Avoid Budget Cuts: “Declare Crisis”

Federal Times covered a conference held by the Senior Executives Association to discuss America’s looming fiscal crisis and its coming impact on discretionary government programs. Shockingly, the SEA’s Andy Uscher suggested a number of tactics to government program managers that seem unethical at best and possibly illegal depending on implementation:

Managers should consider declaring a crisis in their programs, said Andy Uscher, SEA’s corporate relations director. They should develop relationships with budget examiners and build political support.

If possible, Uscher said, they should connect programs to national security or the president’s management agenda.They can also argue that cuts have already occurred or assert that reductions would actually increase costs, he said.

This is classic bureaucratic advice that puts individual programs ahead of the national interest and involves federal administrators in politics. Get ready for even more hysterical budget battles in the years ahead.