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14 ideas posted

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Department/Agency:

U.S. Department of Energy

City:

Washington, DC

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  Ideas to Make Other Parts of Government More Efficient and Effective »

  Depoliticize the Endangered Species Act

  From the New York Times -- this is appalling. Only science should direct decisions about the Endangered Species Act: Congress, in a First, Removes an Animal From the Endangered Species List Congress for the first time is directly intervening in the Endangered Species List and removing an animal from it, establishing a precedent for political influence over the list that has outraged environmental groups. A rider ...more »

  From the New York Times -- this is appalling. Only science should direct decisions about the Endangered Species Act:

  Congress, in a First, Removes an Animal From the Endangered Species List

  Congress for the first time is directly intervening in the Endangered Species List and removing an animal from it, establishing a precedent for political influence over the list that has outraged environmental groups.

  A rider to the Congressional budget measure agreed to last weekend dictates that wolves in Montana and Idaho be taken off the endangered species list and managed instead by state wildlife agencies, which is in direct opposition to a federal judge’s recent decision forbidding the Interior Department to take such an action.

  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/us/politics/13wolves.html?_r=1

  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/us/politics/13wolves.html?scp=2&sq=wolf&st=cse

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Switch to LED lighting

  Some CFLs can be dangerous to people with autoimmune diseases. LED lighting is making great progress in providing long-term efficient, affordable lighting with light colors that are pleasing to the eye. When the right LED fixture is available, switch to it.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Switch to a 2-year Budget cycle with automatic renewal

  Unless Congress decides NOT to fund a federal agency, continue it at its current level. That would save billions in all this government shutdown malarkey, and focus Congress on what it really should be doing -- setting policy priorities over how the government spends money.

  1 comment for Idea: Switch to a 2-year Budget cycle with automatic renewal

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Eliminate the Army Corps of Engineers

  Why do we need the government to design and build marine and shore infrastructure? There's plenty of private companies that can do that. States, counties and cities can select the best bids. Best of all, it would eliminate a huge source of Congressional pork.

  3 comments for Idea: Eliminate the Army Corps of Engineers

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Increasing Trade, Exports, and Overall Competitiveness »

  Dismantle DHS / Homeland Security

  The whole thing was cobbled together as a reaction to 9/11. It's never worked, it's too huge and burdensome, and it tries to force disparate cultures to work together, wasting billions of dollars. Break it down into its individual elements and mandate appropriate national security communication among them.

  3 comments for Idea: Dismantle DHS / Homeland Security

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Get rid of the name "Homeland Security"

  It sounds like Nazi Germany -- "The Motherland." Very militant, not what America is about at all. Replace with "National Security" or "Domestic Security". Other naming ideas welcome.

  1 comment for Idea: Get rid of the name "Homeland Security"

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Ideas to Make Other Parts of Government More Efficient and Effective »

  Create a 10% Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

  As we all know, GE paid no corporate taxes this year despite making billions in profits. If I, a lowly taxpayer, have to be subject to an AMT, corporations can too. It would bring in billions to reduce the national deficit. A corporate AMT of 10% seems reasonable and isn't too much to ask.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Mandate Labor-Management Partnerships

  Right now these partnerships are allowed, but our agency has blocked one since the beginning of this administration. We had a great working one until Bush 2 banned them. Mandate these partnerships so that employee and management issues can be discussed up front, to avoid problems down the line, and to foster a working relationship between employees and management.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Provide promotion opportunities for people with disabilities

  People with disabilities are usually warehoused once hired -- not considered for promotional opportunities, not mentored, not considered real employees with talents, goals, and the ability to contribute. Create a management track for people with disabilities to overcome these barriers.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Ideas to Make Other Parts of Government More Efficient and Effective »

  Limit Political Appointees to 3 per Agency

  Political appointees snarf up all the top jobs in our agency, marginalizing career federal employees' contributions and preventing us from advancing in our careers. Limit political appointees to three advisors to the Secretary or Administrator of a department. Let the professional staff do our work.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Discipline and Remove Bad Managers

  I can't tell you how many bad federal managers I've had who've skated through multiple grievances (which they lost), "gotcha" management styles, egregious incompetence and rampant employee abuse, and gone on to promotions and bonuses and a long federal career in management. Mandate management discipline, including loss of management position, bonuses and future employability as a manager until they can prove they've ...more »

  I can't tell you how many bad federal managers I've had who've skated through multiple grievances (which they lost), "gotcha" management styles, egregious incompetence and rampant employee abuse, and gone on to promotions and bonuses and a long federal career in management.

  Mandate management discipline, including loss of management position, bonuses and future employability as a manager until they can prove they've corrected all those bad traits. Mandate that every lost grievance be added to their OPF / performance record. Remove bad managers, the number one reason for waste, fraud and abuse in the federal system.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Give small offices larger training budgets

  Our small office of 24 people has about $5K/year for everybody's training. SES training alone for one person is $7K+ so nobody in our office ever gets training to advance in our careers. Mandate a pool of training money at every agency for the smaller offices, for which people can apply for fellowships, SES training and other professional advancement training. The offices with $6 bilion budgets have no problem training ...more »

  Our small office of 24 people has about $5K/year for everybody's training. SES training alone for one person is $7K+ so nobody in our office ever gets training to advance in our careers. Mandate a pool of training money at every agency for the smaller offices, for which people can apply for fellowships, SES training and other professional advancement training. The offices with $6 bilion budgets have no problem training their people, and the excellent people in the small offices are at a great professional disadvantage

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Eliminate the Alternate Minimum Tax for under $1M earners

  As it is, the AMT is hitting middle class taxpayers who are seriously hurting with the recession and widespread unemployment. Telling a middle class earner she won't get a tax credit for installing energy efficient windows or buying an energy efficient car is just plain punitive. If you make over $1M, OK, you have to pay something no matter how good your lawyers are. Otherwise, eliminate this bad tax.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Increasing Trade, Exports, and Overall Competitiveness »

  Start from scratch with the new trade organization

  When consolidating these 12 organizations, do NOT simply slap the silos together and hope everything will work out. Design the optimum agency and fit the personnel and duties to fit the goals. Make the top officials professional staff, not political appointees. Use the opportunity of the creation of a new agency to provide upward mobility career opportunities for proven professional staff from throughout the federal ...more »

  When consolidating these 12 organizations, do NOT simply slap the silos together and hope everything will work out. Design the optimum agency and fit the personnel and duties to fit the goals. Make the top officials professional staff, not political appointees. Use the opportunity of the creation of a new agency to provide upward mobility career opportunities for proven professional staff from throughout the federal government, not political appointees. Provide opportunities for qualified private sector employees to become professional career staff. Allow displaced personnel to fast track into other available jobs in the government to reduce resistance to change. Provide adequate staffing, salaries, travel, computer support, training and professional development, and promotion opportunities so that this new agency attracts the best talent. Place oversight of the new agency under ONE Senate and ONE House committee to ensure adequate review and prevent budget squabbling like we've seen over the past decade.

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  2 comments for Idea: Start from scratch with the new trade organization

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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