As part of OMB's pursuit
of the President's Management Agenda, we have taken an initial inventory of
the federal vehicle fleet, and found it merits a closer look. I am writing to
request your assistance in gathering additional information and ideas to
tighten control in this area.
OMB's preliminary research
has turned up some arresting findings. We were intrigued to discover that one
Cabinet Department reports more vehicles than employees, and to learn that
five agencies appear to have at least one vehicle for every three FTEs. Only
two agencies have more than 100 employees per vehicle. The available figures,
however, only reflect the status at the end of fiscal 2000, just before this
Administration took office.
By the time of your
department's budget submission, please report any fleet reductions or other
changes that may have occurred since you took office last year. OMB also
seeks your ideas on cheaper and different fleet management or leasing
arrangements.
Understandably, some departments may require more
vehicles than others due to the nature of their work. Contractors' use of
federal vehicles may be an important factor. One's first impression from
these data, however, is that the numbers seem excessive in many cases and
that significant reductions may be in order.
Thank
you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.
Attachment
Identical
letters sent to 25 other agency heads
Attachment
Employment and Motor Vehicle Inventory of
Selected Agencies
Fiscal Year 2000 (most recent available
vehicle data)
Includes vehicles owned or leased by the
agency, or leased from the GSA fleet