The period for submitting ideas for the 2012 SAVE Award is now closed. Vote now at WhiteHouse.gov/Save-Award.
In 2009, President Obama called for “a process through which every government worker can submit their ideas for how their agency can save money and perform better.” Over the past four years, the President’s SAVE (Securing Americans’ Value and Efficiency) Award fulfilled this commitment by enabling Federal employees from across the government to submit their ideas for efficiencies and savings as part of the annual Budget process.
0 votes
I believe federal employees should be expected to use a time clock. The present system is abused as many employees are not honorable enough to post when they are late to work! The honor system is abused by these individuals. Imagine how much money could be saved if everyone was held accountable!
0 votes
Federal and or Government Employees are required to travel to meet work objectives. Most hotels in aand outside the United States accept Tax Exempt forms to be exempt from local taxes. Most of us have been issued a Government Travel Card to pay for these stays. There are times when the traveller forgets to print out the tax exempt form prior to travel and ends up paying taxes. My idea is to imprint the tax ID number ...more »
Federal and or Government Employees are required to travel to meet work objectives. Most hotels in aand outside the United States accept Tax Exempt forms to be exempt from local taxes. Most of us have been issued a Government Travel Card to pay for these stays. There are times when the traveller forgets to print out the tax exempt form prior to travel and ends up paying taxes. My idea is to imprint the tax ID number on the travel card, then, have an agreement with the Hospitality Industry to allow travellers to automatically be tax exempt without the form. There will be a cost associated with imprinting the new travel cards with the Tax ID number for each user, and a cost associated with the issuance of new cards, but the annual saving will make the changes worth while.
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0 votes
Part-time employees are receiving Full-Time health premiums instead of being prorated. My Agency alone could realize a cost savings of over $60,000.00 Annually, if corrected. This is an UNDERDEDUCTION which represents an overpayment of pay. The employing office must remit payment to OPM No Later Than 60 calendar days after it determines the amount of the underdeduction. Part-time career employee's health benefits are ...more »
Part-time employees are receiving Full-Time health premiums instead of being prorated. My Agency alone could realize a cost savings of over $60,000.00 Annually, if corrected.
This is an UNDERDEDUCTION which represents an overpayment of pay. The employing office must remit payment to OPM No Later Than 60 calendar days after it determines the amount of the underdeduction.
Part-time career employee's health benefits are supposed to be prorated based on the % of full time service as stated in the FEHB handbook.
Full time and current part time employee ACTUAL example from my Agency:
Blue Cross Blue Shield, Standard, Family 105 $612.83
Government Pays: $414.35 Employee pays $198.48
Part Time 40 hours per pay period career employee PRORATED
Government pays $207.18 instead of $414.35
OVERPAYMENT of $207.17 biweekly
207.17 X 26 Pay periods =
$5,386.00 ANNUAL Savings for one employee.
I recommend further explorations of this matter be applied to all part time employees of the United States Government who work between 32-64 hours per pay period.
The potential cost savings Government wide is unknown due to records access limitations
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0 votes
I work on an acute care psychiatric unit. The same veterans come to our facility to detox. We give them vallium and assist with detox and they return often monthly in some cases and leave again only to return after they have spent their service connected monies on drugs. Many are homeless because of their addiction. I believe there should be a limited amount of inpatient visits for substance abuse. We are supporting ...more »
I work on an acute care psychiatric unit. The same veterans come to our facility to detox. We give them vallium and assist with detox and they return often monthly in some cases and leave again only to return after they have spent their service connected monies on drugs. Many are homeless because of their addiction. I believe there should be a limited amount of inpatient visits for substance abuse. We are supporting their habit since many refuse to go to long term treatment. And some go to long term treatment and leave only to return to the emergency room once again impaired.
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1 vote
A TON OF UNUSED NOT LONGER NEEDED BINDERS GO OUT IN THE TRASH. .
WE CAN TURN THEM IN RECYCLE TO STAPLES $2 PER BINDER UP TO SEPT 15, & PUT THIS SAVING TOWARDS BUYING NEW BINDERS.
GOING GREEN
MOST LIKELY EFFECT ALL AGENCIES OF GOVT
2 votes
There are many Federal employees that receive transit benefits that drive in to work. It is a waste of money to give those employees a benefit that they are not using to commute to work. They can either choose one or the other not both.
1 vote
Requiring an appointment to file a Social Security disability, retirement or survivors application in a field office would improve efficiencies, allow for better planning and encourage electronic services. The SSA disability application process is very complicated and requiring an appointment would promote a good product and contribute to a more accurate decision. Requiring an appointment to file a claim would also ...more »
Requiring an appointment to file a Social Security disability, retirement or survivors application in a field office would improve efficiencies, allow for better planning and encourage electronic services. The SSA disability application process is very complicated and requiring an appointment would promote a good product and contribute to a more accurate decision. Requiring an appointment to file a claim would also allow an SSA representative to clearly communicate required documents and facilitate an efficent process.
SSA has an appointment system for this purpose now that is currently only available for four weeks. This should be extended to two months to allow more efficient scheduling, assist with managing workloads and encourage the public to file online.
This is a win-win scenario for both the public and SSA!
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0 votes
Less than a $25 charge, to include $0, from Travel Card account should be billed quarterly. In my experience with my government travel card account I recently received a $7 charge and a separate notice that I have $0 balance. I have to wonder if notification such as this is charged a transaction fee or notification fee reimbursed by the government. Charges of less than $25 should not be mailed, but automatically be ...more »
Less than a $25 charge, to include $0, from Travel Card account should be billed quarterly. In my experience with my government travel card account I recently received a $7 charge and a separate notice that I have $0 balance. I have to wonder if notification such as this is charged a transaction fee or notification fee reimbursed by the government. Charges of less than $25 should not be mailed, but automatically be charged to established personal credit card on file in travel account w/ email notice that "under $25 dollar charge has been charged to ... " or account amount accumulates and $25 and over charge be mailed on a quarterly basis.
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1 vote
Reduction in maintenance expenditure nationwide can be obtained by using the Airport Information management system (AIM). This system can provide a report of any screening equipment that has a recall ticket generated. There are many occasions that a maintenance ticket is generated for the same problem raising the cost of repairs for that specific screening machine. These units that have a repeating issue may need to ...more »
Reduction in maintenance expenditure nationwide can be obtained by using the Airport Information management system (AIM). This system can provide a report of any screening equipment that has a recall ticket generated. There are many occasions that a maintenance ticket is generated for the same problem raising the cost of repairs for that specific screening machine. These units that have a repeating issue may need to replaced or simply more toughly inspected to find the reoccurring issue the first time.. By reducing the additional recall tickets may be a substantial savings nationwide. Let hold our maintenance contractors more accountable .
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1 vote
When a federal retired member reaches the age of 65 Medicare by law becomes the primary health coverage. Any additional health insurance coverage such as those insurance plans under FEGHB becomes a secondary supplemental. So why is the federal government, including retired employees still paying premium cost at the Primary coverage rate! The insurance companies are making a windfall from this. Most state and municipal ...more »
When a federal retired member reaches the age of 65 Medicare by law becomes the primary health coverage. Any additional health insurance coverage such as those insurance plans under FEGHB becomes a secondary supplemental. So why is the federal government, including retired employees still paying premium cost at the Primary coverage rate! The insurance companies are making a windfall from this. Most state and municipal governments do not allow this, why should the federal government ? Cost saving of up to 40 to 70% in most cases.
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1 vote
If China cannot make a product that endangers our citizens, or is so poorly made that it is unreliable, then boycott them. Every week I receive recall notices on products and the majority are made in China. The recalls are for things our USA manufacturers are fined for producing. USA is held to a standard of excellence, China apparently can make a child's toy that could electrocute the child, is painted with lead paint ...more »
If China cannot make a product that endangers our citizens, or is so poorly made that it is unreliable, then boycott them. Every week I receive recall notices on products and the majority are made in China. The recalls are for things our USA manufacturers are fined for producing. USA is held to a standard of excellence, China apparently can make a child's toy that could electrocute the child, is painted with lead paint or contains other heavy metals that are dangerous to children's health. Bring the good jobs back to the USA and let China keep their garbage.
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1 vote
Let me spray my gloves with alcohol to decontaminate them, and use them at least twice. Yes the alcohol bill might go up a bit but we can cut the cost of new gloves almost in half.
0 votes
In our office FSA and some in RD pay the "Postage Due" on mail that is delivered to our office by the Rural Mail Carrier. Then RD sends out envelopes that are "Premetered/Stamped" for people to use to return items to their office. Not sure how many are actually used and what is not. This practice should be stopped to cut costs of operations down.
1 vote
Take the idea of the Oil pipeline and turn it into a Water pipeline for all of the US. Take water from rivers and other areas that are getting close to flood stage and pipe the water to the areas of the US that need it. There should be enough technology and understanding of how to do this effectively. Hopefully this would eliminate the millions of dollars of damage caused by floods and send the water to the drought ...more »
Take the idea of the Oil pipeline and turn it into a Water pipeline for all of the US. Take water from rivers and other areas that are getting close to flood stage and pipe the water to the areas of the US that need it. There should be enough technology and understanding of how to do this effectively. Hopefully this would eliminate the millions of dollars of damage caused by floods and send the water to the drought striken areas that need the water. This should help farmers and cattle ranchers which in turn would help the general population by not having the expense of prices going up for food products. This project should also eliminate the environmental concerns that would come using this pipeline for oil; while at the same time producing the jobs to finish the pipeline and the jobs to maintain it in each of the states (a highway of water). Farmers could have water tanks and these could be used with water diverted from the areas that do not need the water. it seems we are being negatively impacted by the loss of water more than the issue of oil. This would hopefully be a win/win for all the states and the Federal Government; look at all the billions of dollars spent by the government this year for disaster areas d/t floods, fires or drought. This would hopefully be a project that would have bipartisan agreement.
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2 votes
Several times throughout the year I receive paper fliers in my office mailbox regarding many non-work related matters (e.g. skin cancer awareness, healthier CBP announcements, Motorcycle Safety/Awareness). These fliers are printed on high quality paper and are always printed in color. My office routinely receives significantly more fliers than we have actual employees. My agency makes great use of it intranet and I ...more »
Several times throughout the year I receive paper fliers in my office mailbox regarding many non-work related matters (e.g. skin cancer awareness, healthier CBP announcements, Motorcycle Safety/Awareness). These fliers are printed on high quality paper and are always printed in color. My office routinely receives significantly more fliers than we have actual employees. My agency makes great use of it intranet and I believe this would be a good forum to post these fliers/announcements. If the entire Federal Government is printing fliers such as this, the cost savings of posting these online, and not printing, would be significant.
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1 vote
Often times clmt applies for both state and federal disability assistance, and often times both need CEs to adjudicate. Currently there is such a rodeo involved in getting a copy of the CE from the other agency that most of the time clmt is sent to exact same exam (usually even same doc). System should be updated to automatically send a copy to both agencies in a timely manner.
1 vote
Often times clmt applies for both state and federal disability assistance, and often times both need CEs to adjudicate. Currently there is such a rodeo involved in getting a copy of the CE from the other agency that most of the time clmt is sent to exact same exam (usually even same doc). System should be updated to automatically send a copy to both agencies in a timely manner.
1 vote
Often times clmt applies for both state and federal disability assistance, and often times both need CEs to adjudicate. Currently there is such a rodeo involved in getting a copy of the CE from the other agency that most of the time clmt is sent to exact same exam (usually even same doc). System should be updated to automatically send a copy to both agencies in a timely manner.
2 votes
Dear Sirs, working at TSA I have observed the immense quantities of rubber gloves being used every day and then thrown away.It is such a waste. Therefore, I suggest that special collection bins should be placed in order to collect the used rubber gloves officers use and then sell them back to the manufacturer or have them give TSA a credit for the rubber we turn back. Thus TSA would save millions of $ every year and could ...more »
Dear Sirs,
working at TSA I have observed the immense quantities of rubber gloves being used every day and then thrown away.It is such a waste.
Therefore, I suggest that special collection bins should be placed in order to collect the used rubber gloves officers use and then sell them back to the manufacturer or have them give TSA a credit for the rubber we turn back.
Thus TSA would save millions of $ every year and could reallocate the saved money towards any other activity that would improve the well being of TSA officers (water,lockers break room items etc).
I hope my idead is put into action and save the Agency millions of dollars.
Thank you.
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1 vote
When a TRICARE provider makes a referral that has to go to the outside network--be it for a lab or radiological test that cannot be done at an MTF, referrals to an outside specialist or service such as physical therapy--it should be possible to be able to refer the patient to the least expensive option if feasible. For example, if there are several centers that perform MRIs in the community, and one charges $3000 for ...more »
When a TRICARE provider makes a referral that has to go to the outside network--be it for a lab or radiological test that cannot be done at an MTF, referrals to an outside specialist or service such as physical therapy--it should be possible to be able to refer the patient to the least expensive option if feasible. For example, if there are several centers that perform MRIs in the community, and one charges $3000 for a scan while another center provides the same scan for half the cost, then TRICARE should automatically refer patients to the least expensive option.
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2 votes
Creating a government wide website for the distribution of work related trainings, news, information and other data would be an incredible asset and financially sound investment for the future of our government. USCIS alone sends hundreds of individuals to "Basic" training in Dallas, Texas. In order to do this they must get room and board, food, travel costs, and other daily expenses paid for. Moreover, the productivity ...more »
Creating a government wide website for the distribution of work related trainings, news, information and other data would be an incredible asset and financially sound investment for the future of our government. USCIS alone sends hundreds of individuals to "Basic" training in Dallas, Texas. In order to do this they must get room and board, food, travel costs, and other daily expenses paid for. Moreover, the productivity and value of their work effort at their home office is lost for a duration of eight weeks. It would be extremely advantageous to have the lectures from Dallas recorded and played over a government or agency run site which could then be viewed by these individuals from their home location. Not only would this reduce the overhead of running a basic operation, the cost of trainers and supplies but it would also increase the talent of the individauls taking positions that require basic training. Many employees shy away from positions that require these trainings because of the lack of certainty of when one is going to be sent to "basic" and for the fact that it is 8 weeks away from your home.
Creating a new system of education is something that public universities and school systems are utilizing and are something that the government should undertake as well.
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4 votes
In the day and age of technology, why in the government do we utilize so much paper? We board vessels, meaning we print a crew list of up to 5 pages with government paper utilizing government ink. We also collect fees on these vessel, but we write receipts on paper. All of this can be handled by simply utilizing a computer and the internet. Money transactions can be collected online while storing a receipt of the transaction, ...more »
In the day and age of technology, why in the government do we utilize so much paper? We board vessels, meaning we print a crew list of up to 5 pages with government paper utilizing government ink. We also collect fees on these vessel, but we write receipts on paper. All of this can be handled by simply utilizing a computer and the internet. Money transactions can be collected online while storing a receipt of the transaction, this way the customer can either save the transaction online, or print their own receipt with their own paper. Banks utilize these items every day to make multi million dollar transactions. We could save the government millions all while going green and helping the environment.
In an airport environment we use tons of paper to have someone removed who is either in or attemtp to entry our country illegally, foreign governments utilize 1 piece of paper to perform the same function. We take customs declarations on paper, when the same function can be taken orally, then we store these declarations for years. If we took these declarations orally we could not only save of paper cost, but on storage cost as well.
Most of the regulations we use today our not out dated, but with a little thought and hard work we can change or modify them to better accomodate us in this day and age.
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3 votes
This idea applies to all Military organizations in the DC area and may apply elsewhere as well, and even to other federal agencies: Flag and General Officers and Senior Executive Service (SES) civilians have access to a car service throughout the Washington DC area. These cars come to pick them up (often 30 minutes early and idle their engines while awaiting their passenger). While I understand the need to get senior ...more »
This idea applies to all Military organizations in the DC area and may apply elsewhere as well, and even to other federal agencies:
Flag and General Officers and Senior Executive Service (SES) civilians have access to a car service throughout the Washington DC area. These cars come to pick them up (often 30 minutes early and idle their engines while awaiting their passenger). While I understand the need to get senior military and civilian personnel to their meeting between the different activities and commands throughout the area, this contracted service seems excessive and wastes a lot of money, especially when you consider that these same senior military and civilians have reserved parking spaces for their private vehicles which sit around all day.
Expenses associated with the maintenance, fuel costs, repair costs, driver costs, contractor profit … far outweigh the cost associated with allowing personal use of their cars and reimbursement for actual miles traveled. .
I recommend elimination of this contracted service and require use of personal cars with reimbursement allowance for mileage (or they could even take the metro like the rest of us)
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2 votes
This idea applies to all Federal Agencies: Several states (such as Texas) allow stays in hotels to be Tax Exempt - thereby saving the organization paying for the travel the state and federal taxes while on official travel - reducing travel costs. As an example, each night I have stayed in Texas, I save NAVSEA more than $15 per night (about 12-15% of the overall cost for a nights stay). Just think of the millions that ...more »
This idea applies to all Federal Agencies:
Several states (such as Texas) allow stays in hotels to be Tax Exempt - thereby saving the organization paying for the travel the state and federal taxes while on official travel - reducing travel costs. As an example, each night I have stayed in Texas, I save NAVSEA more than $15 per night (about 12-15% of the overall cost for a nights stay). Just think of the millions that could be saved if this was expanded throughout DOD let alone all federal agencies. Encourage everyone to request tax exemption for hotel stays to help reduce travel costs.
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2 votes
This idea applies to all Federal Agencies: Several states (such as Texas) allow stays in hotels to be Tax Exempt - thereby saving the organization paying for the travel the state and federal taxes while on official travel - reducing travel costs. As an example, each night I have stayed in Texas, I save NAVSEA more than $15 per night (about 12-15% of the overall cost for a nights stay). Just think of the millions that ...more »
This idea applies to all Federal Agencies:
Several states (such as Texas) allow stays in hotels to be Tax Exempt - thereby saving the organization paying for the travel the state and federal taxes while on official travel - reducing travel costs. As an example, each night I have stayed in Texas, I save NAVSEA more than $15 per night (about 12-15% of the overall cost for a nights stay). Just think of the millions that could be saved if this was expanded throughout DOD let alone all federal agencies. Encourage everyone to request tax exemption for hotel stays to help reduce travel costs.
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