Apr 21st 2014, 16:44:06
Department of State - Detailed review needed to determine where the Fed. Gov. doesn't need to be.
Department of the Treasury - Detailed review needed to determine where the Fed. Gov. doesn't need to be.
Department of Defense - Detailed review needed to determine where the Fed. Gov. doesn't need to be.
Department of Justice - Detailed review needed to determine where the Fed. Gov. doesn't need to be.
Department of the Interior - Detailed review needed to determine where the Fed. Gov. doesn't need to be. "Where" in this case can probably be taken rather more literally than others. As much land for which the Fed. Gov. is responsible as possible should be released to state control.
Department of Agriculture - Perhaps rename it to Department of Agriculture and Health. Then, move the Centers for Disease Control, FDA, National Institutes of Health, and other health related endeavors here.
Department of Commerce - Eliminate. Move NOAA and the Patent and Trademark Office to appropriate remaining departments (specifically Transportation and/or Treasury and/or Interior respectively).
Department of Labor - Eliminate. Re-create some functions at other federal agencies only as it becomes known that they are needed, but they should never be significant functions.
Department of Health and Human Services - Eliminate or reduce it's responsibilities to only Health. See Department of Agriculture for important agencies that need to be retained under a cabinet level department.
Department of Housing and Urban Development - Eliminate.
Department of Transportation - Detailed review needed to determine where the Fed. Gov. doesn't need to be. (An aside, I did not know the Coast Guard went from Treasury to Transportation to Homeland Security.)
Department of Energy - Remove as cabinet level position. Conduct a thorough review of exactly what the agency actually does and relocate surviving functions to the Department of the Interior.
Department of Education - Move Federal Student Aid to the Department of the Treasury. Move federal role for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and Gallaudet University to the Department of the Interior. Eliminate the remainder of the department.
Department of Veterans Affairs - The VA should expand its relevant agencies to assume the functions of eliminated departments related to military veterans (including promoting employment and education for veterans).
Department of Homeland Security - Detailed review needed to determine where the Fed. Gov. doesn't need to be. Move the Secretary of Homeland Security into the line of succession after the Attorney General.
Just starting with Cabinet positions.