Orszag: Government can improve efficiency with technology upgrade

By The Post's federal budget reporter Lori Montgomery:

Polls show that two-thirds of taxpayers are pretty sure the government is wasting their money. And White House budget director Peter Orszag thinks he knows why: decrepit systems and facilities compared with the private sector.

For example: The U.S. Patent Office receives 80 percent of its applications electronically. But then patent office bureaucrats have to print them out and scan them by hand into an outdated case management system. Average time for approval: three years.

That's why, Orszag told a gathering at the Center for American Progress on Tuesday, President Obama is seeking to modernize and reform government. Orszag said the "far-reaching effort" is critical to achieving the president's pledge to freeze non-security spending and save $250 billion over the next decade.

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