Obama Pledges to Cut Wasteful Spending, Be Accountable

Speech outlines plans to save money

When President Barack Obama announced his budgets for the remainder 2009 and 2010, he promised he would cut wasteful spending inherent in the previous budgets.

Today he gave a speech focusing on the specifics of those cuts. He also promised the government will be “more efficient, more accountable and more responsible.”

Contract spending reform

Obama says government auditors have said there was $295 billion in wasteful spending on defense-related contracts last year. To eliminate this waste, Obama has ordered “dramatic” reform in the way contracts are awarded.

“We are spending money on things we don’t need and we are paying more than we need to pay,” Obama said.

Obama promises better discretion

In his speech, Obama emphasized that his budgets drastically cut non-defense discretionary spending as well.

According to a fact sheet the White House released:

“The President today signed a Presidential Memorandum that reforms how the government does business and that will save taxpayers billions of dollars each year.”

Details on contract spending reform

The Presidential Memorandum addresses outsourcing and awarding no-bid and cost-plus contracts. It also vows to “end the long delays and extra costs common to defense contracting.” The government won’t hand over cash advances to contractors without rigorous scrutiny.

Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Carl Levin designed the new goals for reforming the way the government secures contracts for defense. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Obama Pledges to Cut Wasteful Spending, Be Accountable"