Department of Labor: Opportunities to Realize Savings

GAO discussed the Department of Labor's programs, focusing on potential budget reductions and rescissions. GAO noted that: (1) two thirds of Labor's budget consists of mandatory spending on unemployment insurance and other income maintenance programs; (2) there are a number of employment training assistance programs, particularly those under the Job Training Partnership Act, that have trouble spending their allocations, are ineffective, or duplicate other government training programs; (3) most training programs serve only a percentage of their eligible target populations; (4) the duplicative and overlapping programs add unnecessary administrative costs, and confuse and frustrate clients, employers, and administrators; (5) repealing the Davis-Bacon Act would yield about $10 million of budget savings annually in administrative costs, and repealing the Service Contract Act would save $12 million annually; and (6) the expiration of the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit, and changes in Labor's administration of pension reporting requirements will yield additional savings.