July 7, 1987
The President met today with J. Peter Grace, chairman of W.R. Grace Co. and founder of the Grace commission, and pledged his support for Grace's intention to establish a new private sector coalition -- a taxpayer's commission -- united against wasteful Federal spending. The President stated that reducing wasteful spending remains an important weapon in the administration's deficit reduction arsenal.
The administration remains committed to the goal as stated in the Economic Bill of Rights, to eliminate Federal competition with the private sector for functions that can be better provided outside of government and at less cost. The new commission is an indication of private sector support for the President's continuing efforts for a smaller, less intrusive, and more efficient Federal Government.
Through the President's management improvement program, Reform '88, as well as the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE), this administration's management reform initiatives have begun to focus on Federal Government management eliminating waste and inefficient practices and freeing resources to be used for more productive purposes. The taxpayer's commission is expected to draw upon the experience of the original Grace commission -- a privately funded organization which in 1984 recommended 2,478 suggestions for increased government efficiency.