Earlier this week,
the White House announced the finalists for the
President’s 2012 Securing Americans Value and Efficiency (SAVE) Award and one
of them is a Treasury employee who works as an accountant for the Internal
Revenue Service. Finalist Angela Leroux is recommending that agencies eliminate
or consolidate the bus service that shuttles employees from one government
office to another by encouraging the use of conference and video calls, or
providing metro cards to those with a need to travel for a meeting.
Since its creation in
2009, President Obama’s SAVE Award has served as
a vehicle for Federal employees to offer firsthand their ideas on how to
improve performance and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. Over the last
four years, Federal workers have submitted tens of thousands of ideas to curb
unnecessary spending – covering everything from new measures to conserve energy
use to cutting back on paper copies of publications already available online,
like the Federal Register. As Office
of Management and Budget Deputy Director Jeff Zients said, these ideas alone
won’t solve the Nation’s long-term fiscal challenges, but they are saving
hundreds of millions of dollars and represent common-sense steps to improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of government and provide a better value to the
American people.
Keeping with
tradition, this year’s winner will present his or her idea to the President in
the Oval Office, and other proposals will be directed to agencies for potential
action or inclusion in the President’s Budget. Leroux took a moment to answer
some questions about her SAVE award idea, and we strongly encourage everyone to
vote for her before public voting closes
Friday at noon ET. Voting can be done through the White House website at www.whitehouse.gov/save-award.
Five Questions for Angela Leroux, accountant at the
IRS and finalist for the President’s SAVE Award
1. What
is your idea for the President’s SAVE Award?
Some agencies maintain shuttle buses that transport
employees between buildings. For
example, [in Washington, D.C.,] there are agency buses that transport people
between the Northeast section of the city to the Main building in the
Northwest section. There are rarely more than a few people on the buses
and many times they are even empty. I recommended that they have the agencies
that maintain these shuttles consolidate their routes and reduce the number of
buses or eliminate the buses and have the employees use the metro [i.e.,
subway]. There are metro stations within an easy walk.
2. What
would you say to the President if you win?
Thank you! Thank you for giving me a voice and
allowing me the opportunity to make a difference.
3. Why
do you think your idea should win?
It’s simple, requires no capital investment, and can
be implemented now for immediate savings.
4. How
long have you worked at the IRS?
I have worked for the IRS for three years. I
have worked for the federal government for eight years.
5. Are there things you do
individually at work to help save?
I often save documents as electronic files instead of
maintaining hard copies, which helps to eliminate paper.
Anthony Reyes is the New Media Specialist at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.