{ "id": "R41841", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R41841", "active": false, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 445389, "date": "2012-03-08", "retrieved": "2016-04-07T00:13:01.929794", "title": "Executive Branch Reorganization Initiatives During the 112th Congress: A Brief Overview", "summary": "On January 13, 2012, President Barack Obama announced a proposal for a federal government reorganization. This reorganization initially would involve two legislative stages. First, the President would ask Congress to reinstate the so-called \u201cPresident\u2019s reorganization authority,\u201d an expedited process that was available to Presidents periodically between 1932 and 1984. A legislative proposal that would renew this authority was conveyed to Congress on February 16, 2012. A bill that is substantively similar to the Administration\u2019s request, S. 2129, was subsequently introduced in the Senate. Should this authority be reinstated, the President has indicated that, as his first action under the authority, he would submit a plan to consolidate six business- and trade-related agencies into one. \nPresident Obama had previously announced, in his 2011 State of the Union address, that his Administration would be proposing such a reorganization. On March 11, 2011, the President issued a memorandum to the heads of departments and executive branch agencies providing further detail and direction on the development of a reorganization plan. The Deputy Director for Management (DDM) at the Office of Management and Budget was given the responsibility for leading this effort. Related recommendations were submitted to the President on June 9, 2011.\nIn addition, a number of bills with reorganization-related provisions were introduced in the House and Senate during the 112th Congress. Some of these provisions would defund or abolish specified government programs and agencies (e.g., H.R. 1, H.R. 861, H.R. 672, and S. 162). Some introduced bills would merge existing agencies and their functions or consolidate programs (e.g., H.R. 1782, S. 892, and S. 945). Other bills would establish bipartisan commissions that would evaluate current organizational arrangements and develop legislation that would be considered by Congress under expedited procedures (e.g., H.R. 155 and S. 14). Still other bills would make changes to organizational arrangements that were newly established by the 111th Congress, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Independent Payment Advisory Board (e.g., H.R. 557, H.R. 1315, H.R. 1355, H.R. 1121, S. 737, H.R. 452, and S. 668). \nThe context within which the Obama Administration and Congress are proposing and considering reorganization is shaped by a number of factors, including heightened concerns about the federal debt, the deficit, job creation, and economic recovery; controversy related to financial regulatory and health care financing-related agencies established by legislation enacted during the 111th Congress; a belief, among some, that the federal government should be smaller and more efficient; and a perception that some agencies have failed to fulfill their responsibilities.\nConstitutionally, the establishment and organization of governmental entities, such as departments and agencies, is the province of Congress. The President has often played a leadership role in reorganization of the executive branch by proposing and advocating legislation in public statements and private negotiations. At times, Congress has provided the President with greater leverage to statutorily change executive branch organizational arrangements by enacting time-limited expedited reorganization processes. A variety of administrative tools for making smaller-scale structural and process organizational changes are also available. \nThis report describes the ways that executive branch reorganization can occur as a result of Administration and congressional actions, and describes recent initiatives in the context of that typology. The report concludes with some observations regarding federal reorganization efforts. The report was last updated in early 2012 and will not be updated further.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41841", "sha1": "14891c1aae6359b1b27cf18ec3cedc0f152a1507", "filename": "files/20120308_R41841_14891c1aae6359b1b27cf18ec3cedc0f152a1507.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41841", "sha1": "052d300080607000783e3c62a0073561729b6d13", "filename": "files/20120308_R41841_052d300080607000783e3c62a0073561729b6d13.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc40173/", "id": "R41841_2011May26", "date": "2011-05-26", "retrieved": "2011-08-27T10:13:38", "title": "Executive Branch Reorganization Initiatives During the 112th Congress: A Brief Overview", "summary": "This report describes the ways that executive branch reorganization can occur as a result of Administration and congressional actions, and describes recent initiatives in the context of that typology. The report concludes with some observations regarding federal reorganization efforts.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110526_R41841_57bbbe48cd6c3a7353447d4a9bea817682de3a9e.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110526_R41841_57bbbe48cd6c3a7353447d4a9bea817682de3a9e.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Executive reorganization", "name": "Executive reorganization" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Executive departments", "name": "Executive departments" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Bureaucracy", "name": "Bureaucracy" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congressional-executive relations", "name": "Congressional-executive relations" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Executive departments", "name": "Executive departments" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congressional liaison", "name": "Congressional liaison" } ] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Constitutional Questions", "Economic Policy", "Foreign Affairs", "Intelligence and National Security", "Science and Technology Policy" ] }