Obama: Agencies to cut $40B in contract waste

The Washington Times ^ | December 21, 2009 | Joseph Weber

[jazusamo]

President Obama said Monday that federal agencies will cut roughly $19 billion from government contracts this fiscal year, putting them on track to meet his goal of trimming $40 billion in fiscal 2011.

"Business as usual in Washington just wont do," he said during a White House press conference in which he also recognized a federal employee for her winning cost-cutting idea. "After years of irresponsibility, we are once again taking responsibility for every dollar we spend, the same way families do."

The administration wants to reach its $40 billion goal by improving the management and oversight of contracts and acquisitions. Officials said the agencies are on track to reach their goal by trimming 3.5 percent in contract waste in fiscal 2010, and they must repeat that in the next fiscal year -- an effort to reduce the government's trillion-dollar deficit.

The president said the amount spent on government contracting from 2002 to 2008 more than doubled, and the amount spent on no-bid, noncompetitive contracts increased by 129 percent during that period.

"This is an inexcusable waste of money," he said.

[jazusamo]

I'm all for cutting government waste but this kinda rings hollow coming from a prez that's increased spending by trillions in his first year.

[rjp2005]

What timing - they announce this as the health care trillion monster looms.

Why don’t you give Congress a pink slip, Obama? That would save far more than this silly token.

[driftdiver]

Much of what they are cutting is converting contract positions to govt employee positions. No significant savings and the added costs of managing the employees.

The only time you get a sweetheart deal with the govt is if you have a Senator in your back pocket.

He’s a liar.

[taxesareforever]

“After years of irresponsibility, we are once again taking responsibility for every dollar we spend, the same way families do.”

WOW! He must have gotten into some bad weed!

[bamahead]

Agreed. How can you tout eliminating $40B in Government waste, when you signed a bill containing $700 billion of it 10 months ago?

Answer - It works great as propaganda, and the subserviant sheep who voted for you will lap it up like milk.

[NormsRevenge]

Just a wee bit of irony, this coming from Obama, waste and all..

[DoughtyOne]

Here’s the contract waste...

1 LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION 4,847,559 2,883,348 4,608,033 12,341,236
2 BOEING COMPANY, THE INC 2,092,767 1,657,024 7,115,603 10,865,899
3 RAYTHEON + Hughes 1,115,590 1,779,191 2,763,650 5,661,161
4 GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION 757,692 290,561 2,631,567 3,679,867
5 NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORPORATION 981,396 643,428 1,063,198 2,690,742
6 UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATIO 341,366 73,632 1,567,969 1,983,147
7 TEXTRON INC 494,208 24,058 1,316,885 1,837,815
8 LITTON INDUSTRIES, INC 89,994 320,609 1,232,884 1,644,465
9 NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING INC 1,324 1,427,297 118,012 1,546,634
10 TRW INC 592,707 687,505 63,841 1,347,903
11 CARLYLE GROUP, THE 382,761 416,363 529,694 1,328,834
12 SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATI 349,446 822,306 52,148 1,223,978
13 GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY INC 152,885 122,585 885,706 1,161,392
14 HUMANA INC 0 867,453 885,706 867,453
15 GTE CORPORATION 68,252 449,216 269,065 787,073
16 ITT INDUSTRIES, INC 95,529 322,280 363,011 780,794
17 THE GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. PLC 83,430 375,842 270,007 732,057
18 ALLIEDSIGNAL INC 31,023 235,173 389,798 655,994
19 COMPUTER SCIENCES CORPORATION 194,652 435,843 16,160 646,655
20 FOUNDATION HEALTH SYSTEMS INC 0 592,990 16,160 592,990
21 CBS CORPORATION 18,265 355,959 192,945 567,485
22 DYNCORP 29,540 505,489 2,300 537,330
23 STANDARD MISSILE COMPANY, LLC 0 0 475,088 475,088
24 IT GROUP INC, THE 0 435,920 475,088 435,920
25 ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL CORPORA 62,463 179,816 192,935 435,264
26 TRIWEST HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE CO 0 419,973 192,935 419,973
27 AVONDALE INDUSTRIES INC 0 828 397,993 398,821
28 MITRE CORPORATION, THE 391,614 2,619 397,993 394,233
29 MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TEC 369,499 2,344 40 371,883
30 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED 136,233 67,525 143,465 349,120
31 ROLLS-ROYCE PLC 14,627 47,899 282,527 345,054
32 AEROSPACE CORPORATION, THE 339,055 0 282,527 339,055
33 LONGBOW LIMITED LIABILITY CORP 1,812 12,446 316,808 331,067
34 ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS INC 63,034 37,876 215,566 316,569
35 WORLDCORP, INC 0 316,215 215,566 316,215
36 HIGHMARK, INC 0 314,923 215,566 314,923
37 BOOZ ALLEN & HAMILTON INC 29,609 263,984 17,758 311,704
38 JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY INC 302,751 3,091 17,758 305,842
39 PHILIPP HOLZMANN AKTIENGESELLS 0 300,544 1,404 304,869
40 NEW ENERGY VENTURES, LLC 0 0 0 297,075
41 FDX CORPORATION 0 288,926 28 288,999
42 HALLIBURTON COMPANY (INC) 0 284,512 1,111 285,623
43 UNISYS CORPORATION 3,222 235,930 41,679 281,197
44 OCEAN SHIPHOLDINGS, INC 0 278,784 41,679 278,784
45 GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATE 14,577 12,840 237,836 265,291
46 ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS CORPOR 46 208,304 52,455 260,804
47 NASSCO HOLDINGS INC 1,266 46,946 209,438 257,650
48 SVERDRUP CORPORATION, THE 142,685 113,110 39 255,834
49 SHELL OIL COMPANY 0 0 0 254,625
50 NICHOLS RESEARCH CORPORATION 134,413 75,668 33,642 243,722

[FlingWingFlyer]

It’s going to be interesting to see what the communists consider as being “waste”.

[Cicero]

Maybe they found a couple of Republican contractors.

[jazusamo]

That’s a good list and Fat Jack Murtha is probably tied in some way to half of them.

[RC2]

Oh what the hell. He’s gotta win something. So far he’s screwed up everything he touches. In not the to distant future, with his help, we will be a muslim nation.

[Candor7]

He is likely cutting those dirty rotten defence contractors ,(necessary for the war in Afghanistan)he has been blathering about for 6 weeks.

Hell, he lied and had contractors say that the new bunker buster is not ready when it really is, not supposed to be ready for 6 more months, so Obama won’t have to make a strategic decision about Iran.

Obama is a low, no count, son of a biatch.

[DoughtyOne]

It’s a list of our top military contractors, at least that’s what I googled for, and it appeared to be on first light.

Jack probably does have his fingers in this, but more importantly, there’s one large sector Obama is going to eviscerate, for the good of the nation (as if).

[docbnj]

Cutting waste makes no sense for 0 and his advisors, because all waste is “economic stimulus” according to the Keynesian model.

So this pretense at being interested in waste is phony.

0 =ZERO!

[Gator113]

“.....we are once again taking responsibility for every dollar we spend, the same way families do.”

The arrogance of this lying a$$ is incomprehensible.

[ClearCase_guy]

You're right. The Constitution requires that the federal government do very little -- but the one area which is definitely required is the Defense of the nation. But, of course, that is the one area where the Democrats are apt to find fraud, waste, and abuse and bring out the shears, eager to trim those budgets.

And I well remember the 2008 Presidential debate where John McCain was asked where he would cut the budget. His answer: "Defense".

I don't deny that there is waste there, but there are so many other areas where the government should not be having any role at all -- but they never seem eager to cut those places.

[DoughtyOne]

IMO< you’re exactly right.

I rememeber McCain saying that too. And when Obama cut the F22 and one of our defensive anti-missile systems, he congratulated Obama openly. (steam exits through ear canal)

[jazusamo]

Good point...In essence the defense of the country shouldn’t be cut back and Zer0 is cutting way too much.

[Nachum]

The list, ping

[Ben Chad]

The funny thing is how so-called journalists keep a straight face when reporting this giberish.