Biden to Lead Waste Elimination Program for Obama Administration

WASHINGTON -- President Obama signed an executive order Monday to create an oversight board to eliminate waste, and named Vice President Biden to manage progress reports from Cabinet secretaries

Monday's announcement comes as the White House grapples for ways to both boost sluggish economic growth and chip away at the deficit.

"As we work to tackle the budget deficit, we need to step up our game," Obama said in a video announcing the Campaign to Cut Waste. "No amount of waste is acceptable -- not when it's your money, not at a time when so many Americans are already cutting back."

As examples of "pointless waste" and "stupid spending," Obama cited daily publication of the Federal Register despite the fact that it's available on the Internet and has been for years, duplication among federal websites and thousands of surplus federal buildings he hopes to begin selling off.

Obama said the administration has identified $33 billion in savings for this year alone "and we're not finished."

Biden said that eliminating fraud and waste is just one goal. "We hope to be instilling an entire new culture that not only our administration but every succeeding administration will in fact pursue," he said in the video announcement.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., head of the House oversight committee, said increasing transparency and openness in federal spending is not a partisan problem, it is a bureaucratic one. He said he is working on legislation to achieve similar objectives.

"The bureaucracy is resistant to change. That's why we need to enact legislation and establish a permanent and independent board to create transparency in federal spending," Issa said. "When I met with Vice President Biden in November, we both shared a vision of increased transparency in all federal spending. We are on the same page on the goals we want to achieve. ... I look forward to working with my colleagues and the administration to make that vision a reality."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.