Tag Archives: homeland security

Here’s a Hint, Do Not Print (and Other Fun Rhymes)

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"PC Load Letter?!?!" 

Do you really need to print all those e-mails? A new report says probably not, and the federal government doesn’t need to either. Government Executive has the scoop:

The government can generate substantial savings by reining in superfluous printing, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The report, which is based on a survey of 380 federal employees, found that the government spends nearly $1.3 billion annually on printing. Of that, about $440 million — more than four times the amount President Obama recently asked agency managers collectively to eliminate from their administrative budgets — is spent on pages that don’t need to be printed, the survey found.

The study — conducted by Lexmark International Inc., a Lexington, Ky., printing supply company, and Alexandria, Va., marketing firm O’Keeffe & Co. — recommends that agencies set clear printing policies, establish strong enforcement procedures and begin switching from paper to digital records.

Just 10 percent of survey respondents said their agencies had a formal printing policy, and just 20 percent reported that their agencies had restrictions on color printing, which can be more expensive than typical black-and-white printing…

Some agencies already have started cutting back. The Homeland Security Department expects to save more than $40,000 in part by printing fewer copies of the fiscal 2010 budget and posting the material online. The Agriculture Department’s chief financial officer is developing a Web-based utility billing system that could save more than $670,000 annually, according to budget documents released last week…

On average, federal employees print 30 pages of paper every work day — or 7,200 pages annually, the survey found. Respondents estimated that they discarded 35 percent of the pages the day they printed them. Ninety-two percent of respondents acknowledged they did not need all the material that they printed, and more than two-thirds said they could print less if they tried.

And it would likely also benefit private companies to consider establishing a printing policy. You can save cash and reduce waste — "The More You Know" (bing bing bong bing).

Indiana AG: Beware of Flu-related Scam

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Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller warns:

Telephone solicitors reportedly have called Hoosiers in an effort to sell “mandatory swine flu kits,” claiming that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are requiring their purchase.

Such claims are false and fraudulent. No level of government is requiring the purchase of a safety kit for the North American Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak. Moreover, a medical diagnosis should be left to a medical professional.

“Not only are these telephone solicitors cynically exploiting people’s fears in order to commit fraud, but they also may be violating Indiana’s telephone privacy laws. Depending on who was contacted, this scam may violate Indiana’s Do Not Call statute; and if an unauthorized prerecorded message is used, it would violate Indiana’s Auto-Dialer statute as well. In either event, consumers who receive such calls should keep the number, if possible, so that our office can investigate,” Zoeller said.

The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) is encouraging Hoosiers to maintain good hygiene practices, such as washing their hands often, and avoiding those who might be ill.

However, if you do have concerns about the flu and would like some legitimate reference material from a source you can trust, the Chamber does offer a Disaster Planning Guide that will help your organization or school prepare for and deal with issues like the flu, natural disasters, chemical spills, etc.

U.S. Chamber, SHRM File Lawsuit Over E-Verify

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From the "please stop giving businesses even more hoops to jump through" file, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the U.S. Chamber are joining forces (along with three other trade groups) in a lawsuit against the U.S. government regarding a recent E-Verify executive order. They charge that requiring federal contractors to use the Dept. of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system to confirm if employees are legally eligible to work in the U.S. is illegal.

"This massive expansion of E-Verify is not only bad policy, it’s unlawful," said Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the National Chamber Litigation Center, the chamber’s public policy law firm. "The administration can’t use an executive order to circumvent federal immigration and procurement laws. Federal law explicitly prohibits the secretary of Homeland Security from making E-Verify mandatory or from using it to reauthorize the existing workforce."

The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, is Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. v. Chertoff, et al. It challenges both the reauthorization and the government’s use of an executive order coupled with federal procurement law to make E-Verify mandatory for federal contractors with projects exceeding $100,000 and for subcontractors with projects exceeding $3,000.

"The DHS intends to expand E-Verify on an unprecedented scale in a very short timeframe and to impose liability on government contractors who are unable to comply," said Randy Johnson, vice president of Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits at the chamber. "Given the current economy, now is not the time to add more bureaucracy and billions of dollars in compliance costs to America’s businesses."

Hat tip to Chamber staffer Glenn Harkness for the link.