Office of Governmentwide Policy Returns $1.9 Million to GSA Administrator

GSA # 10419

November 13, 2007
Contact: Jen Millikin, (202) 501-1231
jennifer.millikin@gsa.gov

OGP Walking the Walk at GSA

WASHINGTON, DC – A little over a year ago, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) started to rekindle the entrepreneurial energies within the agency, encouraging employees to find better faster, and less expensive ways to accomplish our mission.  The federal employees within GSA’s Office of Governmentwide Policy (OGP) have done just that. They have found new and better ways to do things, improving responsiveness and efficiency while at the same time saving taxpayer money.    “The federal employees in OGP are proud to return a check of almost $2 million to the Administrator, representing a more than four percent savings in OGP operations.  It is my hope that the money will remain unspent and thus contribute to reducing the federal deficit,” said Kevin Messner, Acting Associate Administrator for OGP.  “The hardworking people of OGP establish policies for the entire government with an eye toward spending every taxpayer dollar wisely.  We are practicing what we preach with our own budget and have accomplished everything we planned and more.  We improved operations, as judged by others, and we still have almost $2 million left over.” Messner added.

 “I am very proud of the federal employees within OGP and pleased to begin the process of passing this contribution along to the taxpayers where it belongs.  Lots of folks in Washington talk about saving taxpayer money all the time, but more people need to actually walk the walk.  OGP's $1.9 million check may surprise a lot of people.  But not me.  I have always known that there is a huge reservoir of entrepreneurial talent and good ideas bottled up within all of our federal employees.  With encouragement and support, federal employees can be counted on to find better ways to do business, streamline needless bureaucracy, and save taxpayer money.  I thank OGP for the check, but above all else I thank them for the courage to think differently, question old assumptions and come up with better ways to accomplish the mission.  Well done.  Well done indeed.” said Lurita Doan, GSA Administrator.

During the past 18 months, GSA has become more nimble, entrepreneurial, and focused on savings to taxpayers.  Highlights include:

• Identification of over $1 billion in proposed budgetary savings.
• Elimination of several poorly performing programs what were not meeting expectations.
• Creative solutions to sharply improve existing processes, where it once took over 157 days for a small company to apply for and receive a GSA schedule, it now takes only 30.

The expired funding ($1.9 million) will retain its fiscal year identity and remain available for recording, adjusting, and liquidating obligations for five years before it can be canceled as required by law (31 USC 1552). Messner hopes that this expired funding will not be spent during the five-year period so that the federal deficit will not increase.

###

Founded in 1949, GSA serves as a centralized procurement and property management agency for the federal government.  GSA manages more than one-fourth of the government’s total procurement dollars and influences the management of $500 billion in federal assets, including 8,600 government-owned or leased buildings and 205,000 vehicles.  GSA helps preserve our past and define our future, as a steward of more than 425 historic properties, and as manager of USA.gov, the official portal to federal government information and services. GSA’s mission to provide superior workplaces, expert technology solutions, acquisition services, purchasing and eGov travel solutions and management policies, at best value, allows federal agencies to focus on their core missions.

Did You Know? The U.S. General Services Administration is the federal government's business arm with combined revenue of billions per year. If it were a private company, it would rank among the Fortune 100.