Consolidating Government Agencies

HornHuskerDad

HornHuskerDad

5,000+ Posts
News from Washington - The Link. This is a move long overdue, and I'll give Obama credit for the initiative. It should, IMO, be a joint process between the White House and Congress. There should be two objectives in making this move - (1) reduce Government duplication and overhead, and (2) reduce overall expenditures by the resulting consolidated agency. Admittedly the first objective will be easier than the second.

I'll give Obama due credit for this one. Understand it doesn't change my overall view of him, and I'll still vote for the GOP candidate in November. But, nonetheless, this is a good move in the right direction. And it shouldn't stop with Commerce - there are many other Government agencies that should be streamlined and many others that should be eliminated.

HHD
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Nice move- and HH it is good to see a known Republican give due credit when deserved to the other side. If every Rep was like you- they actually might occasionally accomplish something.

Speaking of- what are the odds Congress f's this positive initiative up somehow in the name of partisan politics? My skeptical side says it's bad, I am losing hope things will ever change unless campaign finance, terms etc are reformed.
 
I agree with HHD. This is way long overdue and good on Obama for bringing it up. It should be a joint venture bewteen the 2 branches of government. If Congress agrees to a joint venture I think obama will agree as well.
Even though this will put people out of work it needs badly to be done.
 
This is the opposite of Rick Perry.
Perry wastefully split off dmv from txdot to appoint his suckbuddy Vandergriff as chairman who is an oxygen thief. Now the taxpayers have a new agency incompetently run that now has to duplicate the cost support infrastructure (servers etc.).

I can only imagine the corruption Perry would stand up if he gets a federal budget to steal from.
 
why did he go after commerce? why not also look at depts of education, labor or HHS...? too many D votes there, I guess.

sorry, not impressed.
 
In government its called duplicative and wasteful. In the market place its called competition. To achieve the latter, Obama should disband these agencies and let the states carry on their legacy if they so choose. This is the only real true reform Obama could carry out and be called a leader.

And $3 billion over 10 years? B.S.! Especially if he somehow wins the election this year. I'll wager this December he would give out pay raises and the socialist oriented news media would proclaim this reorg occured two years ago.
 
HHD and H6721, aapreciate you having an open mind. Obviously he has to deliver results.

Leftwith, Shiner - some day you'll have to grow up and be big boys.
 
I'm not a "big boy" because I don't trust someone who has a documented record of lying through his nicotine-stained teeth about everything?

Okay.
 
As I understand this BO has to submit plans for the elimination of jobs and responsibilities that are duplications.
Then Congress must vote on it within 30 days.
so let's see what BO comes up with weighting cost savings against cost of eliminating people etc.

I do not know how many of the jobs at those agencies are union jobs.

If Bo is serious we will see it right away. if this is simply a poltical ploy we should see that as well.

i want to believe him
but then i also believed in back in the day when he said he would never have lobbyists in his white house. That lie didn't last long enough for the ink to dry and He just hired yet another this week.
Yes he has been known to lie.


we will see on this but it is a good needed idea
 
6721, the way I understand it, he is asking Congress for the executive power to do this all on his own, without their input or approval. When they rightfully tell him they don't want to give him that power, is there any doubt Obama - along with his media sycophants - will spin it that Republicans are "all talk" and "opposed to" cutting government waste?
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I'm surprised some of you are giving him the benefit of the doubt on this. I mean, come on...this is Barack Obama we are talking about. The man doesn't have a genuine bone in his body.
 
Left
I read an Ap article in the Dallas paper that said it would require a congressional vote and the vote would hvae to take place within a certain time period.
The jake tapper link in the OP isn't clear on this so I am not sure anymore what is true

Oh hell NO would i want Bo to have that kind of power with no check from Congress let me see if i can find the correct information.

Ok here is the AP link
"It would guarantee Obama a vote, within 90 days, on any idea he offers to consolidate agencies, provided it saves money and cuts the government."The Link


Of course it is political but let's see if BO ccan be straight on anything
 
This is a smart move, because it is an issue Republicans favor. But the main issue they favor is being against anything Obama is for. They will no doubt vote this issue down, just because a Democrat proposed it.
It will be a vivid illustration of how the Republicans will not do anything good for the country if any Democrats support the idea. Otherwise, they could be accused of being bi-partisan, and willing to compromise, which is necessary to get anything done. It won't happen.
 
I'm not one to just kneejerk bash whatever a Democrat is doing, but this is truly is a non-story. Agency consolidation is fine. However, the cost savings of this are nominal, and no agency or government bureaucrat is losing any authority over the public. This isn't anything for Obama or anybody else to brag about as a sign of fiscal responsibility or a constraint on government power.

In the words of a certain portly radio talk show host, this is "symbolism over substance."
 
It's a substantive move in the right direction. From Bloomberg:

The president first raised the plan in last year's State of the Union Address, saying: "We can't win the future with a government of the past." He then directed his administration to develop a plan to reshape the government, including possibly folding the U.S. Trade Representative's office into the Commerce Department, abolishing some agencies and reducing the workforce. Zients, former chairman of the Corporate Executive Board Co., an information service for company directors, led the review, which was completed in mid-June. Now, as it prepares for this year's State of the Union address on Jan. 24, the administration wants to wrap up the proposals made one year ago. Obama has set a goal to double U.S. exports from $1.57 trillion in 2009 to $3.14 trillion a year by the end of 2014, and getting there requires consolidating the U.S. export bureaucracy. The president's first step would be to merge the six agencies, spread out among different departments, into a single bureau, according to Zients. Cutting Jobs The agencies affected include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is under the Commerce Department, and the U.S. Trade Representative. The effort could lead to the loss of 1,000 to 2,000 jobs, which would be achieved through attrition, Zients said. The goal is to save $3 billion over 10 years. Obama also plans to give the head of the Small Business Administration Cabinet status, comparable to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Presidents have authority make such changes without congressional action. The SBA last was considered Cabinet rank under former President Bill Clinton. Read more:>The Link
 
Satch and HHD,

I'm not against doing it. Eliminating redundancy in government and simplifying who has jurisdiction over what is generally a good thing. However, my point is that the government isn't losing any of its authority, and the amount of money saved is nominal. $3 billion over 10 years is chump change. It's not enough for anyone deserve much more than a thumbs-up, and nobody should get any significant credit for being fiscally responsible because of this.

And Satch, you should be against this. That's a few thousand fewer government jobs over the next several years. If George W. Bush was doing this, you'd throw a fit.
 
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