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The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
“By far the most important initiative and best opportunity for reform in the world ever”
Draft
Target Action Plan #12
12. Reform and Reorganize Congress and the Executive Department by Function and as Necessary to Have an Effective, Efficient Government
(Updated August 16, 2018)
Please consider this as an ever-evolving e-document, awaiting your proposed additions and recommendations which can be emailed to RefinethePlan@PeopleNow.org
12.1.1 Much of the government work is fragmented and duplicated and critical items are being missed as described in the GAO Report Opportunities to Reduce Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other Financial Benefits GAO-18-571T: May 23, 2018 at: https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-571T
TABLE OF CONTENTS
12.4.4 Eliminate all unconstitutional and illegal functions
12.4.6 Make the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a Department
12.4.6.2 TAP 25. Decrease The Rate and Degree of Climate Change and Mitigate its Adverse Effects
12.4.8 Eliminate the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
12.4.9 Eliminate the National Security Agency (NSA)
12.4.10 Eliminate all patronage appointments
12.4.11 Ensure senior officials and ambassadors are well-qualified, non-partisan and non-political
12.4.1 Organize and rename as appropriate the Senate and House Committees and Subcommittees and Departments and Independent Agencies and Government Establishments so that there are parallel Senate and House committees/subcommittees and Executive Departments/Divisions responsible for each function of the Government with the same name.
For example, the Department of Health and Human Services (executive), the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (Senate), and the Committee on Education and the Workforce (House) would be named the same. The corresponding Subcommittees On Primary Health and Retirement Security (Senate) and Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (House) would also be named the same. Also, legislators and officials in these organizations would be dedicated to, interested in and responsible for implementing the SDG TAP that insures that everyone in the country has access to affordable physical, dental, behavioral, aging, etc. health care and accomplishing this in the most effective way possible. Do likewise for affordable housing, nutritious food, clean water, public transportation, etc.
12.4.2 Eliminate the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and reassign the Representatives and Senators serving on the Appropriations Committees into the committees/subcommittees where they have the most experience. For example reassign the Legislators from the Defense Subcommittees (Senate and House) and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittees (Senate and House) into the respective (Senate and House) Armed Services Committee.
12.4.3 Make each committee/subcommittee responsible for appropriations for their related department/division with their same name/function.
12.4.4 Eliminate all unconstitutional and illegal functions such as spying on the people of the U.S. and detention or arrest without warrants and reassign the personnel.
12.4.5 Fold the 95 or so "independent agencies and government establishments”--depending upon their functions and responsibilities--into the applicable departments and divisions of the Executive-Branch Department--unless there are compelling reasons that they remain independent.
12.4.6 Make the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a Department with the responsibility to coordinate the efforts for the following Target Action Plans:
12.4.6.1 TAP 24. Strengthen the EPA and Ban and/or Place Moratoriums on Practices that are Harming the Environment
12.4.6.2 TAP 25. Decrease The Rate and Degree of Climate Change and Mitigate its Adverse Effects
12.4.6.3 TAP 26. Prevent Exploitation of Natural Resources by Corporations, the World Bank, IMF, the U.S. and ‘Other Countries’
12.4.7 Make FEMA into a separate Department and transfer the rest of Homeland Security back to their original organizations
12.4.8 Eliminate the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
12.4.9 Eliminate the National Security Agency (NSA)
12.4.10 Eliminate all patronage appointments
12.4.11 Ensure senior officials and ambassadors are well-qualified, non-partisan and non-political and dedicated to the business of government when they are in their jobs
The House of Representatives has 129 committees/subcommittees; the Senate 61.
The Executive Department has 15 departments each with various divisions, offices, directorates, secretariats, bureaus, administrations, centers, and services. The White House has 21 councils and offices. There are about 95 “independent agencies and government establishments”. It is almost impossible to tell who is responsible for what, and little wonder why things take so long to get done. Appropriation-legislation is late almost every year, and confidence in Congress is less than 10%.
Except for the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, which have identically named subcommittees, all the rest have different--often confusing--names.
In contrast, a nuclear submarine has 11 or 12 divisions, divided among five or so departments. Every department head, division officer, and petty officer, knows exactly what each is responsible for, who reports to each, and who he reports to and it works like a big friendly family for months on its own.
Contrary to law and regulations, many who receive patronage appointments politicize their departments, raise campaign contributions on government time, direct taxpayers money (e.g. subsidies to private firms) while being paid by taxpayers. Many switch from a political-appointee position to a career position.