DC Deficit Fixer: Print on Both Sides of Paper

$102M in painfully obvious cuts shows how outdated gov't is

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 29, 2009 10:12 AM CDT

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DC Deficit Fixer: Print on Both Sides of Paper — The Justice Department will start printing on both sides of paper. (Shutterstock)

A short while ago, President Obama called on his Cabinet to make budget cuts in their departments totaling $100 million. They came up with $102 million, but some of the cuts were so obvious one wonders why it took a presidential edict to elicit them, the Wall Street Journal notes. They show how "unbelievably outdated" the government is, adds a watchdog:

The Justice Department is printing on both sides of paper, saving an estimated $573,000 through fiscal 2010.
Homeland Security will email documents more often, instead of printing them, saving $318,000.

Homeland Security will also drop subscriptions and start getting news free online, saving $47,160.
The Forest Service will stop painting white vehicles green as soon as it gets them.
The Navy will delete unused email accounts to save $5 million.
FEMA will start reusing or selling old trailers, rather than dumping them, saving $3.8 million.

(Read more savings stories.)