21st Century Government
Campaign
to Cut Waste

President Obama and Vice President Biden launch the Campaign to Cut Waste, which will hunt down and eliminate misspent tax dollars in every agency and department across the Federal Government.

Read the executive order

21st Century Government Latest News

  • Preventing Hunger and Protecting Taxpayers: Our Renewed Efforts to Combat SNAP Fraud

    Posted by Kevin Concannon on December 6, 2011 at 5:00 PM EDT

    Ed. Note: This has been cross-posted from the United States Department of Agriculture blog.

    In recent years, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – formerly known as food stamps – has demonstrated an exceptional record in program integrity and stewardship of taxpayer dollars.  The program currently serves as a bridge to success for over 46 million Americans who are at risk of being hungry when they face challenging economic times. More than half of those who rely on the program are children, elderly or the disabled, and many participants are newly unemployed and never thought they would be living in poverty. The program has never been more important and neither has the need to be a good steward of its dollars.  In this vein, President Obama and Vice President Biden launched the Administration’s new Campaign to Cut Waste in government spending in June to eliminate misspent tax dollars and USDA strongly supports this effort.

    Today we are reinforcing this commitment, strengthening our resolve to ensure program integrity and working on behalf of American taxpayers to protect the federal investment in SNAP and make sure the program is targeted towards those families who need it the most.   While we recognize that fraud occurs relatively infrequently in SNAP, it has great potential to undermine public confidence in government and jeopardize the ability of the program to serve the millions of struggling families who rely on benefits each month.

    Thankfully, the vast majority of SNAP recipients are honest people who spend their benefits to meet basic nutritional needs and to put food on the table. Data shows that illegal activity – such as selling benefits to others for cash – only affects roughly one cent on the dollar. Still, we cannot tolerate even the smallest abuse of taxpayer resources. That’s why we have implemented aggressive strategies to continue to improve SNAP integrity.

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  • We Can't Wait: Bringing Records Management into the Twenty-First Century

    Posted by Cass Sunstein on November 28, 2011 at 1:10 PM EDT

    Federal records are crucial to documenting the history of our national experience –the problems, the triumphs, and the challenges. They provide a prism through which future generations will view, understand, and learn from the actions of the current generation. A sensible system of records management is the backbone of open government.

    For many decades, the framework for records management has been based on an approach developed in the middle of the twentieth century, involving paper and filing cabinets. Things are of course very different today. In the digital age, when many records are made and maintained in electronic form, we have extraordinary opportunities to improve records management. New steps can save money, improve efficiency, promote openness, and increase both accuracy and transparency. They can provide great benefits to posterity.

    Today President Obama is taking a historic step -- and the most important step in many decades -- to improve the management of federal records. Delivering on a commitment in the recent Open Government Partnership: National Action Plan for the United States, he is calling for a large-scale transformation in how agencies maintain their records. In the process, he is inaugurating a government-wide effort to reform records management policies and practices. 

    Today’s Presidential Memorandum requires a number of concrete actions. The new effort calls for reports, by each agency head, describing their current plans for improving records management programs; outlining current obstacles to sound, cost-effective records management policies;and cataloging potential reforms and improvements. The agency reports will inform, and be followed, by a Records Management Directive, to be issued by the Director of OMB and the National Archivist. The Directive will focus on maintaining accountability to the American public through documenting agency actions; increasing efficiency (and thus reducing costs); and switching, where feasible, from paper-based records to electronic records. In addition, all statutes, regulations, and policies must be reviewed to improve government-wide practices in records management. In a key provision, the President has required the Director of OMB and the National Archivist to consult with those inside and outside the government – including public stakeholders interested in improving records management and open government. 

    Today’s action begins a large-scale transformation in how we maintain the backbone of open government. It promises, at once, to save money, to increase accuracy, and to contribute knowledge and perspective to future generations.

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  • Nearly 1.9 Million White House Visitor Records Released

    Posted by Matt Compton on November 25, 2011 at 3:00 PM EDT

    In September 2009, the President announced that – for the first time in history – White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in August 2011. This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to almost 1.9 million records—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.

    Ed. Note: For more information, check out Ethics.gov.

     

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  • Over 1.7 Million White House Visitor Records Released

    Posted by Nikki Sutton on October 28, 2011 at 4:29 PM EDT

    In September 2009, the President announced that – for the first time in history – White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis.  Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in July 2011.  This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to nearly 1.8 million records—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section

    Ed. Note: For more information, check out Ethics.gov.

     

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  • Nearly 1.7 Million White House Visitor Records Released

    Posted by Nikki Sutton on September 30, 2011 at 4:30 PM EDT

    In September 2009, the President announced that – for the first time in history – White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis.  Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in June 2011.  Today’s release also includes several visitor records generated prior to September 16, 2009 that were requested by members of the public in August 2011 pursuant to the White House voluntary disclosure policy.  This release brings the total number of records made public by this White House to nearly 1.7 million records—all of which can be viewed in our Disclosures section.

    Ed. Note: For more information, check out Ethics.gov.

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  • President Obama on Open Government: "The Essence of Democracy"

    Posted by Nikki Sutton on September 20, 2011 at 6:23 PM EDT

    Download Video: mp4 (582MB) | mp3 (56MB)

    This week, President Obama is in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly to meet with partners and address a range of issues with the international community, including open government.

    At the U.N. General Assembly last year, President Obama called on nations to make, "specific commitments to promote transparency, to fight corruption, to energize civic engagement, and to leverage new technologies so we can strengthen the foundations of freedom in our own countries." Today, the President outlined the progress that has already been made in response to his call to action:

    And now we see governments around the world meeting this challenge, including many represented here today.  Countries from Mexico to Turkey to Liberia have passed laws guaranteeing citizens the right to information.  From Chile to Kenya to the Philippines, civil society groups are giving citizens new tools to report corruption.  From Tanzania to Indonesia -- and as I saw firsthand during my visit to India -- rural villages are organizing and making their voices heard, and getting the public services that they need.  Governments from Brazil to South Africa are putting more information online, helping people hold public officials accountable for how they spend taxpayer dollars. 

    Here in the United States, we’ve worked to make government more open and responsive than ever before.  We’ve been promoting greater disclosure of government information, empowering citizens with new ways to participate in their democracy.  We are releasing more data in usable forms on health and safety and the environment, because information is power, and helping people make informed decisions and entrepreneurs turn data into new products, they create new jobs.  We’re also soliciting the best ideas from our people in how to make government work better.  And around the world, we’re standing up for freedom to access information, including a free and open Internet.

    Includes Video
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