Community Member

Member since 2 years ago

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7 ideas posted

3 comments 6 votes

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Department/Agency:

Department of Justice

City:

Washington, DC

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• Government Reform for Competition and Innovation Ideas

Ideas contributed by Community Member

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  Increasing Trade, Exports, and Overall Competitiveness »

  Allow congestion pricing to reduce traffic and pollution

  Across the country, there is increasing congestion on the interstate highways. For any business that relies on trucks to receive supplies or ship goods, delays in transit are an added expense. Commuters and drivers also lose large amounts of productive time. On most interstate highways, federal law prohibits the states from charging tolls. States should be able to charge tolls to reduce congestion. By reducing costs ...more »

  Across the country, there is increasing congestion on the interstate highways. For any business that relies on trucks to receive supplies or ship goods, delays in transit are an added expense. Commuters and drivers also lose large amounts of productive time. On most interstate highways, federal law prohibits the states from charging tolls. States should be able to charge tolls to reduce congestion.

  By reducing costs and delays for all kinds of businesses, this proposal would make the United States more competitive. This proposal would also benefit the environment. Without spending any federal money, it would encourage the use of carpooling and transit. It also would lessen the need to destroy more woods and farmland for roads. Finally, it would reduce the large amounts of pollution created when trucks and cars are stuck in slow-moving traffic for long periods.

  One last benefit would be to state governments, for whom it would be a source of revenue. The states would need to implement this proposal in a way that did not discriminate against out-of-state vehicles.

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  3 comments for Idea: Allow congestion pricing to reduce traffic and pollution

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

• I agree

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  7 votes

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  Increasing Trade, Exports, and Overall Competitiveness »

  Save energy by having extra hour of daylight savings

  The change to a longer season of daylight savings has accomplished its goal of reducing energy usage, as people are now up and about during more daylight hours and use fewer lights. It has also contributed to highway safety by having daylight at a time when more people drive. We can take this change to the next level during the months of the year with the most daylight (May, June, and July) by having an extra hour of ...more »

  The change to a longer season of daylight savings has accomplished its goal of reducing energy usage, as people are now up and about during more daylight hours and use fewer lights. It has also contributed to highway safety by having daylight at a time when more people drive. We can take this change to the next level during the months of the year with the most daylight (May, June, and July) by having an extra hour of daylight savings during those months. This is about as painless a "green measure" as there is to reduce energy costs and dependence on imported oil. It would also increase the daylight hours during which people can engage in healthy outside activities. Congress could implement this as a pilot program and then consider the results after two or three years.

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  3 comments for Idea: Save energy by having extra hour of daylight savings

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

• I agree

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  5 votes

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

  Reduce travel costs by requiring use of certain hotels

  On any given weeknight, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of federal employees who are TDY in any major U.S. city or business center. Agencies now pay for hotel costs up to the per diem amount. The GSA should consider having hotels in a particular area (e.g., downtown Washington; O'Hare Airport) compete on who can provide the best services and lowest rate. The selected hotel would be required to keep a large block ...more »

  On any given weeknight, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of federal employees who are TDY in any major U.S. city or business center. Agencies now pay for hotel costs up to the per diem amount. The GSA should consider having hotels in a particular area (e.g., downtown Washington; O'Hare Airport) compete on who can provide the best services and lowest rate. The selected hotel would be required to keep a large block of rooms open at that rate, and federal employees would be required to use that hotel as long as it had rooms available. Because of the volume of guaranteed business, the rate should result in significant savings over the current per diem. The GSA could begin this as a pilot program, and consider feedback from federal employees and agencies. Hotels that believed that they could not compete probably would not like this change, but travel should be run for the benefit of the Government, not the travel industry.

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  1 comment for Idea: Reduce travel costs by requiring use of certain hotels

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

• I agree

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  7 votes

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  Increasing Trade, Exports, and Overall Competitiveness »

  Grow economy by having free trade area with Europe

  Creating a free trade area with Europe will have three large benefits. First, it will increase our exports, as the European Union is one of the largest and richest markets with the world. This will help our export industries, including the lumber, agricultural, heavy equipment, and software industries. Larger markets will help American companies to be more efficient. Second, it will allow Americans and American businesses ...more »

  Creating a free trade area with Europe will have three large benefits. First, it will increase our exports, as the European Union is one of the largest and richest markets with the world. This will help our export industries, including the lumber, agricultural, heavy equipment, and software industries. Larger markets will help American companies to be more efficient. Second, it will allow Americans and American businesses to import European goods at a lower cost. For example, if there is a piece of machinery made only in Germany, allowing it to come into the United States duty free will help the American company that buys it reduce its costs and compete better with others all over the world. Third, this will strengthen our alliance with these countries, all of which are democracies and many of which are working closely with us on international issues, including most recently Libya. These countries have high environmental standards and pay workers at (or sometimes above) the level in the United States. Thus a free trade agreement with Europe, which will benefit both us and the European countries, does not raise the environmental or labor concerns that trade agreements with some other countries raise.

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  Add your comment for Idea: Grow economy by having free trade area with Europe

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

• I agree

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  9 votes

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

  Incentivize healthy lifestyle choices by federal employees

  One of the major contributors to federal health care costs are employees who are overweight or smoke. These health issues are usually the result of lifestyle choices. For employees whose weight is in the range that it should be and who do not smoke, there should be a reduction in the amount that they contribute to their health insurance. This would lower overall health care costs, provide all employees an incentive ...more »

  One of the major contributors to federal health care costs are employees who are overweight or smoke. These health issues are usually the result of lifestyle choices. For employees whose weight is in the range that it should be and who do not smoke, there should be a reduction in the amount that they contribute to their health insurance. This would lower overall health care costs, provide all employees an incentive to make good choices, and give the Government a healthier and more productive work force. It would support First Lady Michele Obama's childhood obesity initiative, as parents who eat better also are good role models and likely to serve their children more healthy food. Safeway's health care plan uses this approach, and it has helped many employees there to quit smoking and lose weight.

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  1 comment for Idea: Incentivize healthy lifestyle choices by federal employees

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

• I agree

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  15 votes

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

  Reduce airline travel costs

  The airfares that Government agencies are required to use for federal travel, from the General Services Administration website, are extremely high. For example, to fly round-trip approximately 500 miles from Washington, D.C. to Columbia, S.C. costs the Government $1,394 on the designated "contract carrier." For that price, a private traveler can fly to Europe. The GSA should adjust its formula for designating an airline ...more »

  The airfares that Government agencies are required to use for federal travel, from the General Services Administration website, are extremely high. For example, to fly round-trip approximately 500 miles from Washington, D.C. to Columbia, S.C. costs the Government $1,394 on the designated "contract carrier." For that price, a private traveler can fly to Europe. The GSA should adjust its formula for designating an airline as a "contract carrier" to reduce fares. For example, if a city has two airports and flights to one airport are much less than flights to the other, it may need to require that most travel be to the cheaper one. Or it may need to consider airlines with slightly less convenient connecting flights. The present airfares are often little more than a subsidy/gift to the airlines.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

• I agree

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  4 votes

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

  Cut benefit costs and make federal employment more attractive

  The Government should decide on the total amount of fringe benefits (Thrift Savings Plan, parking, health insurance, life insurance etc) it wants to provide to each employee. This amount could vary by grade, length of service, age, performance or other factors. Then the employee should be free to decide how to allocate the benefits. This would let employees maximize the value of the money the Government is spending ...more »

  The Government should decide on the total amount of fringe benefits (Thrift Savings Plan, parking, health insurance, life insurance etc) it wants to provide to each employee. This amount could vary by grade, length of service, age, performance or other factors. Then the employee should be free to decide how to allocate the benefits. This would let employees maximize the value of the money the Government is spending on their benefits, and make federal employment more attractive. For example, some people might want to contribute more to the TSP while others might want more life insurance. This would also control the Government's costs, by fixing the amount of the Government's contributions.

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  4 comments for Idea: Cut benefit costs and make federal employment more attractive

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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