The President's Reorganization Authority

A fundamental problem in the reorganization process is that, although substantial time and resources are devoted to deciding what to reorganize, little attention is given to planning the mechanics of how the reorganizations are to be implemented. Lack of early implementation planning results in substantial startup problems, and without implementation data, Congress is not aware of the full impact of reorganization requirements. GAO reviewed four reorganized agencies. In two agencies, the appointment of key officials took 10 to 23 months. All of the agencies experienced delays from 9 to 30 months in acquiring other needed staff. Three of the agencies were not sufficiently funded, and all of the agencies had difficulty obtaining adequate office space. Four of the agencies experienced delays of from 13 to 29 months in establishing administrative support functions. Many problems of implementation were left for resolution to the new and reorganized agencies, although the Office of Management and Budget did provide coordination and oversight. A better mechanism to put approved reorganizations in place might be a high level interagency implementation task force with the authority to obtain commitments from all of the affected Federal agencies. GAO recommended that legislation granting reorganization authority to the President require that reorganization plans contain a section on proposed implementation actions to be taken. Proposed legislation would require more information to accompany reorganization plans and would increase the time for congressional consideration. It would prohibit the use of reorganization authority to create new independent Federal agencies and would modify congressional procedures for approving reorganization plans. This proposed legislation is an improvement over the approval process of the previous law. It contains a number of provisions that encourage a vote on every reorganization plan by both the House and Senate. It contemplates passage, rather than defeat, of a resolution by both Houses as a condition of plan approval.