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| House leader seeks to boost White House authority to reorganize agencies |
| 2004-11-14 |
| As President Bush prepares for a second term, his Republican allies on the House Government Reform Committee are considering legislation bolstering executive powers. Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., wants to expedite the process for confirming presidential appointees and reinstate executive reorganization authority, which was granted intermittently to presidents between 1932 and 1984. That would allow the president to propose changes in the structure of government agencies, then submit them to Congress for approval on an up-or-down vote. The authority would minimize the turf wars that inevitably crop up when new agencies such as the Homeland Security Department are created, a Davis spokesman said. Although Congress has not granted the power in two decades, presidents have used it to implement sweeping organizational changes, including creating OMB and the Federal Emergency Management Agency... The executive branch long has complained about the ordeal appointees face in seeking Senate confirmation, a process that has become slower over the years, Davis' spokesman said. Some of Bush's nearly 500 nominees waited 14 months before Senate confirmation... In combination with a push to re-authorize a constitutionally-acceptable line item veto, Bush is getting a running start on his next term. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |