View Full Version : Structure of US Executive Branches
So, recently I read yet another article where the journalist wasn't so thrilled with the Department of Homeland Security because they weren't working (I didn't bother reading much as to why). Cool, to each their own. But it got me into thinking about why the DHS exists in the first place.
The various departments shoved under the umbrella of the DHS had problems communicating. Surprise, surprise, bureaucracies hogging intelligence is nothing new in any level of government. Then I found this site (http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/fedgov.html), which though incomplete paints a pretty clear picture of redundancy. A LOT of redundancy.
I made this breakdown of various agencies I think relate to the broad topic of "Homeland Security".
Department of Defense (DOD)
National Security Agency (NSA)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Customs and Border Protection
Coast Guard
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Secret Service
Transportation Security Agency (TSA)
Office of Law Enforcement (Federal Air Marshal Service)
US Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Intelligence Community (Jobs)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
United States Marshals Service (USMS)
Department of State (DOS)
Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN)
Department of State Library
Note - this is an incomplete list
My question to you guys is this: if you were free to restructure the US Executive Branch departments, either all of them or those above, how would you do so? I'm still working through details and hope to provide my own suggestion, but many of you have actually worked in or still work in fields where you've got a much more close-up view of how these departments work than I do.
Discussion... go!
-B
Business_Casual
10-26-08, 15:47
The founding fathers said the Federal Government should provide for the common defense.
They didn't say anything about most of what the Federal Government does now - making certain plants (or derivatives there of) illegal for instance, housing involvement, education departments, etc.
But good luck convincing the average doofus they are paying for a vast and unlawful enterprise on the banks of the Potomac.
M_P
As a member of the USCG, I can tell you that ever since we got transfered from DOT to DHS, our effectiveness has definately increased. Being under the same department as CBP and having a mutual understanding between our agencies has helped in illegal immigration and drugs trafficking. But at the same time, I think there are too many agencies that fall under DHS. I think the USSS should be transfered back to the Treasury because they are still the number one LEA in regards to financial crimes. Also I don't see why Citizenship and Immigration Services would be under DHS.
Well, did a bit of thinking, and so far this is what I came up with. Y'all with more experience in this bizniz feel free to correct any incorrect assumptions I've made.
Before:
Department of Defense (DOD)
National Security Agency (NSA)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Customs and Border Protection
Coast Guard
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Secret Service
Transportation Security Agency (TSA)
Office of Law Enforcement (Federal Air Marshal Service)
US Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Intelligence Community (Jobs)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
United States Marshals Service (USMS)
Department of State (DOS)
Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN)
Department of State Library
Independent and other agencies, boards, commissions, and committies
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (independent)
Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (under Department of Treasury)
Selective Service System (independent)
White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security (commission)
After:
Department of Defense
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Roll NSA intelligence functions and US Intelligence Community into this
Coast Guard (USCG)
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Both combined into one group instead of split into two distinct sub-agencies Roll security functions of TSA into this
Secret Service
Transportation Security Agency (TSA) Performs mostly federal safety inspection duties Security functions yielded to CBP Roll reporting functions of White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security into this
Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) most general police functions removed Primarily to investigate federal government
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Would work closely with CBP and Coast Guard
Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Roll Federal Law Enforcement Training Center into this Emphasizes dissemination of information and training to federal and state LEOs Create a database/library of DOJ crime information (statistics, trends, etc.)
United States Marshals Service
Department of State (ambassadors, international communication & trade)
Department of State Library
One of the ideas suggested to me is that the now-combined CBP be rolled into the Army and the Coast Guard be rolled into the Navy. What's listed above doesn't reflect this; just more food for thought.
Now, this is obviously incomplete and deals almost strictly with the topic of "national security"; however, the remaining departments and agencies move out of my "comfort zone" of the little knowledge I do have and I'd have to do quite a bit of research, and rely quite a bit on the information of others more learned in each of the agencies/departments omitted from the above list, before I thought about what could be removed, slimmed down, etc.
Is restructuring like this so far-fetched an idea?
-B
One of the ideas suggested to me is that the now-combined CBP be rolled into the Army and the Coast Guard be rolled into the Navy. What's listed above doesn't reflect this; just more food for thought.
I think you may have a problem with Posse Comitatus with this idea. Army cannot do law enforcement which is a CBP function. It seems the Coast Guard is a "civilian" organization except during times of war. Wikipedia says it has both LE and Military roles and seems to have an exemption in Posse Comitatus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_guard
Actually the USCG is not a civilian agency. It is a military agency and all members are subject to UMCJ. If you take a look at 14 U.S.C. § 1, it states:
"The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times. The Coast Guard shall be a service in the Department of Homeland Security, except when operating as a service in the Navy."
In times of war, the USCG is just transfered to the Secretary of the Navy. Nothing else changes. But we do have the unique ability to perform law enforcement. All E-4 and above and officers are considered federal law enforcement officers, which I thought was pretty cool and the reason I joined the branch.
Thanks for the information guys. Looks like unless the Posse Comitatus Act would need to be either rewritten or repealed to roll the Border Patrol into any of the uniformed services; I'm personally okay with this. Might it make sense to treat the Border Patrol exactly like the Coast Guard or would it be most effective if left independent from the military entirely?
-B
MisterWilson
10-28-08, 21:08
Thanks for the information guys. Looks like unless the Posse Comitatus Act would need to be either rewritten or repealed to roll the Border Patrol into any of the uniformed services; I'm personally okay with this. Might it make sense to treat the Border Patrol exactly like the Coast Guard or would it be most effective if left independent from the military entirely?
-B
BAD.
IDEA.
The war on drugs will get really bad when they start wheeling in artillery.
(And before some of you folks start getting excited at the prospect, remember that it's a war against our own people)
You'll note no DEA in my revised version. ;)
The suggestion came as part of a conversation on this topic, where one of the more popular ideas was to withdraw the National Guard back to being the NATIONAL guard, keeping them state-side unless an absolutely dire and pressing need requires them elsewhere. BP would then be rolled into the National Guard. It's my (current) understanding that the National Guard is under the Department of the Army(?). If the Border Patrol was rolled into the National Guard, would that mean they would, by extension, be rolled into the Army? This is where the posse comitatus gets confusing to me, since the Air Force and Army are prohibited by name from deploying within the country, but the National Guard is fine (possible status as organized militia?).
Still, right now I'm not convinced BP should be rolled into the uniformed services at all; I rather like where they are. Put them and Customs in the same uniform, combine manpower and resources, and with the funds saved from cutting out the excess agencies there's no damn reason at all why both BP and USCG can't be plenty well funded to do their job at protecting US borders and coastline.
-B
Is restructuring like this so far-fetched an idea?
Don't take this the wrong way, but in my opinion you are getting too focused on the "org chart" without having slugged through the more relevant questions of what their mission should be. Once you can define that, then you align capabilities to achieve those objectives. An "org chart" would fall out of that at some point, but it is not where you start, it is where you end up. Capabilities are what are important, and there are many ways to achieve the same set of capabilities. Some may produce better results, some worse.
The capabilities the DHS is working to achieve right now are outlined in their five year strategic plan:
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/DHS_StratPlan_FINAL_spread.pdf
They define their charter as follows:
"We are a unified Department with a shared focus: strengthening our Nation – through a partnership with individual citizens, the private sector, state, local, and tribal governments, and our global partners. We must also coordinate across Federal agencies, while shaping homeland security policy and coordinating incident management.
"We seek continually to improve the operations of the Department, to discharge our duty of safeguarding the home front. This includes:
1. Clarifying, defining, and communicating leadership roles, responsibilities, and lines of authority at all government levels;
2. Strengthening accountability systems that balance the need for fast, flexible response with the need to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse;
3. Consolidating efforts to integrate the Department’s critical mission of preparedness; and
4. Enhancing our capabilities to respond to major disasters and emergencies, including catastrophic events, particularly in terms of situational assessment and awareness, emergency communications, evacuations, search and rescue, logistics, and mass care and sheltering."
In short, the DHS is about one thing: INTEGRATING all the critical functions necessary to prepare for or respond to any and all threats to security of the homeland. Integrate doesn't mean "own". Also note that the domain of this integration starts at the top with federal services: USCG, NG, BP, FBI, agencies, infrastructure, etc., but does not stop there. It goes on to include state and local agencies and functions, and even citizens themselves. It is not about creating a new federal bureaucracy, it is about integrating and coordinating across all the various functional silos that exist from the federal government down to the local level and the individual.
Because people are territorial and organizations are self promoting, this is not an easy task. Everyone wants to protect their authority and their budget. This is basic human nature, but contrary to what's best for the country. It leaves us vulnerable. Let's say a nuke goes off in a major U.S. city. Action is neccessary! Everyone on your list shows up, plus all the state and local entities to boot. There they are -- sitting in their vehicles at the city limits. Who does what? Who knows who is SUPPOSED to do what? Who's in charge? Who tells you what to do, and who should you be telling what to do? What is legal to tell someone to do? Who can you ask for help? What kind of help can anyone provide? How can you even communicate? Your radios don't even operate in the same bandwidth! How can you share information? How can you work together to solve this problem? Right now is a really bad time to try to figure it out! In New Orleans, we didn't figure it out. The sad part is we haven't done much to improve this situation since then.
Breaking down silos and getting these functions to work together is one of the toughest jobs in the world. People have their piece of the pie, and the most common practice is to protect their turf. Throwing money at things is what the government does best, but that doesn't solve the fundamental problems. It could help dramatically to spend money in certain areas once you got everyone headed in a unified direction. Other than that you will probably waste most of what you spend. It is hard to find any lasting value out of the billions and billions of dollars spent shortly after 9/11. You have to overcome basic human nature to get all these functions work together to develop integrated concepts of operations, common communications infrastructures, common information sharing systems, etc. That is what is going to make a difference.
BAC,
# Transportation Security Agency (TSA)
* Performs mostly federal safety inspection duties
* Security functions yielded to CBP
* Roll reporting functions of White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security into this
If they give up their security function, what purpose do they serve? We already have an agency that handles aviation safety, the FAA.
The NTSB does the post crash investigations.
BAC,
If they give up their security function, what purpose do they serve? We already have an agency that handles aviation safety, the FAA.
The NTSB does the post crash investigations.
TSA also deals with trucks, trains, etc. so it's not just an aviation issue. Most people see the TSA at the airport and think that looking though your carry-on is pretty much it. Nope, they get to torture other modes of transportation as well.
BlueForce, I well and truly agree with you on almost everything you wrote, but the underlying premise of this type of "reorganization" is to streamline by removing excess; it isn't meant to get too in-depth, because generalized statements can usually suffice. Do we absolutely need a separate department dedicated to integrating other departments and organizing responses to emergencies and threats? Why can that not be a default function of the Department of Defense?
I agree with the idea behind the DHS, but, as you've indicated yourself in our lack of improvement in the areas you brought up, it isn't being used well - a great idea with poor execution at best, a band-aid on a problem that's otherwise being ignored at worst. My proposal isn't that we create a new bureaucracy/department to facilitate integration, but that we restructure the agencies, departments, and organizations. First, create actual efficiency: find out who's competing for turf and remove that competition. Why do the CIA, NSA, and US Intelligence Community need to be three distinct groups? Why can't the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center be tucked into the normal functions of the Office of Justice Programs? This is the simple removing of excess. Getting rid of government entities that the federal government isn't supposed to have in the first place would also be a part of this. Second, and more to your point, restructure them so that the default position of the department under which the smaller agencies and organizations find themselves IS facilitating communication and integration with one another. This should be the function of the "umbrella" departments, provided it doesn't diminish the ability of the agencies and organizations themselves to communicate with one another and with those who don't fall under the same overall department; ICE should absolutely be in close communication with both Border Patrol and the Coast Guard, for instance.
PPGMD, like Ross said, TSA does more than just deal with planes, but you make a point and I haven't considered the FAA too much. So far as I know, they deal mostly with flying regulations and safety, not with inspection of security threats and performing security functions. I was thinking more than the FAA would still exist in its current capacity, TSA's airline security functions are turned over to the CBP, but security inspections and security functions outside of airports would still remain.
-B
BAC, that won't work.
DoD does not need, nor should it contain the agencies that you describe. Their intelligence capability need only include DIA and NSA as a way to help them asses enemy capability.
CIA cannot function as a part of DoD because it will be used to assess target and do BDA. CIA is based on a triangle. One leg is espionage, one is covert action and one is analysis. CIA must be reformed in place, or a new agency created that can do all three roles, but the level of interaction required is very high, so they can't be split up
You eliminated BIR from DoS, which is a mistake, because they offer some of the best analysis available in the community.
DoD does not exist to defend the United States, it exists to got to. While war is a component of defense, a robust IC and diplomacy are just as necessary. The US has viewed defense issues as military issues since 1947 and that has caused a tremendous amount of grief. If anything, steps need to be taken to let DoS assume the role of leadership in the future.
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