ENSURING EFFICIENCY IN GOVERNMENT COSTS AND CONTRACTS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order Implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cost efficiency initiative.
- The Executive Order will use modern technology to transform Federal spending on contracts and grants by subjecting it to rigorous standards.
- Agencies must immediately review all contracts and grants for waste, fraud, and abuse.
- Government payments and travel expenses must be justified and made publicly available where possible.
- Agency heads will work with the DOGE team leads employed by their agencies to review and terminate all unnecessary contracts.
- The Order will reform the way the Federal government manages its real property.
- The General Services Administration (GSA) will submit a plan for disposing of unnecessary government-owned or leased real property.
BRINGING DISCIPLINE TO A WASTEFUL SYSTEM: The existing system fails to safeguard taxpayer dollars or promote merit among contractors and grant recipients.
- The federal government expends large sums on contracts and grants.
- In fiscal year 2023, the federal government committed about $759 billion on contracts. This flood of spending historically had minimal safeguards.
- In the Biden Administration, GSA directed its efforts to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) rather than merit and efficiency.
BUILDING ON PAST SUCCESS: President Trump has made cutting federal expenditures and promoting governmental efficiency a priority in his second term.
- In his first term, President Trump spurred economic growth through significant regulatory reform.
- The Executive Order’s program for reforming contracting and grantmaking is a natural extension of these efforts to improve government for the American people it serves.