A Colorado woman is among four finalists for the Securing Americans Value and Efficiency Award from President Barack Obama.
Nancy Fichtner, of Grand Junction, has suggested letting veterans take unused medications home with them from the hospital rather than disposing of them, as is current policy.
In his weekly address on April 25, Obama called for “a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent” and proposed having government employees submit ideas for their agency to save money and improve performance.
More than 38,000 federal employees submitted ideas on how to make government more efficient and effective.
Other ideas to make the final cut included allowing people to make Social Security appointments online; letting Forest Service personnel deposit fee collections in local banks to eliminate unnecessary travel and red tape currently involved in using “unit collection managers”; and streamlining redundant inspections of subsidized housing.
People can rate the “final four” in online voting at through 9:59 p.m. MST on Thursday. The winner will present his or her idea to the President, and will have that idea included in the budget.
