Redundant Spending

From USA Today:

WASHINGTON — Redundant federal programs are leading to billions in waste, congressional auditors say, and the government is slow to adopt reforms to fix the problem.

The White House says President Obama recognizes the problem and will propose eliminating redundant programs in the budget plan he releases Wednesday.

Among the 31 areas of duplicative spending, spelled out in a report by the Government Accountability Office obtained by USA TODAY:

• Government agencies are spending billions on new mapping data — without checking whether some other government agency already has maps they could use.

• At least 23 different federal agencies run hundreds of programs to support renewable energy.

• Each branch of the armed services is developing its own camouflage uniforms without sharing them with other services.