For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today unveiled five new efficiency initiatives, marking the fourth milestone in the Department-wide Efficiency Review launched in March.
“Our Efficiency Review has already generated millions of dollars in cost avoidances, enabling us to direct more resources to critical security programs,” said Secretary Napolitano. “These new initiatives will streamline operations, improve customer service, and help us stretch every homeland security dollar even further.”
Throughout the Department, efforts have commenced to establish a plan to ensure that DHS retains skilled full-time employees to fulfill the Department’s core mission; increase coordination between headquarter and operational components; and standardize content for new-employee orientation and annual training. In addition, DHS is working to implement energy efficiencies in facility management projects and expand the acquisition and leasing of hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles.
Efficiency Review initiatives already in progress continue to generate substantial cost savings across the Department. By leveraging the buying power of the entire Department, more than 487,000 licenses were consolidated into one Department-wide license for Microsoft software and maintenance for a cost avoidance of approximately $87.5 million over the next six years. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also modified its license agreement for Oracle software from more than 200 licenses to one unlimited license agreement for an estimated cost avoidance of $1.5 million over the next year.
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center recently held its biennial leadership conference for senior managers at its office instead of a private facility, saving $104,000 in travel and per diem costs. Similarly, U.S Customs and Border Protection expects to avoid $640,000 in travel costs in FY 2009 by posting training materials online and hosting web-based training sessions instead of in-person trainings.
The Coast Guard has started utilizing a free e-invitation system to manage invitations, for major events which is expected to save almost $95,000 per year in printing and mailing costs. ICE will save more than $90,000 by redeploying vehicles in their existing fleet instead of purchasing new vehicles.
Efficiency Review initiatives are broken down into 30-, 60-, 90- and 120-day groups based on when implementation will begin. Going forward, the Department will focus on institutionalizing the 20 initiatives announced over the past four months and rolling out new initiatives biannually.
On Feb. 17, Secretary Napolitano directed the entire Department to identify current and past efforts to improve efficiency, which resulted in an inventory of more than 700 initiatives implemented over the past five years. An Efficiency Review Steering Committee with representatives from across DHS components was then established, along with a full-time Efficiency Review Team composed of department veterans that shaped these initiatives.
In addition to the Department-wide initiatives currently being implemented, Secretary Napolitano continues to encourage employees and offices to develop additional ways to save money, streamline operations and increase transparency.
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