Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 4, 1993 TAG: 9303040325
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
CLINTON INITIATES HUNT FOR WASTE IN GOVERNMENT
President Clinton on Wednesday ordered a top-to-bottom search for waste in the federal bureaucracy and invited the public and government workers to offer advice for improving services."Our goal is to make the entire federal government both less expensive and more efficient," Clinton said as he announced a six-month performance review to be headed by Vice President Al Gore.
Saying that he wants to redesign the bureaucracy to be leaner and more responsive, Clinton said it was time the federal government joined in the belt-tightening that businesses have undergone in recent years.
"It isn't written anywhere that government can't be thrifty or flexible or entrepreneurial," said Clinton as he called on federal agencies to adjust to a world that values "speed and function and service, not rules and regulations."
The president released a list of toll-free telephone numbers for about 20 federal agencies and invited citizens to call with their complaints of waste, abuse, fraud or neglect. Clinton also plans to seek advice from business experts, and especially from low-ranking federal agency employees who can identify wasteful spending.
Despite a long line of ill-fated efficiency drives in past presidencies, Clinton insisted that this one "will not produce another report just to gather dust in some warehouse."
Gore, asked citizens to send their suggestions to him at the White House. "Mark your envelope `Reinventing Government,' " he said. The address of the White House is 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. 20006.
\ TELEPHONE NUMBERS\ FOR CITIZEN COMPLAINTS OF WASTE\ Agriculture 1-800-424-9121\ Commission on Civil Rights 1-800-552-6843\ Commerce 1-800-424-5197\ Defense 1-800-424-9098\ Education 1-800-647-8733\ Energy 1-800-541-1625\ Environmental Protection Agency 1-800-424-4000\ Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. 1-800-964-3342\ Federal Emergency Management Agency 1-800-323-8603\ General Services Administration 1-202-501-1780\ Health and Human Services 1-800-368-5779\ Housing and Urban Development 1-800-347-3735\ Interior 1-800-424-5081\ Justice 1-800-869-4499 Labor 1-800-347-3756\ NASA 1-800-424-9183\ Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1-800-233-3497\ Resolution Trust Corp. 1-800-833-3310\ Transportation 1-800-424-9071\ Treasury 1-800-359-3898\ Veterans Affairs 1-800-488-8244