Federal Executive Reorganization
While the homeland security reorganization clearly engages questions of national security, it shares much in common with a long tradition of executive reorganizations that have restructured domestic policy making and administration. Particularly in its impact on intergovernmental relations, the questions it raises about Executive/Congressional relations, and the challenge that consolidating far-flung operations of the Federal Government poses, this reorganization cuts across domestic and national security policy.

Placing the proposal in historical context requires a broad examination of executive reorganization over the course of the twentieth century. The working paper finds that:

The underlying constitutional structure of our government creates serious barriers to major executive reorganization.

There is a stark contrast between executive reorganizations initiated in response to crises and those initiated during periods of relative tranquility.

During times of acute crisis, Americans have ceded relatively large grants of discretion under emergency powers to the president to organize a response to the crisis.

Because the threat to the nation's security may be acute, a speedy response may be essential. Yet the historical record is crystal clear: permanent reorganizations set in motion a process – a process that generally takes years if not decades to implement fully.


There are significant short term costs entailed in attempting executive reorganization.

The political costs of pursuing executive reorganization are high and the likelihood of success low. Most presidents conclude by the end of their administrations that the costs were not worth it.

This study finds that virtually every newly organized agency or department faces growing pains and often stumbles at the outset. Initially, the capacity to address the problem that reorganization was designed to fix may well decrease.…
http://www.americanpoliticaldevelopment.org/exec_reorganization.htm