January 13, 2012
OUR REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT:
Obama to Ask Congress for Power to Merge Agencies (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/13/12)
President Obama will ask Congress on Friday for greater power to shrink the federal government, starting with merging six sprawling trade and commerce agencies that have some overlapping programs, a senior administration official told The Associated Press. [...]The administration said the merger would save $3 billion over 10 years by getting rid of duplicative overhead costs, human resources divisions and programs.It has been decades since the government has undergone a sustained reorganization of itself. Presidents have tried from time to time, but each part of the bureaucracy has its own defenders inside and outside the government, and that can make merger ideas politically impossible to achieve, especially when jobs are cut.The point, the official said, is not just making the government smaller but better by saving people time and eliminating bureaucratic nightmares. The idea for the consolidated business agency grew out of discussions with hundreds of business leaders and agency heads over the last several months.
It's a no-brainer for the GOP. He might not consolidate enough, but can't consolidate too much.
Posted by Orrin Judd at January 13, 2012 11:03 AM
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