President Obama Announces a New OMB Director: Jacob Lew

Jesse Lee

July 13, 2010
02:13 PM EDT

Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Jacob J. Lew, generally caled "Jack," to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget – the President’s top aide in charge of overseeing the budget for the entire Federal government. Lew, who already has outstanding experience in the position under the Clinton Administration, has been serving in the State Department under President Obama. During him time under President Clinton, 11 million jobs were created, and the federal budget was balanced for the first time since Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. An inherited $290 billion deficit was turned around, and resulted in a more than $236 billion surplus at the end of 2000.

Read more about Lew in the White House background.

President Obama Shakes Hand with Jacob Lew, His Nominee for OMB Director

President Barack Obama announces the nomination of Jack Lew to replace Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter Orszag during a statement to the press in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House July 13, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

In making the announcement, the President took ample time to commend the service of Peter Orszag, who has held the position during some of the toughest economic and fiscal times the country has seen in decades:

Remarks by the President in Selection of Jack Lew to be Director of OMB

Diplomatic Reception Room

12:18 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. Before I begin, I just want to note a breakthrough that we’ve had on our efforts to pass the most comprehensive reform of Wall Street since the Great Depression. Three Republican senators have put politics and partisanship aside to support this reform, and I'm grateful for their decision, as well as all the Democrats who’ve worked so hard to make this reform a reality -- particularly Chairman Dodd and Chairman Barney Frank.

What members of both parties realize is that we can’t allow a financial crisis like this one that we just went through to happen again. This reform will prevent that from happening. It will prevent a financial crisis like this from happening again by protecting consumers against the unfair practices of credit card companies and mortgage lenders. It will ensure that taxpayers are never again on the hook for Wall Street’s mistakes. And it will end an era of irresponsibility that led to the loss of eight million jobs and trillions of dollars of wealth. This reform is good for families; it’s good for businesses; it’s good for the entire economy. And I urge the Senate to act quickly so that I can sign it into law next week.

Now, as we finish our work on Wall Street reform, we’re also mindful that we've got significant work to do when it comes to reforming our government and reducing our deficit. As part of that work, today I am proud to announce the nomination of Jack Lew to be our nation’s next Director of Office of Management and Budget -- or OMB.

Before telling you a little bit about Jack, I just want to say a few words about the man that he will be replacing at the helm of OMB, and that’s Mr. Peter Orszag. A few weeks ago, Peter told me that after more than a year and a half of tireless, around-the-clock service in what is one of the toughest jobs around, Peter was ready to move on to a job that offers a little more sanity and fewer line items.

Putting a budget together for the entire federal government is an enormously difficult task, no matter what the state of the economy, but Peter’s job was even tougher. When we walked through the doors of the White House, we not only faced the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we also faced a $1.3 trillion deficit -- a deficit that was caused both by the recession and nearly a decade of not paying for key policies and programs.

In light of these challenges, Peter’s accomplishments as Director of OMB are even more impressive. He was instrumental in designing and helping us pass an economic plan that prevented a second depression -- a plan that is slowly but surely moving us in the right direction again. Thanks to his innovative ideas and gritty determination, we passed a health insurance reform plan that is not only paid for, but will significantly lower the cost of health care as well as our deficit over the next several decades. In fact, a recent report by independent experts say this reform will cut the deficit even more than the Congressional Budget Office first estimated.

Peter has also helped us single out more than a hundred programs for elimination that have outlived their purposes, and made hard decisions that will save tens of billions of dollars. And he helped draft a budget for next year that freezes all discretionary government spending outside of national security for three years -- something that was never enacted in the prior administration. It’s a budget that would reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, which is more than any other budget in a decade. And I expect that freeze to become a reality next year.

Peter also shares my view that the long-running debate between big government and small government misses the point; it isn’t relevant to today’s challenges. The real debate is about how we make government smarter, more effective, and more efficient in the 21st century. It’s easy for any institution to get in the habit of doing things the way they’ve always been done. We in government can’t afford that habit -- not only because it wastes taxpayer dollars, but because it erodes people’s belief that their government can actually work for them.

Over the last year and a half we’ve been able to employ new technology to make government more responsive and customer-friendly -- the same way that so many businesses have used technology to make better products and provide better services.

As a result of these efforts, today we’re creating a single electronic medical record for our men and women in uniform that will follow them from the day they enlist until the day they are laid to rest. We’re cutting down the time that it takes to get a patent approved by cutting out unnecessary paperwork and modernizing the process. We’re working to give people the chance to go online and book an appointment at the Social Security office or check the status of their citizenship application. We’re cutting waste by getting rid of federal office space that hasn’t been used in years. We’re closing the IT gap in the federal government, and have created mobile apps that provide nutrition information for your favorite foods or wait times at the airport. And the examples go on and on.

Now, inertia is a powerful thing. Constituencies grow around every agency and department with a vested interest in doing things the same way. And that’s why we have to keep on challenging every aspect of government to rethink its core mission -- to make sure we’re pursuing that mission as effectively and efficiently as possible, and to ask if that mission is better achieved by partnering with the civic, faith, and private sector communities.

This is a mission that requires some special leadership. And Jack Lew is somebody who has proven himself already equal to this extraordinary task.

You know, if there was a fall -- if there was a Hall of Fame for budget directors, then Jack Lew surely would have earned a place for his service in that role under President Clinton, when he helped balance the federal budget after years of deficits. When Jack left that post at the end of the Clinton administration, he handed the next administration a record $236 billion budget surplus. The day I took office, eight years later, America faced a record $1.3 trillion deficit.

Jack’s challenge over the next few years is to use his extraordinary skill and experience to cut down that deficit and put our nation back on a fiscally responsible path. And I have the utmost faith in his ability to achieve this goal as a central member of our economic team.

Jack is the only budget director in history to preside over a budget surplus for three consecutive years. When Jack was deputy director at OMB, he was part of the team that reached a bipartisan agreement to balance the budget for the first time in decades. He was a principal domestic policy advisor to Tip O’Neill, and worked with him on the bipartisan agreement to reform Social Security in the 1980s.

He was executive vice president at New York University, where he oversaw budget and finances. And for the past year and a half, he’s been successful in overseeing the State Department’s extremely complex and challenging budget as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. I was actually worried that Hillary would not let him go. I had to trade a number of number-one draft picks -- (laughter) -- to get Jack back at OMB.

But I am grateful that Hillary agreed to have Jack leave, and I'm even more thrilled that Jack agreed to take on this challenge at this moment. Jack is going to be an outstanding OMB director. We know it because he’s been one before. At a time when so many families are tightening their belts, he’s going to make sure that the government continues to tighten its own. He’s going to do this while making government more efficient, more responsive to the people it serves.

And, Jack, I am looking forward to working with you on your critical mission. Thank you so much. And thanks to Jack’s family, who has been putting up with him in multiple, very difficult jobs over and over again. We appreciate his service to our country and we appreciate yours as well.

Thank you, everybody.

END
12:26 P.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

July 13, 2010

President Obama Announces His Intent to Nominate Jacob Lew as OMB Director

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Jacob J. Lew to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

President Obama said, “The experience and good judgment Jack has acquired throughout his impressive career in the public and private sector will be an extraordinary asset to this administration’s efforts to cut down the deficit and put our nation back on a fiscally responsible path. As the budget director who left the next administration a $237 billion surplus when he worked for President Clinton, I have no doubt that Jack has proven himself equal to this extraordinary task. I am grateful he has agreed to serve in this critical role, and I look forward to working with him in the weeks and months ahead.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual to a key administration post:

Jacob Lew, Nominee for Director, Office of Management and Budget
Mr. Jack Lew is Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, serving as Chief Operating Officer of the Department. Appointed by President Obama, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 28, 2009, and sworn in by Secretary Clinton the next day.

Mr. Lew was managing director and chief operating officer of Citi Alternative Investments (CAI) until January 2009. At CAI, he was responsible for operations, technology, finance, human resources, legal and regional coordination. Prior to joining CAI in January 2008, he was managing director and chief operating officer of Citi Global Wealth Management.

From 2001 to 2006, Mr. Lew was executive vice president and chief operating officer of New York University, where he was responsible for budget, finance, and operations. He was also a professor of public administration.

Mr. Lew served in President Clinton’s cabinet as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). From 1998 to 2001, he led the Administration budget team and served as a member of the National Security Council. During his tenure at OMB, the U.S. budget operated at a surplus for three consecutive years. Earlier, Mr. Lew served as OMB’s Deputy Director and was a member of the negotiating team that reached a bi-partisan agreement to balance the budget. As Special Assistant to President Clinton from 1993 to 1994, Mr. Lew helped design Americorps, the national service program.

From 1988 to 1993, Mr. Lew was a partner at the Washington law firm Van Ness, Feldman, specializing in issues related to power plant development.

Mr. Lew began his career in Washington in 1973 as a legislative aide. From 1979 to 1987, he was a principal domestic policy advisor to House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr, where he served at the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee as Assistant Director and then Executive Director. There he was responsible for domestic and economic issues including Social Security, Medicare, budget, tax, trade, appropriations, and energy issues

From 2004 through 2008, Mr. Lew served on the Corporation for National and Community Service Board and chaired its Management, Administration, and Governance Committee. Prior to assuming his current position, he co-chaired the Advisory Board for City Year New York and was on the boards of the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Brookings Institution Hamilton Project and the Tobin Project. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Academy of Social Insurance and of the bar in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Lew received his A.B. degree magna cum laude from Harvard and his J.D. degree from Georgetown University.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

July 12, 2010

Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives

TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 12, 2010

Dear Madam Speaker:

I ask the Congress to consider the enclosed amendments to Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 proposals in my FY 2011 Budget for the Department of Commerce.

Included are amendments that would support efforts to reduce backlogs in processing patent applications by spurring innovation and reforming U.S. Patent and Trademark Office operations to make them more effective and assure the continuation of efforts to administer and oversee grants awarded under the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program. The amounts requested for these amendments would be fully offset by a proposed cancellation of FY 2010 unobligated balances from within the Department of Commerce's Census Bureau. The proposed budget authority totals for FY 2010 in my FY 2011 Budget would not be affected by these amendments.

The details of this request are set forth in the enclosed letter from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Sincerely,
BARACK OBAMA

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 30, 2010

Declaraciones del Presidente Sobre la Aprobación de la Reforma Financiera

El voto hoy por la Cámara de Representantes a favor de la reforma de Wall Street hace que estemos a punto de aprobar una ley que les dará a los consumidores mayor protección y salvaguardará la economía de crisis económicas futuras. Ha sido una larga lucha contra los defensores del estatus quo en Wall Street, pero el voto de hoy es una victoria para todo estadounidense que se ha visto afectado por la imprudencia e irresponsabilidad que llevó a la pérdida de millones de empleos y billones en riqueza.

Quiero darles las gracias a los presidentes de comité Dodd y Frank por su incansable dedicación a la aprobación de la reforma de mayor envergadura desde la Gran Depresión.

Pondrá en vigor las más estrictas medidas de la historia de protección financiera al consumidor, al reducir los abusos de los bancos y empresas hipotecarias y de tarjeta de crédito, y les dará a sus clientes la información que necesitan para tomar decisiones financieras responsables. Hará que nuestro sistema financiero sea más transparente, para que las complejas transacciones que evadían escrutinio en el pasado se realicen ahora a la vista de todos. Y pondrá fin a la idea de que cualquier firma financiera es demasiado grande para permitir que fracase y, por lo tanto, tiene derecho a que los contribuyentes la rescaten.

La ley también pondrá en vigor la norma Volcker para que los bancos no arriesguen los ahorros de millones de estadounidenses.

El futuro económico de Estados Unidos depende de un sector financiero próspero que aporte el capital que las familias requieren para atender sus necesidades y las empresas deben tener para expandirse y contratar. Pero como hemos visto, también debe operar dentro de un marco sensato de normas y reglamentaciones, adecuadas para hacer que las instituciones financieras rindan cuentas por sus actos. La ley integral que la Cámara de Representantes aprobó hoy logra dicho objetivo, y espero con interés que el Senado la apruebe para poder promulgarla.

Cutting Waste by Reforming IT

Posted by Peter Orszag on June 28, 2010 at 11:22 AM EDT

Cross-posted from the OMB blog.

As I’ve written before, one source of ineffective and inefficient government is the technology gap between the public and private sectors.

While a productivity boom has transformed private sector performance over the past two decades, the federal government has almost entirely missed this transformation and now lags far behind on efficiency and service quality. We are wasting billions of dollars a year, and more importantly are missing out on the huge productively improvements other sectors have benefited from.

Quite simply, we can’t significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal government without fixing IT.

That’s why today, in our ongoing effort to make sure that taxpayers’ dollars are spent on projects that work, we are taking three specific actions to advance IT reform.

See more about Fiscal Responsibility, , Technology

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 26, 2010

Mensaje Semanal: Presidente Obama Insta al Congreso a Concluir su Labor sobre la Ley de Reforma de Wall Street

WASHINGTON – En el mensaje de esta semana, el Presidente Barack Obama le pide al Congreso que apruebe la histórica reforma de Wall Street que pondrá en vigor las reformas financieras más estrictas desde la Gran Depresión. La Ley de Reforma de Wall Street, que refleja 90 por ciento de lo que el Presidente propuso originalmente, incluye las más firmes medidas de protección financiera para el consumidor en la historia, y una agencia independiente que verifique su cumplimiento. Se asegura que el mercado de derivativos, que ayudaron a desencadenar la crisis, salga a la luz, y establece la “Norma Volcker”, según la cual los bancos protegidos por la red de protección de la FDIC no pueden ser partícipes de tratos arriesgados. Y esta ley crea una facultad de resolución para cerrar las firmas cuyo colapso podría amenazar todo nuestro sistema financiero. La reforma de Wall Street acabará con los rescates financieros y se asegurará de que el ciudadano promedio nunca más vuelva a cargar con la responsabilidad de los errores de Wall Street.

El video puede verse por Internet en www.whitehouse.gov.

Declaraciones del Presidente Barack Obama
Sábado, 26 de junio, 2010
Mensaje semanal
Washington, DC

Este fin de semana estoy viajando a Toronto para reunirme con miembros del G20. Allá, espero que continuemos el progreso que logramos en las cumbres del G20 el año pasado, coordinando nuestros esfuerzos de reforma financiera mundial para asegurarnos de que la crisis de la que todavía nos estamos recuperando jamás se vuelva a repetir. Hemos hecho grandes avances hacia la aprobación de dicha reforma aquí en nuestro país. En estos momentos, estamos a punto de poner en vigor las más estrictas reformas financieras desde la Gran Depresión.

No tengo que decirles por qué estas reformas son tan importantes. Todavía estamos recuperándonos de una crisis económica que pasó principalmente porque no había una supervisión suficientemente firme de Wall Street. No podemos construir una economía sólida en Estados Unidos a largo plazo sin ponerle fin a este status quo, y sentar nuevas bases para el crecimiento y la prosperidad.

Las reformas de Wall Street que en estos momentos están siendo consideradas en el Congreso nos ayudarán a hacer precisamente eso, reformas que representan 90% de lo que propuse cuando iniciamos esta lucha. Vamos a poner en vigor las más sólidas medidas de protección financiera al consumidor en la historia de Estados Unidos, y crearemos una agencia independiente con un director independiente y un presupuesto independiente para verificar su cumplimiento.

Las compañías de tarjetas de crédito ya no podrán engañarlos con páginas de páginas de letra menuda. Ya no podrán imponerles todo tipo de cuotas y multas escondidas ni utilizar prácticas de prestamistas inescrupulosos para aprovecharse de ustedes.

En vez, nos aseguraremos de que las compañías de tarjetas de crédito y las instituciones hipotecarias cumplan con las normas. Y ustedes tendrán más control con formularios fáciles de comprender y la información concisa y clara que necesitan para tomar las decisiones financieras más adecuadas para ustedes y su familia.

La reforma de Wall Street también le dará solidez a nuestra economía de muchas otras maneras. Haremos que nuestro sistema financiero sea más transparente, y los tipos de tratos complejos que ayudaron a desencadenar esta crisis, como los tratos en el mercado de derivativos que asciende a $600 billones, finalmente saldrán a la luz.

Promulgaremos la Norma Volcker para asegurarnos de que los bancos protegidos por la red de seguridad de la FDIC no puedan ser partícipes de tratos arriesgados para su propio beneficio. Y crearemos lo que se denomina la facultad de resolución para ayudar a cerrar las firmas cuyo colapso podría amenazar todo nuestro sistema financiero. En pocas palabras, ya no habrá más rescates financieros financiados con dinero de los contribuyentes, y nos aseguraremos de que el ciudadano promedio nunca más vuelva a cargar con la responsabilidad de los errores de Wall Street

Además de estas reformas, también necesitamos encargarnos de otra tarea inconclusa. Tenemos que imponerles una cuota a los bancos que fueron los mayores beneficiarios de la ayuda de los contribuyentes en lo peor de nuestra crisis financiera, para poder recuperar cada centavo del dinero de los contribuyentes.

Llegar hasta aquí en la reforma de Wall Street no ha sido fácil. Hubo quienes lucharon con uñas y dientes para preservar el status quo. En meses recientes han gastado millones de dólares y contratado a un ejército de cabilderos para impedir la reforma a toda costa.

Pero como nos rehusamos a retroceder, y seguimos luchando, ahora estamos a punto de lograr la victoria. Insto al Congreso a que nos lleve a la meta final y que envíe a mi despacho un proyecto de ley de reforma que pueda promulgar, para que podamos darle el control a la gente con medidas de protección al consumidor y ayudar a que nunca más vuelva a ocurrir una crisis financiera como ésta.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 25, 2010

Declaraciones del Presidente sobre la reforma de Wall Street

Jardín Sur

8:52 A.M. EDT

     EL PRESIDENTE: Buenos días a todos. En unos cuantos momentos partiré para Canadá para participar en una cumbre con los países del G8 y el G20. Ésta es la tercera cumbre del G20 que hemos tenido desde que asumí la presidencia.
     En nuestra primera reunión en Londres, cuando azotaba al mundo la peor crisis financiera de nuestros tiempos, actuamos audaz y rápidamente para sacar a nuestra economía del borde del abismo. En nuestra segunda reunión en Pittsburgh, al inicio de nuestra recuperación, acordamos seguir un patrón equilibrado de crecimiento mundial y solucionar los problemas de nuestros sistemas financieros.
     Este fin de semana en Toronto, espero que podamos continuar dicho progreso al coordinar nuestros esfuerzos por promover el crecimiento económico, dedicarnos a las reformas financieras y darle mayor solidez a la economía mundial.
     Es necesario que actuemos de manera concertada por una razón simple: Esta crisis probó y los sucesos continúan confirmando que nuestras economías nacionales están inextricablemente vinculadas. Y así como los problemas económicos en un lugar pueden diseminarse a otro, las medidas de protección en cada uno de nuestros países pueden ayudar a proteger a todos los países.
     Me satisface que hayamos alcanzado grandes logros hacia la promulgación de estas medidas aquí en nuestro país. Debido al trabajo sumamente arduo de los presidentes de comité Dodd y Frank, y el firme liderazgo de los presidentes de comité Lincoln y Peterson, y los grandes esfuerzos de los congresistas dirimentes y miembros de ambos partidos, quienes trabajaron anoche hasta muy tarde, estamos listos para aprobar la más estricta reforma financiera desde las que se dieron tras la Gran depresión. Temprano esta mañana, la Cámara de Representantes y el Senado llegaron a un acuerdo sobre un conjunto de reformas de Wall Street que representan 90 por ciento de lo que propuse cuando emprendí esta lucha.
     Ahora bien, permítanme ser claro. Nuestro crecimiento económico y prosperidad dependen de un sector financiero sólido y robusto, y continuaré haciendo lo posible para promover y apoyar un sector privado dinámico. Pero todos hemos visto lo que sucede cuando hay supervisión inadecuada e insuficiente transparencia en Wall Street.
     Las reformas que se están considerando en el Congreso harán que Wall Street rinda cuentas por sus actos de manera que podamos ayudar a evitar otra crisis financiera como ésta de la que aún nos estamos recuperando.
     Pondremos en vigor las más estrictas medidas de protección de nuestra historia y crearemos una agencia independiente para velar por su cumplimiento. Con esta agencia, combinaremos bajo un solo techo funciones de protección del consumidor que actualmente están divididas entre media docena de agencias distintas. Ahora habrá una sola agencia cuya exclusiva labor será velar por ustedes.
     Las compañías de tarjetas de crédito ya no podrán engañarlos con páginas y páginas de letra menuda. Ya no podrán ser afectados por todo tipo de cuotas y multas escondidas o las prácticas de prestamistas inescrupulosos que se aprovechan de las personas.
     En cambio, nos aseguraremos de que las instituciones hipotecarias y compañías de tarjetas de crédito cumplan con las normas. Tendrán ustedes más control con formularios fáciles de comprender para que sepan qué están aceptando. Y tendrán la información clara y concisa que necesitan para tomar las decisiones financieras más adecuadas para ustedes y su familia.
     La reforma de Wall Street también le dará solidez a nuestra economía de muchas otras maneras. Haremos que nuestro sistema financiero sea más transparente al sacar a la luz los tipos de tratos complejos que ayudaron a desencadenar esta crisis, como los tratos en el mercado de derivativos que asciende a $600 billones.
     Promulgaremos la Norma Volcker para asegurarnos de que los bancos protegidos por la red de seguridad de la FDIC no puedan ser partícipes de tratos arriesgados para su propio beneficio. Y crearemos lo que se denomina la facultad de resolución para ayudar a cerrar las firmas cuyo colapso podría amenazar todo nuestro sistema financiero. Ya no tendremos empresas "que no pueden quebrar porque son demasiado grandes".
     En los últimos 17 meses, hemos aprobado una Ley de Recuperación económica, reforma del seguro médico, reforma de la educación, y ahora estamos a punto de aprobar la reforma de Wall Street. Y en la cumbre del G20 este fin de semana, trabajaré con otros países no sólo para coordinar nuestros esfuerzos para la reforma financiera, sino para promover el crecimiento económico mundial a la vez que nos aseguramos de que cada país pueda seguir un camino que sus propias finanzas puedan hacer sostenible.
     En su calidad de principal foro para la cooperación económica internacional, el G20 es el lugar adecuado para tratar dichos temas. Y en los últimos [sic] días, espero que podamos aumentar los logros alcanzados en el pasado y darle solidez a la economía mundial durante mucho tiempo.
     Muchas gracias a todos.
     P    ¿ Puede lograr que el Senado apruebe la medida?
     EL PRESIDENTE: Por supuesto.

FIN 8:57 A.M. EDT

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 18, 2010

Presidential Memorandum--Enhancing Payment Accuracy Through a "Do Not Pay List"

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Enhancing Payment Accuracy Through a "Do Not Pay List"

My Administration is committed to eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal programs, including reducing and recapturing erroneous payments a commitment I reinforced in Executive Order 13520 of November 20, 2009, and in a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies (agencies) of March 10, 2010. While identifying and recapturing improper payments is important, prevention of payment errors before they occur should be the first priority in protecting taxpayer resources from waste, fraud, and abuse. In those cases where data available to agencies clearly shows that a potential recipient of a Federal payment is ineligible for it, subsequent payment to that recipient is unacceptable. We must ensure that such payments are not made.

Agencies maintain many databases containing information on a recipient's eligibility to receive Federal benefits payments or Federal awards, such as grants and contracts. By checking these databases before making payments or awards, agencies can identify ineligible recipients and prevent certain improper payments from being made in the first place.

Therefore, I hereby direct agencies to review current pre payment and pre-award procedures and ensure that a thorough review of available databases with relevant information on eligibility occurs before the release of any Federal funds, to the extent permitted by law. At a minimum, agencies shall, before payment and award, check the following existing databases (where applicable and permitted by law) to verify eligibility: the Social Security Administration's Death Master File, the General Services Administration's Excluded Parties List System, the Department of the Treasury's Debt Check Database, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Credit Alert System or Credit Alert Interactive Voice Response System, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General's List of Excluded Individuals/Entities. This network of databases, and additional databases so designated by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in consultation with agencies, shall be collectively known as the "Do Not Pay List." This memorandum requires agencies to review these databases with the recognition that there may be circumstances when the law nevertheless requires a payment or award to be made to a recipient listed in them. My Administration began coordination of the databases discussed in this memorandum in April 2010 by launching the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), which integrates various sources of information on the eligibility of Government contractors for award. No later than 120 days of the date of this memorandum, the Director of the OMB shall provide to the President a plan for completing integration for the remaining databases, to the extent permitted by law, so that agencies can access them through a single entry point.

Each agency shall, within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, submit to the OMB a plan that includes information on its current pre payment and pre-award procedures and a list of databases that the agency checks pursuant to those procedures. Within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, the Director of the OMB shall issue guidance, to be developed in consultation with affected agencies and taking into account current agency pre-payment and pre-award practices, on actions agencies must take to carry out this memorandum's requirements. This guidance shall clarify that the head of each agency is responsible for ensuring an efficient and accurate process for determining whether the information provided on the "Do Not Pay List" is sufficient to stop a payment, consistent with applicable laws and regulations, and, if so, whether a payment should be stopped under the circumstances. In addition, this guidance shall identify best practices and databases that agencies should utilize to conduct pre-payment checks to ensure that only eligible recipients receive Government benefits or payments.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

The Director of the OMB is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Streamlining and Modernizing Government

Dan Pfeiffer

June 10, 2010
05:23 PM EDT

One of the little-noticed efforts of the past 16 months has been what President Obama and his team have done to change how Washington does business – bringing a new sense of responsibility for taxpayer dollars by eliminating what doesn’t work, cracking down on waste, and making government more transparent and responsive to the American people.

Since before he came to the Senate, the President believed that for too long the government has allowed ineffective programs to accumulate, duplicate, and ultimately undermine the purposes for which they were created in the first place. Indeed, driving this initiative is not the dollars it may produce to reduce the deficit, but a deeply-held belief that it is the obligation of government not to waste taxpayer money regardless of whether the budget is in surplus or deficit.

With this in mind, the Administration has been developing a wide array of efforts over the past year to cut waste, streamline how government works, and make the federal government more responsive to the American people. And this week, we rolled out a group of them.

On Monday, we announced our intention to create a new incentive for agencies to save on administrative expenses by allowing them to keep half of any savings they identify with the other half going to deficit reduction. The Pentagon already has a similar authority which is assisting Secretary Gates in his efforts to cut waste in the Defense Department, and this would add to that and apply to all agencies.

On Tuesday, we put out budget guidance for the 2012 fiscal year which reasserted the President’s commitment to the non-security discretionary budget freeze. In addition, Budget Director Peter Orszag and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel sent a memo to all agencies asking them to identify their bottom-performing 5 percent of programs.

Also, that day, Director Orszag laid out how the Administration plans to use information technology to save money and make government services as convenient and cost-effective as all the online and mobile services we use in our daily lives. And the President directed the Department of Health and Human Services to cut the Medicare payment error rate in half over the next three years.

And just today, the President issued a memo to all agency heads directing them to take steps to better use and get rid of excess real estate holdings – from warehouses to office buildings and shacks on the Appalachian trail. And the US Department of Agriculture announced a reform of the crop insurance program which, over the next decade, will produce $4 billion for deficit reduction and $2 billion for high-priority farm programs.

All these moves build on efforts we have already taken including: identifying approximately $20 billion in terminations, reductions, and savings in each budget we have proposed; asking Congress for a new expedited rescissions authority to give us a new tool to stop wasteful and unnecessary spending; signing into law statutory pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) legislation; charging federal departments and agencies with saving $40 billion annually in contracting by Fiscal Year 2011 (a goal we are well on the way to meeting); and going after $100 billion in improper payments that go out from the federal government each year.

In the weeks to come, look for more efforts to save money and modernize government that we’ll be announcing because creating a government that is effective and efficient, open and responsive is a continuing commitment of this Administration.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director