Expanded Presidential Power To Reorganize The Federal Government

Submitted by Bill Galston on July 11, 2012
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Bill Galston
Power to Reorganize
Make the Presidency Work

Call it the great paradox of presidential power: The president can send American troops into battle, but he cannot reorganize his own cabinet. Every new president comes into office promising to streamline government. Most fail, because eliminating or reorganizing government agencies involves turf battles with the congressional members and committees that fund them. It’s much easier to just create new positions and programs, which often leads to overlapping or competing functions.

For instance, we care about improving teacher quality so much that we have 82 programs across 10 agencies focused on the issue.  Three separate federal departments and agencies have jurisdiction over the eggs you eat for breakfast.

No Labels has a simple fix.

Congress just has to revive the authority given to every president from Franklin Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan.

In the 1930’s, Congress passed reforms allowing presidents to consolidate departments while maintaining a measure of congressional oversight. Over the next 50 years, presidents submitted more than 100 reorganization plans to help the federal government adapt to changing times. But the Reorganization Act lapsed in 1984, and hasn’t been renewed since.

There are already bills in the Senate (S. 2129) and the House (H.R. 4409) that would essentially revive the Reorganization Act by empowering presidents to reorganize—or even eliminate—redundant parts of the federal government, provided the president’s proposal improves efficiency and reduces costs. No Labels believes these bills, or something like them, should be passed immediately.

What do you think?

Bill Galston is the Ezra Zilkha Chair and Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of numerous books, and formerly served as Deputy Assistant to President Clinton for Domestic Policy.