Limiting Government Programs

MAKING GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBLE means . . . limiting the federal Government to those programs and activities that require a national effort and can only be done by the federal Government . . . instituting and retaining only those programs that address real problems and are demonstrating progress toward solving them . . . minimizing the federal bureaucracy and putting taxpayer money to work where it is really needed.

POSITION SUMMARY:

We need to reduce the size of government by:

• Consolidating all programs [and agencies] having a common objective.

• Eliminating all programs [and agencies] that have outlived their purpose.

[How these objectives can be accomplished by by approach to Congressional action is discussed in "Legislating Responsibly."]

DISCUSSION:  

It is easy to criticize Government for being too big, and for spending too much.  But the size of the federal bureaucracy and the federal budget are not what we should be concerned about.

The federal bureaucracy, and the federal budget, are as large as they are because of what Congress has decided Government should be doing.   

Our problem is not that government has grown too big.  Our problem is that government is trying to do too many things. 

In a 2007 report on the state of the government’s management of federal programs, the General Accountancy Office, [GAO] said:

“A top-to-bottom review of federal programs and policies is essential. Congress, the President and the American people need to decide which federal activities remain priorities, which should be overhauled and which have simply outlived their usefulness.” [GAO-08-93SP]

In that same report, the GAO specifically noted that one of the requirements for bringing about the needed change is “a champion for reform [who] can galvanize support.” I intend to be that person.

We may not all agree on what the federal government should be doing, but we can probably agree on some basic principles.    

• The federal government should address national problems -- but no others. 

Not every problem requires a "national" solution.  Not even all the problems that are common across all states require federal action. 

We need to stop trying to solve every problem, and focus on the problems that require federal action -- and that can be solved.

• The federal government needs to be big enough to manage national problems--but no bigger.

One study by the Government Accountability Office [GAO-03-718T], reports the we have: 50 different programs for the homeless administered by eight different federal agencies; 26 different food and nutrition aid programs administered by six different agencies and 44 different employment and training programs administered by nine different agencies.  In one of its later reports, [GAO-06-15] the GAO said that:

“Interagency collaboration is often hindered by incompatible procedures, processes, data, and computer systems. Instead, federal agencies carry out programs in a fragmented, uncoordinated way, resulting in a patchwork of programs that can waste scarce funds, confuse and frustrate program customers, and limit the overall effectiveness of the federal effort.”

If a problem is worthy of federal action, we need ONE comprehensive, coordinated and integrated program to address it.

• Federal programs need to last long enough to solve national problems -- but no longer.

Federal programs all have constituencies, both the providers and users of program services and the agencies that administer them.  These constituencies have a vested interest in the continuation of programs that benefit them.

Once programs and agencies have been established, it is virtually impossible to terminate them.

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