‘Streamlining’ Saved U.S. $47 Billion, Clinton Asserts

A year into the government reorganization effort, Americans are seeing the benefits, President Clinton said Wednesday.

Clinton, in a White House ceremony, praised the streamlining effort headed by Vice President Al Gore, saying it had saved the government $47 billion in its first year.

Clinton said savings achieved through the program will pay for his crime bill.

A status report Gore presented to the President said the savings were achieved primarily through the elimination of 71,000 jobs.

In the report, the Administration pointed out what it said were achievements during the last year in slimming down the federal bureaucracy, simplifying purchasing and saving money.

Gore’s National Performance Review last year made 384 recommendations it said would save the government $108 billion over five years.

“The President and Congress have enacted legislation to cut the deficit in half, eliminate wasteful programs and shrink the federal work force to its lowest level since John F. Kennedy was President,” it says. “Across government, agencies and employees have found creative new ways to save money and operate more efficiently.”

As of Sept. 1, Congress had enacted $47 billion of the projected savings, the report said, and an additional $16 billion in estimated savings were pending in congressional conference committees.

Much of the saving was realized through a reduction in the federal payroll, obtained primarily through worker buyouts.

Clinton said Congress has also enacted more than 20 recommended pieces of legislation to save money and improve services. Clinton said the General Services Administration saved about $1.2 billion last year by reviewing construction projects and stopping the construction of government buildings that were not needed.