Today, the Trump administration proposed merging the Education and Labor departments. The proposal is part of a larger government overhaul that also touches on programs in the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Commerce, Health and Human Services, and State. The White House Office of Management and Budget has been working on the plan for more than a year.

Some key elements of the proposal of interest to the higher education community include:

• Creation of a Department of Education and Workforce, with sub-agencies including an American Workforce and Higher Education Administration, Enforcement Agency, Research, Evaluation and Administration Agency, and K-12 Education Agency;
• Consolidation of Department of Energy applied research programs into an Office of Energy Innovation and creation of an Office of Energy Resources and Economic Strategy;
• Consolidation of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service with the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service;
• Consolidating the administration of federal graduate fellowship programs from multiple agencies under the National Science Foundation;
• Reforms to facilitate careers in cyber-security;
• Restructuring NIH administrative functions to streamline operations;
• Modernizing federal student financial assistance programs; and
• Creation of a public-private government effectiveness research center.

The proposal is likely to face considerable resistance on Capitol Hill, where similar efforts to eliminate the Department of Education have failed to gain traction in the past. Members of Congress, from both parties, have already expressed skepticism about the plan. In the Senate, a supermajority of 60 votes would likely be needed to advance most of the elements of the plan.

Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century - Reform and Reorganization Recommendations