UPDATE: The Senate adopted the Warner/Coburn amendment on April 6, 2011 by a vote of 64-36.

Senators Warner (D-VA) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have introduced bipartisan legislation directing the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to find at least $5 billion in savings identified in a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on reducing government duplication. Specifically, the amendment directs OMB to use its available administrative authority to eliminate and consolidate overlapping government programs and apply those cost savings to federal deficit reduction. 

“As our nation waits to see whether or not we can reach an agreement on current fiscal year spending and avoid a government shutdown, Senator Coburn and I offer this amendment to take some meaningful initial steps to reduce our national debt by saving at least $5 billion in wasteful federal spending,” Senator Warner said. “The March 1^st  GAO report identified 34 policy areas with overlapping or duplicative activities. While $5 billion admittedly is ‘small ball’ when compared  to our $1.6 trillion deficit and $14 trillion debt, this represents a  beginning. It shows we will explore every opportunity to cut costs and save taxpayer money.”

“If the debate about the CR is the end of our efforts to streamline government, both parties and the country have already lost. I’m confident we could save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars without harming Americans who need vital services. And, in many cases, smart consolidations will improve the quality of those services. The GAO report tells us how by identifying a mother lode of government waste and duplication. Our amendment is a measured and common sense first step.” – Tom Coburn

The text of the amendment can be viewed here.  A vote on the Warner/Coburn amendment is expected around 4:00PM today. 

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A Step Toward Reducing Waste
Today the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report outlining more than 80 ways we can reduce waste, modernize operations and eliminate duplication across the entire federal government. “This report confirms what we all know – that there is room to trim back our government spending, but we’ve got to do it carefully,” Senator Warner said in response to the report.