Posted by Letter to DOGE
Joe Go Bold or Go Home, revised
I agree with your idea of reviewing the Federal government’s operations to improve efficiency. The first step should be to review prior commissions and studies from the Carter era and implement still-valid recommendations.
Next, your commission should examine all agencies, especially the Defense Department, DHS, Intelligence agencies, and Social Security. Empower Federal employees to make recommendations and meet with agency heads, OMB, GAO, and congressional committees to formulate plans, including drafting executive orders and implementing legislation as needed..
Revise the renventing government programs, ensuring each agency constantly reviews and updates its processes with input from workers and the public. The goal is to spend less by eliminating non-essential services. The efficiency committee should meet quarterly with GAO, Congressional staff and OMB and report progress to OMB, and the President.
Follow up on your transparency pledge by posting findings online and requesting public input. The final report should be public, with OMB stating which proposals they support.
Create a New Department of Immigration and Consular Affairs
Merge the Consular Affairs Bureau, DHS CIS, ICE, and Department of Labor certification programs into a new cabinet level agency.
Most employees will work at the Kentucky Consular Center, immigration service centers, passport offices,
ports of entry, spending 40% of their time overseas. Only senior staff will remain in DC. All staff will be Foreign Service officers, undergoing one year of training, followed by two domestic and two overseas assignments.
Routine NIVs will be processed via ETA, with most countries part of the VWP. Overseas positions will have three to five line officers and a section chief. There will be four divisions: NIV, immigration visa processing, fraud detection, and consular protection services.
Entry to the Department of State, Immigration and Consular Affairs, and DHS will require graduate degrees and overseas experience. Credit will be given for military or Peace Corps service. Officers will start at FS level 05, serve three years of probation, and be promoted to 03 upon tenure. They will serve ten-year terms with reviews every ten years. Retirement age will be 60, with optional service to 70. Maximum entry age is 30.
Create a New Cabinet Department of International Trade
Merge offices within Commerce, State, DOL, and other agencies. Expand the number of foreign commercial and agricultural officers, requiring the same entry criteria as the State Department and the new
Department of Immigration and Consular Services.
DOD Savings
Privatize Commissary, PX, golf courses, bowling alleys, and other support services. Consolidate all military air services into the Air Force. Privatize military lodging and turn over base schools to local districts, keeping DOD schools overseas.
There is no rational reason why DOD should be operating the Eight Largest grocery chain in the world. Walmart, or Target could opperate if much more efficiently. they could provide discounts to active duty personel based on rank. and shopping would be tax free as well.
Same thing applies to domestic DOD schools, they should be turned over to the local school district. Same thing for base libraries, they should also be turned over to the local library system, with a branch library on base. the military lodging facilities should be contracted out as well. On base dining should also be contracted out. Recreational facilities should also be contracted out to the local regional government recreational facilities but remain located on base. Overseas schools, libraries and recreational facilities should be run by DOD except where it is practical to have local governments manage them on a contract basis. Certainty Walmart or Target could and should opperate international commissaries and PX services. All of these services could and should be privatized saving the government money without harming national security.
Consolidate intelligence agencies into the CIA.
Merge the National Forest land and BLM lands eliminating the BLM.
Merge national monuments into the National Park Service.
Reform the Federal Budget Process
The USG faces a fiscal cliff. To address this, the government must become more efficient, generate new revenue, and reduce non essential spending, starting with the DOD. Consider Republican proposals like a biennial budget cycle, eliminating most tax expenditures, introducing a flat tax and a National Debt Reduction Tax, restructuring federal agencies, and moving many agencies outside Washington.
There are trillions in unspent funds that need to be liquidated and used for debt relief. Reform the budget process to end automatic CRs and government shutdowns, and eliminate the debt ceiling limit..
Shift to a two-year budget cycle, with the first year for passing the budget and the second for oversight. Mandate Congress to pass the budget by year-end, with automatic CRs if not passed on time Shift the fiscal year back to a calendar year cycle.
Jake Cosmos Aller
Retired Foreign Service Officer
Medium
Substack
Substack Podcast
https://open.substack.com/pub/jakecosmosaller/p/letter-to-doge-992?r=3i9lm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Spotify Podcast
Watt Pad
Your story can be found here
3
20
20
20
