A freshman U.S. senator from Wisconsin is proposing a plan for government to “fire a shot across the bow” of government agency heads and midlevel bureaucrats who are blase about waste. : Sen. Robert Kasten says fthe current estimates of govemment waste, fraud and abuse are as much as $100 billion a year or one Qiollar out of every seven in jthe federal budget. 1 He notes correctly that Lin the federal agency ihierarchy the upper – and gnidelevel officials who see elected presidents and appointed agency heads come and go feel secure in their laxity because they believe ‘nothing ever will be done to Qthem for their deficiencies. ; Kasten offers a unique solution through the Waste. Fraud and Abuse Reduce lion Act of 1981 which he is sponsoring with 18 of his colleagues. ‘ Under the act: I – Congress would direct the Secretary of the Treasury to withhold from neach government agency ltwo percent of the funds kppropriated to it. ;. – At the beginning of reach fiscal year, every zigency must submit a plan Etc Congress detailing how it will look for waste and how it will eliminate the waste, ‘Midway through each year, each agency must report to Congress whether it will be able to achieve a two percent saving without cutting services Congress expects it to provide. In short, agency chiefs must justify t eir actions. – Congress must investigate the credibility of each reporting agency by evaluating evidence accumulated by its own committees, the General Accounting Office, inspectors-general reports and public testimony. Depending on what those inquiries reveal, Congress may release all or part of the two percent retainage. “If the agency can justify it has done everything to look for and eliminate waste.” Kasten says, “It gets a pat on the back and part or all of its money. If not, the agency managers are called on the carpet, and the appropriations committees know exactly where to cut their budget the next year.” Many well – intended people and plans have charged the unyielding windmill of bureaucratic waste and self perpetuation with only minimal success. Kasten may fare no better, but his novel proposal. which currently is in hearings, deserves a chance to work.