March 15th, 2017
In one of the latest Executive Orders to come out of the White House, the President directed the new Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to put together a “comprehensive” plan to “reorganize governmental functions and eliminate unnecessary agencies. . . , components of agencies, and agency programs.”
The process will begin with agency heads submitting to the OMB Director, within 180 days, proposed plans for their agencies. The OMB Director will then invite the public to offer comments on agency functioning and efficiency, comments that will help shape the plan.
The OMB Director will submit to the President a plan to reorganize the executive branch within 180 days of the closing of the public comment period. The Director will interact with agency heads and “experts inside and outside of the federal government” in creating the plan.
The White House will then work with Congress to implement the plan, as legislation will likely be needed to implement portions of it.
FABBS will track efforts to reorganize federal science agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, as well as science programs within the federal agencies. We will also let our readers know when the public comment period begins, as scientists may also need to weigh in to ensure reorganization efforts do not hinder scientific progress.
View the Executive Order on whitehouse.gov.
