Obama Asks for Reorganization Power, Offers Consolidations

President Obama has announced a proposal supposedly aimed at scaling down and reforming some government agencies.

Obama’s proposed plan would consolidate six agencies into one agency to “promote competitiveness, exports, and American business,” according to a press release from the White House.

The six agencies that could be consolidated are the U.S. Department of Commerce’s core business and trade functions, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

Obama is calling on Congress to reinstate the authority that past presidents have had to reorganize areas of the federal government.

“This is the same sort of authority that every business owner has to make sure that his or her company keeps pace with the times,” Obama said. “And let me be clear: I will only use this authority for reforms that result in more efficiency, better service, and a leaner government.”

Texas U.S. Senator John Cornyn is not convinced of Obama’s government-shrinking intentions.

“Yesterday President Obama asked for a $1.2 trillion increase in the debt limit, today he is proposing to shrink the federal government,” Cornyn said. “Unfortunately President Obama does not have much of a record to back up his newfound, election-year enthusiasm for limited government.”