 million