List of proposed changes

nj.com ^ | 6/6/02

[knak]

Mineta was consulted in advance, said spokesman Chet Lunner. There are 36,000 people in the Coast Guard, which rescues boaters in addition to patrolling ports and offshore platforms and tracking smugglers and drugs.

[leadpenny]

Forgot HHS.

[Wyatt's Torch]

Too soon to tell the number of redundant positions yet. Think of this as a Merger of companies. Big deals almost never announce job cuts upon the announcement of the deal. They always speak about "synergy costs" and make the cuts - both in people and in redundant systems - later. Patience.

[savedbygrace]

I see the proposal like this:

"Because your government cannot communicate adequately between departments and between agencies, we must have more of your hard-earned money to reorganize.

"In spite of the fact that we have allowed thousands of terrorists and terrorist supporters into this country, er, homeland, rather than taking any action that would stem that flow, we are asking for more money to reorganize our precious, but ineffective, agencies.

Thank you. You may return to your slumber."

President Bush is an honest, well-intentioned man, but he has been deceived by his advisors. This is similar to the newly adopted FBI rules. The ineffectual bureaucrats are being rewarded for incompentence with more money to practice their incompetence with.

[6ppc]

And with any move there is usually an inventory taken, simplification, and a clearing out of excess.

So Bush has strong public backing and gets to tear into some of the entrenched beauracracy and shape a new, leaner agency.

Exactly what I was thinking last night during the speech. Reforming existing bureaucracies is almost impossible so GW decided to rip out the chunks he wanted to reform and dump them into a new one that can be organized from scratch. He didn't give it any (or at least only limited) law enforcement powers so it's unlikely to become an American SS or KGB. Looks like a pretty smart move to me.

[wku man]

Duh. What would I do with a brain if I had one? I balme it on the Kentucky public education I received as a kid.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[E Rocc]

Yup, BATF remains under the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department. It should be stressed the proposed reorganization will affect only agencies that are responsible for assuring homeland security in the broadest sense of the word and integrating and rationalizing their responsibilities.

As BATF is not a source of security but indeed the opposite, it wouldn't fit in this new department.

One presumes that Ridge would head the department. Hopefully he gets rid of Magaw quickly.

-Eric

[Kozak]

They should just call it the Security Department.

How about " The Committee for State Security"?

[GingisK]

...And there's a single person to answer for any failure in the event something does go amiss...

There was a single person at each of the CIA, FBI, and NSA as well. It didn't seem to help much. Pile a much greater load upon the back of a single person, and one should not expect to see an increase in effectiveness. You will, on the other hand, be able to coordinate any coverups with greater agility.

[bybybill]

Do you ever sleep? As to your graph at 101, does it include SS? Be that as it may be, whats your point?As long as the Armed Forces are getting what they need, who cares what % that is of the fed. budget? Is the government to big and does it spend to much? Of course. What can we do to change that? It all starts at the local level. We need to explain the problem in a calm, reasoned manner. We need to bring folks to our way of thinking,not chase them away. Trying to scare people gets boring after a while and you aren`t going to be either respected os heard.

[livius]

Reforming existing bureaucracies is almost impossible ...

This is very true. If nothing else, it might be a fresh start that would shake out a lot of the dead wood when it gets going. And it does seem to make a more rational chain of command for already existing agencies.

That said, is it just my imagination, or is this not getting much coverage in the media? Perhaps it was because it was announced fairly late last night and was obviously kept heavily under wraps until then. But you'd think the biggest redesign of government and defense in a half-century would stir up a little more excitement than this. Well, outside of the Freepers, that is... :-)