DC Tries to Control Spending?

The Washington Post reports on efforts to get DC government spending under control. At least one city councilman doesn't even think there's a problem:

D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams and top city officials said yesterday that the District is taking steps to tighten controls on spending for government travel, sole-source contracts and highly paid consultants, a move expected to save millions of taxpayer dollars.

...

The mayor's remarks were made during the third hearing held by council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (D-Ward 5), the committee chairman, since The Washington Post reported in November that hundreds of millions of dollars were spent annually in violation of laws and policies intended to avoid waste and fraud. Orange had threatened to subpoena Williams if he did not agree to testify.

"Clearly there is no evidence of government waste, fraud and abuse," Orange said and added that the procurement issues raised in the news articles in November were outdated and had been corrected. The executive branch appears to be "on top of the entire issue, although we still have a long way to go."

The article describes some of the suggested improvements, but I'm not optimistic.

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