Less than two months after he took office, President Trump said he wanted a top-to-bottom reorganization of the federal government to streamline its operations and eliminate unneeded programs. The overhaul would include consolidating food stamps, now run by the USDA, and other social safety net programs at the Department of Health and Human Services, said Politico, with the possibility that the department’s name would be changed to include “welfare” in the title.
SNAP and other public nutrition programs, such as school lunch and WIC, account for roughly 70 percent of USDA outlays. Some 42.2 million people received food stamps in fiscal 2017 at a cost of $68 billion.
“You have low-income assistance in a bunch of different shops. … Why not have one federal agency responsible for execution?” said one of the two unnamed sources cited by Politico in its story.
The administration is expected to unveil its proposal, “with big changes at many federal agencies,” later this month, said Politico. “The plan is still being finalized and some of the details could change, but one of the people familiar with the report said the proposal to reorganize HHS has widespread buy-in at OMB,” which is overseeing the reorganization project. “It’s unclear exactly how HHS would be reshuffled, but sources said its new name would emphasize programs that provide assistance to low-income Americans, potentially restoring the term ‘welfare’ to the title of the department.” The HHS runs the federal welfare program, Medicaid, and Medicare.
Many states run SNAP out of the same agency that handles their social welfare programs. The Heritage Foundation has proposed moving SNAP to HHS, said Politico.
Over the years, reformers have proposed — without success — creating a single agency in charge of food safety, centralizing federal oversight of genetically engineered plants and animals, and combining public nutrition programs. Reorganization plans often founder, due in part to political turf battles and the inertia of large organizations.
When Trump signed an executive order in March 2017 for a federal reorganization, the White House said it would take more than a year to gather suggestions from federal agencies, allow public comment on the proposals, and write the government-wide plan. “The proposed plan shall include, as appropriate, recommendations to eliminate unnecessary agencies, components of agencies, and agency programs, and to merge functions,” said the executive order. The White House said some activities might be shifted to state and local governments or left to the private sector.