Posted on 11/10/2011 8:34:51 AM PST by Pan_Yan
The big media story from last nights Republican Presidential Primary Debate on CNBC was Governor Perry's gaffe when he tried listing the departments of the federal government he would eliminate. Maybe lost in the sensationalism is the change in our national politics that this topic represents.
The majority of the GOP contenders are talking like the elimination of entire departments is a foregone conclusion. It might be election year politics, but the idea is immensely popular among conservatives judging by the crowd reactions every time someone in any of the debates has suggested it. Now we all know that a President by himself can not create or abolish an entire department by fiat. A good deal of congressional arm twisting, threats, pandering, pontificating, high horse riding and the obligitory "widows and orphans thrown out into the streets" stories would all accompany any serious attempt to eliminate a federal department. However, it is encouraging that it has become a more broadly accepted theme that in years past.
The existence of the Cabinet dates back to the first American President, George Washington, who appointed a Cabinet of four people (Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson; Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton; Secretary of War Henry Knox; and Attorney General Edmund Randolph) to advise and assist him in his duties. Cabinet officers are nominated by the President and then presented to the United States Senate for confirmation or rejection by a simple majority. If approved, they are sworn in and begin their duties. Aside from the Attorney General, and previously, the Postmaster General, they all receive the title Secretary [Source:Wikipedia]. Currently, there are 22 positions listed as members of the President's Cabinet or cabinet level.
So let's hear it FReepers. Which departments stay and which go away? List your preferences in order, please, and tell why. Incomplete answers will only receive partial credit.
The President's Cabinet in order of succession to the Presidency:
Vice President of the United States
Joseph R. Biden
Department of State
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton
http://www.state.gov
Department of the Treasury
Secretary Timothy F. Geithner
http://www.treasury.gov
Department of Defense
Secretary Leon E. Panetta
http://www.defenselink.mil
Department of Justice
Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.
http://www.usdoj.gov
Department of the Interior
Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar
http://www.doi.gov
Department of Agriculture
Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack
http://www.usda.gov
Department of Commerce
Secretary John E. Bryson
http://www.commerce.gov
Department of Labor
Secretary Hilda L. Solis
http://www.dol.gov
Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
http://www.hhs.gov
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary Shaun L.S. Donovan
http://www.hud.gov
Department of Transportation
Secretary Ray LaHood
http://www.dot.gov
Department of Energy
Secretary Steven Chu
http://www.energy.gov
Department of Education
Secretary Arne Duncan
http://www.ed.gov
Department of Veterans Affairs
Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
http://www.va.gov
Department of Homeland Security
Secretary Janet A. Napolitano
http://www.dhs.gov
The following positions have the status of Cabinet-rank:
White House Chief of Staff
Bill Daley
Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson
http://www.epa.gov
Office of Management & Budget
Jacob J. Lew, Director
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb
United States Trade Representative
Ambassador Ronald Kirk
http://www.ustr.gov
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Ambassador Susan Rice
http://www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/
Council of Economic Advisers
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cea/
Ronald Reagan vowed to eliminate the Education Department but was unsuccessful because of the Dem. Congress.
Well, I am not sure if this is possible or even likely, but it seems plausible:
A President could just refrain from appointing a cabinet secretary. The career personnel could be reassigned to other posts. The department would just wither away.
Could it happen that way? I'm not sure, but I'm certain a fellow FReeper will tell me why or why not. Would it? Doubtful. It would take someone without concern of political fallout....haven't seen that, yet.
Remember, a current presidential candidate voted to create the Department of Education and helped greatly expand its funding in the mid nineties.
And stealth might be the only practical way to eliminate some of them. It would probably be political suicide for a candidate to come out and say "I'm going to slash Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development."
I’m just not sure if there is some obscure law requiring him to fill the post.
Vice President of the United States - keep the office
Department of State - Keep the office
Department of the Treasury - Keep the Department
Department of Defense - Keep the Department
Department of Justice - Keep the Department
Department of the Interior - Merge into a single department
Department of Agriculture - Merge with Interior (as a polite way of cutting it back)
Department of Commerce - Merge with Interior (as a polite way of cutting it back)
Department of Labor - Merge with Interior (as a polite way of cutting it back)
Department of Health and Human Services - Merge with Interior (as a polite way of cutting it back)
Department of Housing and Urban Development - Merge with Interior (as a polite way of cutting it back)
Department of Transportation - Merge with Interior (as a polite way of cutting it back)
Department of Energy - Merge with Defense
Department of Education - Merge with Interior (as a polite way of cutting it back)
Department of Veterans Affairs - Merge with Defense
Department of Homeland Security - Merge with Defense
The following positions have the status of Cabinet-rank:
White House Chief of Staff - keep for logistics reasons
Environmental Protection Agency - Merge with Interior
Office of Management & Budget - Merge with Treasury
United States Trade Representative - Subordinate to State
United States Ambassador to the United Nations - Subordinate to State
Council of Economic Advisers - Subordinate to Treasury
The federal government is twice as big as it should be for current revenues and at least four times the size it should be realistically. Cutting departments would be a nice start.
Department of State - Keep the office
Department of the Treasury - Keep the Department - Reduce budget by 30%
Department of Defense - Keep the Department - Reduce budget by 10%
Department of Justice - Keep the Department - Reduce budget by 30%
Department of the Interior - Merge into a single department - Reduce budget by 30%
Department of Agriculture - Merge with Interior - Reduce budget by 50%
Department of Commerce - Merge with Interior - Reduce budget by 50%
Department of Labor - Remove
Department of Health and Human Services - Remove
Department of Housing and Urban Development - Remove
Department of Transportation - Merge with Defense - Reduce budget by 50%
Department of Energy - Merge with Defense - Reduce budget by 50%
Department of Education - Remove
Department of Veterans Affairs - Merge with Defense - Reduce budget by 10%
Department of Homeland Security - Remove
The following positions have the status of Cabinet-rank: White House Chief of Staff – No status needed
Environmental Protection Agency - Remove
Office of Management & Budget - Merge with Treasury- Reduce budget by 50%
United States Trade Representative – No status needed
United States Ambassador to the United Nations – No status needed
Council of Economic Advisers - – No status needed
Did they delete the Christmas Tree Board?
No it is just postponed.
I couldn’t believe they would do such a thing, then I remembered it was the feds.
Maybe we can have it stopped for good with the separation of church and state. /s
What are the top three or four you would merge/ eliminate?
Education - it's a state responsibility, and the Feds can't "help" without making things worse. Education should disappear completely from the federal government. It should be a high priority at the state and local level, but the feds should focus on their proper role so they can do that less ineptly.
HUD - again, clearly not within the scope of the enumerated powers. HUD should essentially be abolished. Administratively, it should be merged with another department, and then that department should be scaled way back to where we are no longer wasting that money on non-federal responsibilities.
HHS - merge or scale way back. I'm okay with keeping CDC, NIH, and a couple other health-related federal activities, at reduced funding and only when it promotes health for the country as a whole (e.g., cancer, heart disease, infectious disease) but the government transfer payments from HHS need to disappear.
Veterans Affairs should be part of Defense, and the two departments should be merged. It is SecDef's responsibility to take care of wounded or retired veterans, and that responsibility should stay in his department.
I see no reason why any of those four should exist at the cabinet level, or in the case of Education and HUD why they should exist at the federal level at all.
Draw a line just under the Department of Justice, and eliminate everything below that line.
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