President-elect Donald Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is wasting no time in laying the groundwork for efforts to reduce the size and scope of government. With that Elon Musk Vivek Ramaswamy There is no question who is the right person to lead this effort. Mr. Musk famously cut employees after buying Twitter, and Mr. Ramaswamy made reducing the federal workforce a centerpiece of his presidential campaign a year ago.
It shows that they know how to find cost savings and are not afraid to do so.
Musk and Ramaswamy, who visited with congressional Republicans last week, even vowed to stay the course.naughty and niceA list of who will and won’t work with them to save taxpayers money.
To that end, who wouldn’t want to be on the “good” list, especially at this time of year? — Here are some thoughts.
First, they have to look at the big picture. they won’t find 2 trillion dollars Mr. Musk vowed to save by focusing on the old standbys: “waste, fraud, and abuse.” Yes, they will definitely find a lot of waste, fraud, and abuse at the Government Accountability Office (Gao) reports that staff will review it, but that is not enough.
Realizing significant savings would require reducing not only the size but also the scope of the federal government. The federal government isn’t huge because it spends money inefficiently, it’s huge because it does things that don’t need to be done.
Second, they would need to take advantage of the fact that much of that large government was not specifically authorized by Congress. This vast federal government was created by a slew of alphabet soup executive branch agencies that have imposed legally enforceable regulations for decades, even though Congress never authorized them.
To reverse this, chainsaws would need to comply with federal regulations. And as the federal regulatory system shrinks, the federal workforce will also need to be reduced proportionately. That shouldn’t be a problem. huge number of federal employees haven’t gone back to work yet in their offices even though the COVID-19 crisis ended years ago. DOGE should recommend that federal employees who refuse instructions to return to office work be fired. That would also save taxpayers money. Reducing the federal workforce by 10% would save about $40 billion each year.
Third, recognize that executive orders alone are not enough to create lasting change. This is because executive orders can be overturned by the next president. On the other hand, the law can only be overturned by new action by Congress and the president. That makes the law more difficult to overturn.
One legal change that has the long-term benefit of keeping the federal government under control is Rains methodThe bill would require federal agencies that want to introduce new regulations that have a significant impact on the economy to first obtain approval from Congress, with affirmative votes in both houses of Congress, and then the president’s signature. . . As I said when discussing this on a recent podcast with American Commitment’s Phil Karpen, “Imagine Congress voting on something before it becomes law!”
The second legislative change that could bring about major changes would be reform of the Civil Service Act, which governs federal employees. Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy intend to recommend it. major exclusion Number of positions in the federal workforce. Under the current system, it is much more difficult to fire employees than in the private sector, even for insubordination or clear violation of rules. And before you argue, “But the trade-off they agree to, and which we must respect, is that public servants accept lower pay in exchange for greater job security.” .” Recent analysis by Cato Institute It shows that “the average wage and benefits for federal employees in 2023 will be $157,000, significantly higher than the average wage and benefits for the U.S. private sector of $94,000.”
Better job security along with higher pay? That wasn’t the deal.
Introducing Congressman Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) his merit method At the last Congress. The bill was designed to give agency managers more power to fire poor employees, speed up schedules and make other reforms to bring the system closer to the private sector model. Something along these lines could be very helpful as federal administrators seek to meet the needs of a reduced workforce.
DOGE’s work begins with broad public support. recent opinion polls It was conducted by McLaughlin & Associates for the organization I lead. tea party patriots actionshows that 71% of Americans support the creation of DOGE and 65% support firing public employees who do not return to the office to do their jobs.
Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy have taken on a big task and recognize the opportunity in front of them. By focusing on big-picture efforts to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, we can return the federal government to its constitutional constraints, allowing government officials to be smaller, less intrusive, and more responsive to their needs. You can belong to a low-cost government that can accommodate you. The people are working in the name of their desires and authority.
Jenny Beth Martin is Chair Emeritus of Tea Party Patriots Action.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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