VA will cut administrative budget. Cancels some conferences and substitutes video conferencing.

by Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org: 

Before the comment section at the bottom of the page fills up with the usual "I told you he was going to cut the VA's budget" overreactions, please note that President Obama has asked cabinet-level agencies to cut "administrative" budgets ... you know, the ones veterans are always complaining about.

Good idea.

The VA is starting with conferences (as you will see in the article below) ... those neat little getaways to Chicago (steak houses), Orlando (Disney) or Las Vegas (everything).  I can't remember the last time the VA held a conference at the Motel 6 in Poughkeepsie.

So, this appears to be a good start in trimming costs not directly related to veterans' care or claims adjudication.  After all, VA spent millions on video conferencing gear, they should be using it.

And, a suggested next step:  Get rid of the VISN system.  These are the 22 Veterans Integrated Service Networks ... virtual fiefdoms that only shuffle money and information from above to the hospitals and clinics.  The savings could be in the hundreds of millions if the VA returned to the system of "direct contact" with their facilities.

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Official: Obama wants agency spending cut by $100M

STEVEN R. HURST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama convened his first formal Cabinet meeting, and the White House said he would challenge department and agency chiefs to look for ways to cut $100 million out of the federal budget.

Back from his fence-mending trip to Latin America and the Caribbean, Obama planned to remind the panel that American families are having to make tough financial decisions and need to know the government is spending their money wisely, too, a senior administration official said. The official discussed Topic A for the session on grounds of anonymity because it was to be behind closed doors.

A second senior official, also speaking anonymously, said Obama would point to cuts already being proposed.

The Veterans Affairs Department has canceled or delayed 26 conferences, saving nearly $17.8 million, he noted, and will be using less expensive alternatives, like video conferencing. The Agriculture Department is working to combine 1,500 employees from seven office locations into a single facility in 2011 - saving $62 million over a 15-year lease term. And the Homeland Security Department has estimated it can save up to $52 million over five years by purchasing office supplies in bulk.

The federal deficit for March alone was $192.3 billion, and $100 million would represent about one-twentieth of 1 percent of that. Obama has brought forward a $3.6 trillion budget for the 2010 fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1, a proposal that would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade.

Earlier this month, both the House and Senate passed companion budget plans giving Obama and his Capitol Hill allies a key victory, but 20 House Democrats from GOP-leaning areas abandoned him on the final vote because of unhappiness over deficits.

The Cabinet meeting is being held just days after a series of "Tea Party" demonstrations across the country in which protesters challenged the administration over it's massive spending to help pull the country and its financial system out of an economic nose dive unseen in decades.

Obama's nominee to be health secretary, Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, still has not been confirmed by the Senate and will not be present, nor will there be a designee.

Later in the day, the president will visit CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. The White House says the president will be holding private meetings with CIA employees and delivering a public message on the agency's importance to national security.

Obama's visit to the spy agency was clearly timed to buck up officials and workers there after his authorization last week of the release of a series of memos on interrogation methods approved under President George W. Bush. In an accompanying statement, he said "it is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice, that they will not be subject to prosecution." He did not specifically address the policymakers.

In the area of budget cuts, the White House released a summary of areas where action might be taken in the next 90 days. The White House listed these other areas where cuts are foreseen:

Agriculture:

_Improper farm program payments, $16 million

_Internet rather than in-person training, $1.3 million

Education:

_Savings in allocation of computer equipment to employees, $8.7 million.

_Eliminating a position at the Paris UNESCO office, closing office, $713,000.

Homeland Security:

_Buying multipurpose office equipment, $10 million over five years.

_Consolidation of computer software license purchases, $47 million.

_Transportation and electricity savings, $3 million.

_Ending consulting contracts for creation of new seals and logos, $3 million.

Justice

_Switching asset forfeiture notices from newspapers to Internet, $6.7 million in first five years.

State:

_Converting immigrant visa processing to electronic correspondence, $1 million.

_Consolidating posts at embassies, saving USAID and Department of State, $5 million annually.

_Consolidation of contracts for communications, office supplies, furniture, medical supplies, 7 percent to 10 percent over current costs which were not given.

_Savings estimated on at tens of thousands of dollars by ending storage of excess equipment.

Transportation:

_Cost monitoring by senior officials that is saving an estimated 15 percent to 20 percent on projects put for bid under the Obama stimulus package.