September 11,2025, Washington, D.C., USA
In a new initiative to combat wasteful government spending, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in partnership with the General Services Administration (GSA), today announced the launch of the Savings Award for Verified Efficiencies (SAVE) program. The announcement was made during a meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, highlighting the program’s significance as a measure to strengthen the stewardship of public funds.
The SAVE program is designed to empower federal employees to actively identify and eliminate wasteful spending within federal contracts. Employees who are not in the Senior Executive Service (SES) can submit proposals for contract cancellations, reductions in scope, or other cost-saving actions. If a proposal is verified to result in measurable savings for taxpayers, the employee can receive a financial award of up to 5% of the savings, capped at $10,000 per approved action.
This joint initiative builds on the GSA’s successful “Defend the Spend” program and aims to create a model that can be expanded government-wide. The new program is designed with a strengthened oversight mechanism to ensure transparency and accountability. A two-tiered review process will be implemented, with the Treasury’s Office of the Procurement Executive reviewing proposals and the GSA providing a mandatory independent review and concurrence before any monetary award is issued. This collaborative approach, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, sets “a new standard for responsible stewardship of public funds.”
The move is part of a broader effort by the administration to reduce government costs and improve efficiency, putting the “tool directly in the hands of federal workers across agencies.” By democratizing the effort to identify and cut waste, the program aims to build a culture of fiscal responsibility and serve as a long-term framework for safeguarding taxpayer dollars.
