The Government Has a Program for That. Or Two A Government Accountability Office report is giving congressional budget cutters some easy targets. GAO identified a raft of federal programs that appear to duplicate and overlap. Among the examples: 15 agencies assigned to food safety; 80 programs for economic development; 100 programs for surface transportation; 44 employment and training programs; 54 programs for financial literacy; 82 programs for teacher quality; and more than two dozen presidential appointees in various agencies with responsibility for bio-defense. “This report will make us look like jackasses,” said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, who asked for the GAO study. He estimated savings of $100 billion if the duplications were eliminated. GAO was more conservative, saying the savings might add up to billions. “Considering the amount of program dollars involved in the issues we have identified, even limited adjustments could result in significant savings,” the report says. Many of the duplicative and overlapping programs owe their existence to congressional mandates. Former Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican who chaired the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said, “We can blame the bureaucracy, but in many ways Congress created the many-headed monster we bemoan in an attempt to protect its jurisdictional prerogatives.” The Obama administration says it agrees with the thrust of the GAO report. “There’s a tremendous overlap between GAO’s recommendations and what we’re doing—things like reducing improper payments, reforming contracting, saving money on information technology, and consolidating and eliminating programs,” said Jeffrey Zients, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. President Obama called for a government reorganization in his State of the Union speech. On March 11 the president directed Zients to develop a plan for consolidating a dozen or more agencies that are responsible for some aspect of trade and competitiveness. The Center for American Progress, a think tank with close ties to the White House, has suggested merging the Commerce Department, U.S. Trade Representative, Small Business Administration and others agencies into a new Department of Business, Trade and Technology. A White House spokesman said no decisions have been made.