Fail: Obama Executive Order Focuses On Obvious Spending Cuts

President Obama signed an executive order focused on having federal agencies cut spending on things no sane business would have ever allowed to happen. One of the examples cited by President Obama was Roger Rhoads cutting Commerce cell phone bills.

Roger Rhoads works at the Department of Commerce.  Raise your hand, Roger.  There’s Roger.  He found a way to save the Department almost $2 million a year on its cellphone bills.  And I’m sure that there probably is some consumers out there that would like to talk to him and find out what they can save on their cellphone bills.

What was the amazing thing Mr. Rhoads did?

Rhoads led the effort to identify and shutdown unused cell phones at Commerce. The department saved $1.8M annually by disconnecting or suspending 81 percent of the 3,200 wireless lines showing zero usage for the previous three months as well as by optimizing rate plans.

Mr. Rhoads had Commerce turn off cell phones that weren't in use. Well, 81% of them anyway. That is the amazing thing President Obama thinks consumers would like to learn.  Mr. President, consumers aren't as dumb as your administration. They would have turned off all unused cell phones long ago. It took your administration almost three years to figure this out. In the real business world, someone would be fired or demoted for wasting $1.8 million on cell phones nobody had used for months. Another example President Obama cited was Celeste Steele at the department of Homeland Security.

Celeste Steele is here.  Celeste, raise your hand.  Celeste works at the Department of Homeland Security, and she’s helping save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars by changing the way the Department buys goods and services.

Here is the revolutionary idea Celeste came up with.

...Celeste proposed that rather than using multiple smaller contracts, DHS leverage the purchasing power of the entire Department for commonly used items such as intelligence services, fleet management, and aviation parts, which will save the Department tens of millions of dollars.

Wow. If you buy things in bulk contracts instead of having each small business unit do their own purchasing, you can get better prices. Quick! Someone tell Walmart about this revolutionary idea. Oh, wait a minute.


President Obama spikes the 'obvious spending cut' football.