Murkowski Responds to White House Restructuring Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Obama today proposed a restructuring of the federal government, including many trade- and commerce-related agencies. One of the suggested changes would transfer the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration from the Commerce Department to the Department of the Interior.
Senator Murkowski had the following reaction to the news:
“Now more than ever, any proposal to move towards a smaller government needs to be welcomed for review. However, there are a lot of details still vague in the President’s restructuring plans – and I question whether the President himself should be responsible for such an overhaul rather than Congress.
“But the President did ask an important question: What’s the justification for artificially splitting the management of our lands, waters, and natural resources between two agencies? Over and over again, we have seen delays and other problems resulting from bureaucratic inefficiencies.
“The President said today he believes the reasoning lies in a Nixon-era political move designed to punish Alaska, rather than sound policy. So I look forward to fully reviewing his proposal to move NOAA to Interior as part of an effort to cut the size of government while also reducing jurisdictional disputes that frequently cause costly delays to Alaskan industry.”
