PorkChopSandwiches
01-16-2012, 03:59 PM
President Barack Obama asked Congress Friday for more power to streamline and reorganize the federal government, a move designed to claim the political middle ground in an election likely to be dominated by questions about Washington's role in the economy.
The president asked legislators to grant him the authority to merge agencies that perform similar functions. If that power is granted, Congress would be required to hold an up-or-down vote on the president's streamlining plan within 90 days of its submission.
http://obeygiant.com/images/2008/10/obama.jpg
Among other things, the president's plan would combine several agencies that focus on commerce and trade, including the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the Trade and Development Agency.
Under the move, the Commerce Department as currently constituted would be eliminated. Some of its responsibilities would be shifted to a new department yet to be named, while other functions would be shifted elsewhere.
In the meantime, the president is elevating the Small Business Administration to a Cabinet-level agency -- a largely symbolic move that does not require congressional approval.
"No business or nonprofit leader would allow this kind of duplication or unnecessary complexity in their operations," Obama told a group of business leaders and administration officials at the White House. "So why is it OK for our government? It's not. It has to change."
The proposal is designed initially to save up to $3 billion over the next decade, partly by cutting up to 2,000 jobs through attrition, according to the administration.
Obama noted Friday that presidents starting in the midst of the Great Depression were authorized to submit federal reorganization plans to Congress for a guaranteed up-or-down vote. That authority, however, expired in 1984.
"When this process was left to follow the usual Congressional pace, not surprisingly, it slowed down," Obama said. "Congressional committees fought to protect their turf. Lobbyists fought to keep things unchanged because they're the only ones who can navigate the bureaucracy. And because it's always easier to add than to subtract in Washington, inertia prevented any real reform from happening."
Obama's plan -- building on a promise made in last year's State of the Union address to streamline government -- could help to place the president in a more centrist position heading into the election, political analysts note. It could also put congressional Republicans in a politically awkward position by forcing them to either accept the plan -- thereby handing Obama a political win -- or reject it and risk ceding a core conservative issue to the president.
"President Obama is trying to counter the perception that he is a big-government liberal," said Keating Holland, CNN polling director. "If he gets his way and can brag about reorganizing the government, that may help him in the fall."
The president asked legislators to grant him the authority to merge agencies that perform similar functions. If that power is granted, Congress would be required to hold an up-or-down vote on the president's streamlining plan within 90 days of its submission.
http://obeygiant.com/images/2008/10/obama.jpg
Among other things, the president's plan would combine several agencies that focus on commerce and trade, including the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the Trade and Development Agency.
Under the move, the Commerce Department as currently constituted would be eliminated. Some of its responsibilities would be shifted to a new department yet to be named, while other functions would be shifted elsewhere.
In the meantime, the president is elevating the Small Business Administration to a Cabinet-level agency -- a largely symbolic move that does not require congressional approval.
"No business or nonprofit leader would allow this kind of duplication or unnecessary complexity in their operations," Obama told a group of business leaders and administration officials at the White House. "So why is it OK for our government? It's not. It has to change."
The proposal is designed initially to save up to $3 billion over the next decade, partly by cutting up to 2,000 jobs through attrition, according to the administration.
Obama noted Friday that presidents starting in the midst of the Great Depression were authorized to submit federal reorganization plans to Congress for a guaranteed up-or-down vote. That authority, however, expired in 1984.
"When this process was left to follow the usual Congressional pace, not surprisingly, it slowed down," Obama said. "Congressional committees fought to protect their turf. Lobbyists fought to keep things unchanged because they're the only ones who can navigate the bureaucracy. And because it's always easier to add than to subtract in Washington, inertia prevented any real reform from happening."
Obama's plan -- building on a promise made in last year's State of the Union address to streamline government -- could help to place the president in a more centrist position heading into the election, political analysts note. It could also put congressional Republicans in a politically awkward position by forcing them to either accept the plan -- thereby handing Obama a political win -- or reject it and risk ceding a core conservative issue to the president.
"President Obama is trying to counter the perception that he is a big-government liberal," said Keating Holland, CNN polling director. "If he gets his way and can brag about reorganizing the government, that may help him in the fall."