Government officials do not always save money for taxpayers, with programs often exceeding budgets by plenty. Government overspending is a hot-button issue, and for a good reason — the White House requested a budget of $1.522 trillion in 2022. This figure represents a sharp increase of 8.6% over the previous year’s budget, and concerns continue to grow over the exorbitant national debt. Regular citizens may feel unable to address these issues, but public officials may offer a solution and save money in the long run.

How Government Can Save Money

Politicians with lobbying power can tackle the following items that the U.S. Government Accountability Office has identified as strategies to reduce overspending.

Implement Affordable Waste Disposal

One of the most wasteful federal departments in the government is the Department of Energy. This department is a significant source of spending thanks to its chosen disposal methods for nuclear waste. Currently, officials convert the waste in glass, but they could reduce the cost by billions of dollars if they were to immobilize it in grout instead. Public officials should advocate for policy changes to facilitate more affordable waste disposal processes at nuclear plants.

Reduce Hospital Readmissions

Reducing the number of hospital readmissions from skilled nursing facilities is another way public officials can advocate for saving money. Under current Medicare guidelines, these facilities receive a financial penalty if they have too-high preventable hospital readmission rates. Increasing these penalties may further reduce the number of readmissions and help the government save money on unnecessary Medicare expenditures. Some sources estimate that this could result in savings that total hundreds of millions of dollars. More importantly, it will help to improve patient outcomes in skilled nursing facilities.

Eliminate Disability Overpayments

The Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work program allows those who receive disability benefits to find a job that does not jeopardize their benefits. It is advantageous to those who want to join the workforce without losing access to the necessary care. Unfortunately, the program has a known issue wherein participants receive too much pay. Although some of these overpayments eventually return to the payment source, it requires an enormous expenditure of resources. Eliminating overpayments could save millions of dollars and countless hours.

Minimize Improper Travel Expenses

There are many instances of inappropriate travel expenditures plaguing government budgets. Also, besides the obvious financial implications, these expenses may impact public officials liability and employment practices coverage. Public officials liability and employment practices cover government officials and politician liability. Additionally, public entity insurance is essential for any person who works in the public sector as it covers accusations of fraud and misappropriation — including instances such as improper travel expenses. Public officials who want to advocate for less spending should start by assessing their own spending habits and ensuring that they abide by the principles they wish to implement.

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