WASHINGTON – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), America’s largest taxpayer advocacy group, today reacted to a series of reports issued by the General Accounting Office (GAO) detailing management problems throughout the federal government.  The report, entitled Major Management Challenges and Program Risks, was completed at the request of congressional leaders.

The reports conclusively demonstrate that the federal government continues to suffer from chronic waste, fraud, and abuse, despite the Clinton Administration’s National Performance Review.  These problems are not limited to specific agencies or departments, but run the gambit from food safety to economic development to combating terrorism.  GAO found that federal agencies would be more efficient if they adopted management techniques commonly employed in private enterprise.

“These reports once again put the government on notice.  Bureaucracy is too big, pork is too prevalent, and waste is too widespread,” remarked Thomas Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste.  “These are not just a few isolated cases.  A culture of careless waste permeates our entire government.  It’s clearly past time for a major overhaul of how government does business.”  Schatz also noted the role of House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) in seeking improved results and performance in federal agencies.

The examples of waste and abuse highlighted by the GAO report are truly startling.  Over $1 billion dollars in food stamp overpayments were made to ineligible individuals such as prisoners and deceased individuals.  Overlap and duplication were common, such as the USDA inspecting frozen meat pizzas while FDA inspects frozen cheese pizzas.  GAO also found several cases of systematic government fraud and abuse, such as a group of DEA employees who were caught using government funds to purchase $2.7 million worth of electronic equipment for personal use.

Citizens Against Government Waste annually releases its own catalogue of recommendations for reforms which would create a leaner, more efficient government.  Prime Cuts arms citizens and legislators with a comprehensive menu of specific, rational, and achievable, recommendations for rightsizing government.  CAGW is a 600,000-member nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.