White House Sets June Deadline for Suggestions from Public on Revamping Government
Officials said the comments would inform Trump's effort to make government smaller, more efficient.
White House officials have set a deadline of one month from now for members of the public to offer their suggestions on how to reform the federal government.
Shortly after Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney issued guidance to federal agencies ending the hiring freeze and asking them to restructure themselves and reduce their workforces, the White House set up a web page where Americans could offer suggestions on how “to reorganize the executive branch and eliminate unnecessary agencies.”
The online form allows users to choose from a variety of agencies, including OMB itself, and lay out a case for changing how they operate—or eliminating them outright.
According to a filing published in the Federal Register Monday, the deadline for submissions will be June 12.
Mulvaney’s memo to agencies ended the temporary hiring freeze instituted shortly after Trump’s inauguration. But it instructed departments to come up with long-term plans to reduce the federal footprint, with preliminary proposals due by June 30.
Agencies will submit their final reform plans to the White House in September to be included in the fiscal 2019 budget proposal.
Officials in the White House were not able to provide statistics on how many people had submitted ideas through the web page as of Monday afternoon. But late last month, an official said more than 10,000 comments had been received.
Since then, some agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Broadcasting Board of Governors, elected to maintain the hiring freeze as they work on plans to implement the OMB guidance.
The first agency to unveil its restructuring plans was the Agriculture Department, although officials there said workforce reductions would not be included in their initial proposal.