Obama’s plan for reorganizing agencies hits skepticism from lawmakers(2)
Schwab also was critical of moving the USTR. The trade representative’s office is “one of the few things that actually works,” she said.
Obama asked lawmakers to restore executive authority to streamline the executive branch granted during the Great Depression and last held by President Ronald Reagan to reorganize agencies.
SBA Chief
For the time being, Obama said he is elevating the head of the Small Business Administration, Karen Mills, to Cabinet rank, a move that doesn’t require congressional approval.
The consolidation effort could lead to the loss of 1,000 to 2,000 government jobs, which would be achieved through attrition, according to Jeffrey Zients, the deputy budget director, who was tapped to lead the effort to develop a proposal. The goal is to save $3 billion over 10 years.
Zients said the new department will consist of four units: trade and investment, including enforcement, financing and promotion; small business and economic development; technology and innovation, including the patent office; and statistics.
The statistics division would house the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which reports monthly unemployment figures, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which tracks such data as gross domestic product, consumer spending, corporate profit and the balance of trade.
Next Steps
If Congress grants Obama the authority, he would follow the reorganization with additional consolidations to address “other areas of fragmentation and inefficiency across government,” Zients said.
Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said the changes could eventually boost trade, though it would take a while to sort out the bureaucracies.
“I think it would help your trade performance, Hufbauer said. “For most companies that have an issue with the government, it’s one-stop shopping.”
Obama first proposed a reorganization in last year’s State of the Union Address. The president yesterday cited several examples of duplication, including five entities that deal with housing and more than a dozen involved with food safety.
“No business or nonprofit leader would allow this kind of duplication or unnecessary complexity in their operations,” he said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which Zients said accounts for more than half of the Commerce budget, would move to the Interior Department.
The Government Accountability Office said in March 2011 that U.S. economic-development programs are “fragmented” and their efficiency and effectiveness are “unclear.” For example, some 52 federal programs can fund “entrepreneurial efforts,” GAO found.
