Obama seeks authority to shrink government

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- President Obama called on U.S. Congress Friday to reinstate the authority presidents once had to streamline and reform the federal government.

"This is the same sort of authority that every business owner has to make sure that his or her company keeps pace with the times," Obama said in remarks. "And let me be clear -- I will only use this authority for reforms that result in more efficiency, better service and a leaner government."

In the interim, Obama said he would elevate the Small Business Administration to a Cabinet-level office "to make sure that small-business owners have their own seat at the table in our Cabinet meetings."

He also said his administration would unveil a new business-oriented Web site that will consolidate information now spread across a number of Web sites.

Reinstating this authority would allow Obama to fulfill a pledge he made during last year's State of the Union to streamline government by, among other things, merging duplicative services and agencies.

He said Congress first granted this authority during the Great Depression so presidents "could swiftly reorganize the executive branch to meet the changing needs of the American people and the immediate challenges of the Great Depression."

For more than a half-century, "presidents were able to streamline or consolidate the executive branch by submitting a proposal to Congress that was guaranteed a simple up or down vote," he said.

However, Congress stopped granting that authority in 1984 while Ronald Reagan was president, he said. And in the intervening years, efforts to streamline government have slowed under congressional rules.

"[Because] it's always easier to add than to subtract in Washington; inertia prevented any real reform from happening," he said. "Layers kept getting added on."

"Go talk to the skilled professionals in government who are serving their country … and they'll tell you that their efforts are constantly undermined by an outdated bureaucratic maze," Obama said. "Go talk to the Americans … who deal with the government on a regular basis and they'll tell you that it's not always the highlight of their day."

He noted the Department of Homeland Security "reports to over 100 different congressional panels."

He said his administration, during the past three years, has tried to rectify some wasteful wrongs by paring government when possible and taking advantage of 21st century technology.

"Right now there are six departments and agencies focused primarily on business and trade and government," Obama said, including the Commerce Department, the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Trade Representative's office. "In this case, six is not better than one."

With the authority he's seeking, Obama said the six could become one more efficient entity and be more efficient and customer-focused.

"That's a big idea," he said to applause.

If Congress would reinstate the authority that previous presidents have had, "we can fix this," Obama said.

"With or without Congress, I'm going to act," Obama said, adding that he'd prefer congressional buy-in because reinstating the authority should have bipartisan support.

"We can do this better. We can provide taxpayers better value," Obama said, pledging again to fight "every day to rebuild the economy."

Obama also repeated his belief that the country was at a "make-or-break moment,"

"There's enormous potential out there," Obama said. "But we've got to take advantage of it."