stop the use of expensive oil painting portraits for members of White House and Congress as a way to reduce spending.

"official portrait of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson- $40,000."

"a 3-by-4-foot oil portrait of Agriculture Department Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack runs a mere $22,500."

"the government has paid out at least $180,000 for official portraits since last year, according to a review by The Washington Times of spending records at federal agencies and military offices across government."

Meanwhile.... a digital photo, printed on canvas, would reduce the cost to around $100.

For that reason we petition the Obama administration to stop this wasteful spending and urge Congress to do the same.

Every bit of savings matters, and pretty soon, there's a lot of money that you can put to good use elsewhere.