[RightWhale]

Bump for later. Thanks.

[goldstategop]

Sounds logical to me. All of our homeland security responsibilities should be folded into a single department so all the people who have the responsibility, work together to protect this country from future attacks. 911 NEVER AGAIN.

[KevinDavis]

What it looks like that he is combining some functions of many agency into one big agency.

[VRWC_minion]

While congress is sitting around doing Abbot and Costello impersonations of Who's on first, Bush puts a action plan on table.

[newgeezer]

Okay, the self-righteous cry from the all-caring Liberals in response to tax cuts (for the rich) was, "How are we going to PAY for this?!?!"

So -- assuming they're going to say the same thing again </sarcasm> -- let's pay for this by eliminating the cabinet-level Departments of Education and Energy (at least).

How 'bout it, Dubya (and Bushies)? Are you game? Either you're with us, or you're against us.

[A Navy Vet]

Wow! This really is a shakeup. They should just call it the Security Department.

[caltrop]

Does BATF stay in Treasury?

[dts32041]

Damn this is scarier than the structure of the KGB and the NKVD.

[SBeck]

Knowing a little about the federal bureaucracy, I wonder were all these "new" employees are going to be housed and who is going to sign their checks?

Better go put your re-org boots on kids, this is going to be a rough one.

[Dan from Michigan]

Sounds good on the surface, but where's the small print?

[Reagan Man]

This is a huge undertaking. Nothing like this, has ever been attempted before. It will take time to restructure and reorganize. I hope it all works out in end. My biggest concern, is now much will all this increase the federal budget?

And is Tom Ridge the man to head it up?

My vote is for Rudi Guilani.

I have some reservations, but my support is with President Bush. After all, America is at war and if we want to win, all American's have to support the Commander In Chief.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

Who will head this Barney Fife? Hillary Clinton?

[Mixer]

Did I miss it or did he not at all mention the Fingerprint men from middle-eastern countries idea?

[Bob J]

Tonight on at RadioFR! June 6, 2002
YO!
ANNA AND MERCURIA
DO THE "REYNOLDS (W)RAP"
(Well, you knew it had to happen sometime...!)

WITH SPECIAL GUEST
DAVID PALMQUIST
"THE KING OF CONSPIRACY"

Click HERE and listen while you FReep!

Check out the live thread!

[kristinn]

At first glance, this looks like a hybrid department: Some law enforcement, intelligence, border control. biological research, science research, computer infrastructure security, etc.

On further thought, the department will be dangerously close to a domestic military, IMHO, with a "navy", and "army". Someone will realize they don't have an "air force" and that will be on the table soon.

I saw elswhere the department is slated to have 17,000 employees and a budget of $37 billion. I expect both numbers to rise.

This should not be rammed through unexamined. Thank God for our system of checks and balances.

[Dale 1]

Thanks for the summary.

Health and Human Services would of course need to transition some of its chem./bio “defense” effort, but the lion’s share of the current efforts in chem./bio defense is conducted within the Defense Department. HHS is more concerned with natural occurring issues and DoD is exclusively concerned with weapons of mass destruction (chem./bio/nuclear). I wonder what the impact on DoD will be?

[Amerigomag]

Agriculture Department will lose the Plum Island Animal Disease Center

Did anyone say "bioweapons test center"?

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

It will also affect National Institutes of Health researchers working on vaccines for various deadly agents and epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who respond to public health emergencies such at last fall's anthrax attack.

The changes here will be much more complicated than most of the others. In the other cases, existing agencies or sub-agencies are being moved in-toto into the new department. In these cases, we will be dividing up people who work sometimes in adjoining offices, and always in the same buildings, as people who will stay with the NIH and the CDC. Probably they will move people around within complexes, putting all of those going to the new department in one or more buildings, then moving those buildings into the new department.

[El Sordo]

Gleischaltung

[Starwind]

I don't have TV, so what I know I gleaned from the live speech thread, and the above proposed changes which make up the new department.

In all, it was an excellent move both in appearance and substance. A solid structural change to the government that hopefully will have lasting positive effects with the downstream potential for smaller, cost-effective government while protecting our citizenry and borders. It fits my definition of 'conservative' and 'constitutional' and was very "Reaganesque" as Regan_man put it on another thread.

As with corporate M&A and reorg's, this will be difficult and time consuming to implement, but if Bush et al bear down on it, it is achievable and worth doing. I would like to see him set a goal of having the management structure in place by 2004 (congress willing), and the human and physical infrastructure chnages completed by 2008 (assuming he is relected).

If Bush keeps this up, he'll make a believer out of me.