Government too big??

This may be the longest post on ATS, if it is too much I apologize.

The powers of the Federal government are basically:

Clause 1: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

Clause 2: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;

Clause 3: To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

Clause 4: To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

Clause 5: To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

Clause 6: To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;​

Clause 7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

Clause 8: To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

Clause 9: To constitute Tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court;

Clause 10: To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

Clause 11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

Clause 12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

Clause 13: To provide and maintain a Navy;

Clause 14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

Clause 15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

Clause 16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

Clause 17: To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;

But over time the beast has grown to ginormous proportions, I knew it was huge but didn't realize how big till I found a site that lists all the federal agencies....

AbilityOne Commission
Access Board
Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Administration for Community Living
Administration for Native Americans
Administrative Conference of the United States
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Africa Command
African Development Foundation
Agency for Global Media
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Agency for International Development (USAID)
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
Agricultural Research Service
Agriculture Department (USDA)
Agriculture Library
Air Force
Air Force Reserve
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau (ATF)
Alhurra TV
American Battle Monuments Commission
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps Seniors
Amtrak (AMTRAK)
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
Antitrust Division
Appalachian Regional Commission
Architect of the Capitol
Archives, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Arctic Research Commission
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Arms Control and International Security
Army
Army Corps of Engineers
Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institute of
Bankruptcy Courts
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program
Bonneville Power Administration
Botanic Garden
Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP)
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)
Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
Bureau of Reclamation
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)
Bureau of the Census
Bureau of the Fiscal Service
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Capitol Police
Capitol Visitor Center
Career, Technical, and Adult Education, Office of
Census Bureau
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP)
Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
Central Command (CENTCOM)
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Chemical Safety Board
Chief Acquisition Officers Council
Chief Financial Officers Council
Chief Human Capital Officers Council
Chief Information Officers Council
Child Support Enforcement, Office of (OCSE)
Circuit Courts of Appeal
Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice
Civil Rights, Department of Education Office of
Civil Rights, Department of Health and Human Services Office for
Coast Guard
College of Information and Cyberspace
Commerce Department (DOC)
Commission of Fine Arts
Commission on Civil Rights
Commission on International Religious Freedom
Commission on Presidential Scholars
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission)
Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
Community Planning and Development
Compliance, Office of
Comptroller of the Currency, Office of (OCC)
Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US CERT)
Congress—U.S. House of Representatives
Congress—U.S. Senate
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Congressional Research Service
Consular Affairs, Bureau of
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Copyright Office
Corps of Engineers
Council of Economic Advisers
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
Council on Environmental Quality
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
Court of Federal Claims

This does not include any agencies or divisions that have came into being since the Biden Admin.

The strange thing to me are how many radio and TV stations the federal government runs in other countries like the middle east & Asia....Propaganda I suppose?

I don'[t think anyone can argue hat it is "slightly" larger that was intended...

Well, I suppose someone on here will argue that it is ok, can't wait to see the responses.

If your interested I got the list of agencies here if you would like to check it out, Each agency is a link and tells you what it is / or does.

A-Z list of federal agencies

a reply to: mwood
What America needs is more federal holidays.
At least 350 federal holdays would be good.
It would be akin to paying farmers not to farm.

Like the old saying goes:
"The government that governs least, governs best."

Along with each feather comes hoards of cash collectors 😃

a reply to: mwood

Just realized when I pasted earlier it only went halfway through "C"

Heres the rest........

Court of International Trade
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia
Customs and Border Protection
Cyber Command
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Debt and Claims Management Center
Defense Acquisition University
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Defense Commissary Agency
Defense Contract Audit Agency
Defense Contract Management Agency
Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency
Defense Department (DOD)
Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)
Defense Finance and Accounting Service Debt and Claims Management Center
Defense Health Agency
Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)
Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)
Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
Delaware River Basin Commission
Delta Regional Authority
Denali Commission
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Department of Commerce (DOC)
Department of Defense (DOD)
Department of Education (ED)
Department of Energy (DOE)
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Department of Labor (DOL)
Department of State (DOS)
Department of the Interior (DOI)
Department of the Treasury
Department of Transportation (DOT)
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Director of National Intelligence, Office of
Disability Employment Policy, Office of (ODEP)
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy
Economic Analysis, Bureau of (BEA)
Economic Development Administration (EDA)
Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment
Economic Research Service
Education Department (ED)
Elder Justice Initiative
Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Employment and Training Administration
Endangered Species Program
Energy Department (DOE)
Energy Information Administration
Energy Star Program
English Language Acquisition Office
Engraving and Printing, Bureau of (BEP)
Environmental Management, Office of
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
European Command
Executive Office for Immigration Review
Export-Import Bank of the United States
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO)
Fannie Mae
Farm Credit Administration
Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation
Farm Service Agency
Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
Federal Citizen Information Center
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Federal Consulting Group
Federal Court Interpreters
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Federal Election Commission
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Executive Boards
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
Federal Financing Bank
Federal Geographic Data Committee
Federal Highway Administration (FHA)
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac)
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Federal Interagency Committee on Education
Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy
Federal Judicial Center
Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)
Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)
Federal Library and Information Center Committee
Federal Maritime Commission
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
Federal Protective Service
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Federal Register
Federal Reserve System
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Federal Student Aid Information Center
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Federal Voting Assistance Program
FedStats
Fire Administration (USFA)
Fiscal Service, Bureau of the
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
Fleet Forces Command
Food and Agriculture, National Institute of (NIFA)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Food and Nutrition Service
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Foreign Agricultural Service
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
Forest Service
Fossil Energy
Freddie Mac
Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
General Services Administration (GSA)
Geological Survey (USGS)
Ginnie Mae
Global Media, Agency for
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Government Ethics, Office of (OGE)
Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae)
Government Publishing Office (GPO)
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation
Health and Human Services Department (HHS)
Health Resources and Services Administration
Helsinki Commission
Holocaust Memorial Museum
Homeland Security Department (DHS)
Hour and Wage Division (WHD)
House of Representatives
House Office of Inspector General
House Office of the Clerk
Housing and Urban Development, Department of (HUD)
Housing Office
Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER)
Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
Indian Affairs
Indian Arts and Crafts Board
Indian Health Service
Indo-Pacific Command
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
Industrial College of the Armed Forces
Industry and Security, Bureau of (BIS)
Inspectors General
Institute of Education Sciences
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Institute of Peace
Inter-American Foundation
Interagency Alternative Dispute Resolution Working Group
Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds
Interagency Council on Homelessness
Interior Department (DOI)
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)
International Labor Affairs, Bureau of
International Trade Administration (ITA)
International Trade Commission
Interpol
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
Japan-United States Friendship Commission
Job Corps
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
Joint Fire Science Program
Joint Forces Staff College
Joint Military Intelligence College
Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense
Judicial Circuit Courts of Appeal
Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation
Justice Department (DOJ)

a reply to: mwood

Justice Programs, Office of
Justice Statistics, Bureau of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of
Kennedy Center
Labor Department (DOL)
Labor Statistics, Bureau of
Land Management, Bureau of (BLM)
Legal Services Corporation
Library of Congress (LOC)
Manufactured Housing Programs, Office of
Marine Corps
Marine Mammal Commission
Maritime Administration (MARAD)
Marketing and Regulatory Programs
Marshals Service
Meat and Poultry Hotline
Mediation and Conciliation Service
Medicaid (CMS)
Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
Medicare (CMS)
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
Merit Systems Protection Board
Middle East Broadcasting Networks
Migratory Bird Conservation Commission
Military Postal Service Agency
Millennium Challenge Corporation
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
Minority Business Development Agency
Minority Health, Office of
Mint
Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
Mississippi River Commission
Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation
Multi-family Housing Office
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Agricultural Statistics Service
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
National Capital Planning Commission
National Cemetery Administration
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
National Constitution Center
National Council on Disability
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)
National Defense University
National Defense University iCollege
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
National Gallery of Art
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
National Guard
National Health Information Center (NHIC)
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
National Indian Gaming Commission
National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
National Institute of Corrections
National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
National Institute of Justice
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Intelligence University
National Interagency Fire Center
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
National Laboratories
National Library of Agriculture
National Library of Medicine
National Marine Fisheries Service
National Mediation Board
National Nuclear Security Administration
National Ocean Service
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Park Foundation
National Park Service (NPS)
National Passport Information Center (NPIC)
National Pesticide Information Center
National Prevention Information Network
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK)
National Reconnaissance Office
National Science Foundation (NSF)
National Security Agency (NSA)
National Security Council (NSC)
National Technical Information Service
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
National War College
National Weather Service
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Natural Resources Revenue, Office of
Navy
NOAA Fisheries
Northern Border Regional Commission
Northern Command
Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Northwest Power Planning Council
Nuclear Energy, Office of
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of
Office for Civil Rights, Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights, Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education
Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE)
Office of Community Planning and Development
Office of Compliance
Office of Cuba Broadcasting
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
Office of Economic Adjustment
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Office of Environmental Management
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO)
Office of Fossil Energy
Office of Government Ethics (OGE)
Office of Housing
Office of Immigrant and Employee Rights (IER)
Office of Investor Education and Advocacy
Office of Justice Programs
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Office of Manufactured Housing Programs
Office of Minority Health
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
Office of Natural Resources Revenue
Office of Nuclear Energy
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Office of Policy Development and Research
Office of Postsecondary Education
Office of Refugee Resettlement
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Office of Servicemember Affairs
Office of Special Counsel
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Office of the Federal Register
Office of the Pardon Attorney
Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)
Open World Leadership Center
Pacific Command
Pacific Northwest Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council
Pardon Attorney, Office of
Parent Information and Resources Center (CPIR)
Parole Commission
Passport Information Center (NPIC)
Patent and Trademark Office
Peace Corps
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Pentagon Force Protection Agency
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Policy Development and Research
Political Affairs
Postal Inspection Service
Postal Regulatory Commission
Postal Service (USPS)
Postsecondary Education, Office of
Power Administrations
President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition
Presidential Scholars Commission
Presidio Trust
Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia
Prevention Information Network
Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Accounting Agency
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB)
Public and Indian Housing
Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Radio and TV Martí
Radio Free Asia (RFA)
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Radio Sawa
Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)
Reclamation, Bureau of
Refugee Resettlement, Office of
Rehabilitation Services Administration

.....
Risk Management Agency
Rural Business and Cooperative Programs
Rural Development
Rural Housing Service
Rural Utilities Service
Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Bureau of (BSEE)
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
Science and Technology Policy, Office of
Science Office
Scientific and Technical Information, Office of
Seafood Inspection Program
Secret Service
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Selective Service System (SSS)
Senate
Sentencing Commission
Servicemember Affairs, Office of
Small Business Administration (SBA)
Smithsonian Institution
Social Security Administration (SSA)
Social Security Advisory Board
Southeastern Power Administration
Southern Command
Southwestern Power Administration
Space Command
Special Counsel, Office of
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of (OSERS)
Special Forces Operations Command
State Department (DOS)
State Justice Institute
Stennis Center for Public Service
Strategic Command
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Supreme Court of the United States
Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement, Office of
Surface Transportation Board
Susquehanna River Basin Commission
Tax Court
Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Trade and Development Agency
Trade Representative
Transportation Department (DOT)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
Transportation Statistics, Bureau of
Treasury Department
Trustee Program
U.S. AbilityOne Commission
U.S. Access Board
U.S. Africa Command
U.S. Agency for Global Media
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Air Force Reserve Command
U.S. Arctic Research Commission
U.S. Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Botanic Garden
U.S. Capitol Police
U.S. Capitol Visitor Center
U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
U.S. Chemical Safety Board
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Commission of Fine Arts
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
U.S. Courts of Appeal
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Cyber Command
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC)
U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
U.S. Department of Education (ED)
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
U.S. Department of State (DOS)
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)
U.S. Department of the Treasury
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
U.S. European Command
U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)
U.S. Fleet Forces Command
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)
U.S. International Trade Commission
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Marshals Service
U.S. Military Academy, West Point
U.S. Mint
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
U.S. National Central Bureau - Interpol
U.S. Navy
U.S. Northern Command
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
U.S. Parole Commission
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
U.S. Senate
U.S. Sentencing Commission
U.S. Southern Command
U.S. Space Command
U.S. Special Operations Command
U.S. Strategic Command
U.S. Trade and Development Agency
U.S. Trade Representative
U.S. Transportation Command
U.S. Trustee Program
Unified Combatant Commands
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
US-CERT (US CERT)
USAGov
Veterans Affairs Department (VA)
Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA)
Veterans Day National Committee
Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS)
Violence Against Women, Office on (OVW)
Voice of America (VOA)
Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Washington Headquarters Services
Weather Service
Weights and Measures Division
West Point Military Academy
Western Area Power Administration
White House
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
Women's Bureau
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

That bis all now..It seems you can only have so much in one post?

a reply to: mwood


Welcome to 'Whose dime is it anyway?' where the laws don't matter and nobody keeps count.







ETA: I can't seem to place the Inspector General's accent? It sounds wonky at times.

a reply to: mwood


Um, I think you forgot one:

"To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. "

The "Necessary and Proper Clause," formally drafted as Clause 18 of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution and also known as the elastic clause, is one of the most powerful and important clauses in the Constitution. Clauses 1–17 of Article 1 enumerate all of the powers that the government has over the legislation of the country. Clause 18 gives Congress the ability to create structures organizing the government, and to write new legislation to support the explicit powers enumerated in Clauses 1–17.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 allows the Government of the United States to:

"make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution."

The definitions of "necessary," "proper," and "carrying into execution" have all been debated since the words were written during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. There is a strong possibility that it was kept purposefully vague.

Link

In general, the main purpose of this "elastic" clause, also known as the "sweeping" or "general clause," is to give Congress the flexibility to get the other 17 enumerated powers achieved. Congress is limited in its power over the American people to only those powers specifically written into the Constitution, such as determine who can be a citizen, collect taxes, establish post offices, and set up a judiciary. The existence of that list of powers implies that Congress can make laws necessary to ensure that those powers can be carried out. Clause 18 makes that explicit.

For example, the government could not collect taxes, which power is enumerated as Clause 1 in Article 1, Section 8, without passing a law to create a tax-collecting agency, which is not enumerated. Clause 18 has been used for all sorts of federal actions including requiring integration in the states—for instance, whether a National Bank can be created (implied in Clause 2), to Obamacare and the ability of states to legalize the growing and distribution of marijuana (both Clause 3).

In addition, the elastic clause allows the Congress to create the hierarchical structure to enact the other 17 clauses: to build a lower court (Clause 9), to set up an organized militia (Clause 15), and to organize a post office distribution method (Clause 7).

Yes, federal government is too big.

The problem is once these agencies / administrations are put into place, they have no accountability and continue into perpetuity. The states have also abdicated much of their responsibility to the feds.

a reply to: Edumakated

I have personally testified on several occasion to the House Ways and Means committee on behalf of the Agency I worked for at the time. Mostly it was about cost, schedule, and scope for large projects. What do you mean that there is no oversight? Do not elected federal representatives count as "accountability?"

originally posted by: Havamal
a reply to: Edumakated

I have personally testified on several occasion to the House Ways and Means committee on behalf of the Agency I worked for at the time. Mostly it was about cost, schedule, and scope for large projects. What do you mean that there is no oversight? Do not elected federal representatives count as "accountability?"

When have you ever seen government audit an agency, state the agency is ineffective, and then shut said agency down?

Department of education? Kids dumber than ever... yet we keep funding it.

HUD?

We've been fighting the war on poverty since when? Poverty rate has remained pretty constant. Obviously something ain't working.

Everybody thinks government is too big until they get robbed or China starts talking tough.

originally posted by: Blue Shift
Everybody thinks government is too big until they get robbed or China starts talking tough.

Don’t confuse bureaucracy and military. We can have a good defensive ability without infinite agencies growing like a cancer killing our nation.

But the problem isn’t so much “agency creep” as the admonishment of duties to the bureaucracy of those agencies.

Was it Rand Paul that once held up a dollar and asked the Speaker directly what is the value of this dollar? Then asked of the whole body of Congress to answer for the Speaker. Proving the point that Congress not only shirks the duty but doesn’t keep tabs on the value of money.

Same for taxes.
Same for many of the duties.

The 1934 National Firearms Act in conjunction of other “reasonable gun control laws” ensures that no one is eligible for a Letter of Marque unless it also granted them exemption to the law to purchase specialty firearms. Binary triggers are legal, a select fire weapon capable of a three round or more burst is not unless it has a tax stamp and thus was made, imported and registered before an arbitrary date. The difference between the two...a binary trigger is an aftermarket “upgrade installed at the discretion of the owner that allows for a round to be fired on the pull and release of the trigger with no way to turn that off other than uninstalling.” A Select Fire weapon has a switch that allows the operator to switch between single fire and multiple rounds per trigger pull at their discretion. This cannot be an aftermarket alteration nor can the firearm be manufactured after a certain date. It must also be registered with a tax stamp and its transfer granted before you take ownership.

Which of those sound safer and better regulated? Keep in mind that a trigger once pulled has to be released sometime and there is probably a chambered round to be fired when you do. Unlike the Select Fire which will not fire upon the release.

a reply to: Blue Shift

Military handles China.

And government IS too big. I don't care what boogeyman's on the evening spews with Lester Dolt and David Meh.

Government is too big. Only ones that would disagree are those in one of those pointless agencies mwood posted.

a reply to: Edumakated

When have you ever seen government audit an agency, state the agency is ineffective, and then shut said agency down?

Source

Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (in the Department of Agriculture) (ASCS)

Replaced in 1994 with the Farm Service Agency.

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)
Board of Economic Warfare (BEW)
Board of Tea Appeals

Abolished in 1996

Bureau of Arms Control (in the Department of State)

Replaced September 13, 2005, by the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation

Bureau of Nonproliferation (in the Department of State)

Replaced September 13, 2005, by the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation

Bureau of Verification and Compliance (in the Department of State)

Replaced February 1, 2000 by the Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation

Committee on Public Information (CPI)
Department of War existed from August 7, 1789 until September 18, 1947 and renamed the United States Department of Defense in 1949.
Farmers Home Administration

Replaced in 1994 with the Farm Service Agency.

Farm Security Administration (FSA)
Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or Fannie Mae)

Fannie Mae was partially privatized in 1968; its government administered portion was renamed the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae); see Department of Housing and Urban Development, above

Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)

Renamed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; see Department of Health and Human Services, above

Student Loan Marketing Association (SLMA or Sallie Mae)

Sallie Mae has been fully privatized and is no longer administered by the federal government.

Foreign Economic Administration (FEA)
Federal Theatre Project (FTP)
General Accounting Office (GAO)

Renamed "Government Accountability Office" in 2004; see #Legislative Branch, above.

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)

Now the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS)

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey

Renamed U.S. National Geodetic Survey

Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (OCIAA)
Office of Technology Assessment (OTA)

Congress closed the OTA in 2004.

Office of War Information (OWI)
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)
Resettlement Administration (RA)

Turned into Farm Security Administration in 1937.

United States Information Agency (USIA)
United States Life-Saving Service

Merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to create the United States Coast Guard

Veterans Administration (VA)

Became a cabinet department in 1988; see United States Department of Veterans Affairs, above.

War Production Board (WPB)
Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Source

A

American Relief Administration‎ (7 P)

D

Defunct federal law enforcement agencies of the United States‎ (1 C, 21 P)

Defunct independent agencies of the United States government‎ (3 C, 14 P)

E

Defunct Agencies of the Executive Office of the President‎ (3 P)

F

Former United States Executive Departments‎ (2 C, 8 P)

Freedmen's Bureau‎ (2 C, 11 P)

I

Defunct United States intelligence agencies‎ (2 C, 24 P)

M

Manhattan Project‎ (6 C, 23 P)

N

National Recovery Administration‎ (15 P)

P

Federal Power Commission‎ (10 P)

Public Works Administration‎ (3 C, 5 P)

R

Reconstruction Finance Corporation‎ (1 C, 15 P)

United States Revenue Cutter Service‎ (2 C, 7 P)

U

United States Life-Saving Service‎ (2 C, 3 P)
United States Railroad Administration‎ (3 C, 8 P)

United States Sanitary Commission‎ (1 C, 10 P)

W

Works Progress Administration‎ (9 C, 32 P)
Agencies of the United States government during World War I‎ (2 P)
Agencies of the United States government during World War II‎ (2 C, 29 P)[/ex

A

ACTION (U.S. government agency)
Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service
Federal Alcohol Administration
Atomic Energy Commission's Historical Advisory Committee

B

Board of Economic Warfare
U.S. Office of Education
Bureau of Efficiency
Bureau of Labor Standards
Bureau of the Public Debt

C

California Land Act of 1851
Centrus Energy
Chief Clerk (United States Department of State)
United States Civil Service Commission
Civil Service Retirement System
Office of Civilian Defense
Committee on Public Information
Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
Council on Wage and Price Stability
United States Customs Service

D

Defense Homes Corporation
Defense Production Administration

E

Economic Cooperation Administration
Economic Stabilization Agency
Bureau of Entomology

F

Federal Aviation Commission
Federal Civil Defense Administration
Federal Civil Defense Authority
Federal Oil Conservation Board
Federal Security Agency
Federal Works Agency
Financial Management Service
Foreign Economic Administration
Freedmen's Bureau

G

General Land Office
List of commissioners of the General Land Office

H

Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service
Housing and Home Finance Agency

I

Immigration and Naturalization Service
Industrial Commission
Interagency GPS Executive Board

J

Joint United States Public Affairs Office

L

United States Life-Saving Service
List of defunct or renamed United States federal agencies
List of lifesaving stations in Michigan

M

Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation
United States Maritime Commission
United States Metric Board
Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration
Mutual Security Agency

N

Federal Bureau of Narcotics
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
National Commission for Employment Policy
National Council on Educational Research
National Defense Mediation Board
National Inventors Council
National Production Authority
National Security Resources Board
National Wage Stabilization Board
Bureau of Navigation
Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection
Nixon Family Assistance Plan (1969)

O

Office of Censorship
Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization
Office of Civil Defense
Office of Defense Mobilization
Office of Economic Opportunity
Office of Economic Stabilization
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight
Office of Independent Inventor Programs
Office of Policy Coordination
Office of Production Management
Office of Strategic Influence
Office of Technology Assessment
Office of the Supervising Architect for the U.S. Treasury
Office of the United States Nuclear Waste Negotiator
Office of War Mobilization

P

Pay Board and Price Commission
President's Organization for Unemployment Relief
Office of Price Administration
Bureau of Prohibition
Public Works Administration

R

Federal Radio Commission
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Register of the Treasury
Resettlement Administration

S

SelectUSA Investment Summit
United States Shipping Board
Emergency Fleet Corporation
Solid Fuels Administration for War
Southern Claims Commission
Steamboat Inspection Service
Subsistence Homesteads Division
Surplus Property Board

T

Teacher Corps
Technology Administration
TLC (TV network)
Training Within Industry
United States Travel and Tourism Administration

U

Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs
United States Bureau of Mines
United States Department of Justice War Division
United States Federal Maritime Board
United States Food Administration
United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories
United States Grazing Service
United States Information Agency
United States Revenue Cutter Service

V

Vermilion Point

W

Wage Stabilization Board
War Bureau of Consultants
War Finance Corporation
War Food Administration
War Industries Board
United States Office of War Information
War Manpower Commission
War Production Board
War Research Service
Works Progress Administration

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In the second Clinton-Gore term, we began to focus on transforming the culture in major agencies with the most public contact to be more results-oriented, performance-based, and customer-focused. We used technology and new approaches in employees� roles as key levers. We also created a network of results-oriented partnerships across agency lines with states and local governments, and changed the relations between regulatory agencies and business.

Its major accomplishments included:

Ending the Era of Big Government

Reduced the size of federal civilian workforce by 426,200 positions between January 1993 and September 2000.1 Thirteen of 14 departments reduced in size; Justice grew because of Administration�s fight against crime and drugs. The government workforce was for the first time the smallest it had been since the Eisenhower Administration.

Action on more than two-thirds of NPR recommendations resulted in savings of more than $136 billion.

Cut government the right way by eliminating what wasn�t needed � bloated headquarters, layers of managers, outdated field offices, obsolete red tape and rules. For example, cut 78,000 managers governmentwide and some layers by late 1999.

Cut 640,000 pages of internal agency rules (equivalent to 125 cases of copy paper).

Closed nearly 2,000 obsolete field offices and eliminated 250 programs and agencies, like the Tea-Tasters Board, the Bureau of Mines, and wool and mohair subsidies.

Procurement reform led to the expanded use of credit cards for small item purchases, saving about $250 million a year in processing costs.

Changing Government to be More Results- and Performance-Oriented

Made the government more results oriented � developed the first annual performance reports required under the Results Act, created networks and cross-agency partnerships for results, and advocated the use of balanced measures to drive individual performance incentives.

Recommended legislation adopted by Congress that included delinquent debt reform. financial standards, grant reform, the use of credit cards to pay taxes and more. President Clinton signed more than 90 NPR-related bills and 50 Presidential directives.

Fixed long-standing management challenges in specific agencies, including in the Federal Emergency Management Administration, Internal Revenue Service, the disability program in Social Security Administration, the Patent and Trademark Office, the Office of Student Financial Assistance, and the Federal Aviation Administration�s air traffic control operations.

Serving People Better

By 1997, about 570 federal organizations had committed to more than 4,000 customer service standards, embedding a recognition that government does in fact have customers. By 2000, 80 percent of managers saw service goals aimed at meeting customer expectations, up from 36 percent in 1992.

By 2000, 30 agencies were measuring satisfaction with their services via a third party with international standing. Comparison with private sector was close and narrowed between 1999 and 2000. Agencies have committed to expanding to over 100 customer segments in 2001.

Agencies working together (the Bureau of Land Management�s Trading Posts with the Forest Service; Customs and INS international airport clearance efforts, community level service kiosks).

Expanded the use of Internet gateways sites allowing one-stop transactions and more than 1,000 on-line forms, such as IRS electronic filing in 2000 by more than 32 million Americans. More than a dozen cross-agency sites serve populations such as students, seniors, businesses, and state-local employees.

Worked with agencies and communities to create hassle-free communities in 13 states to provide one-stop service delivery and encouraged agencies to have public conversations with America to learn first-hand the needs of their customers. Agencies sponsored hundreds of such forums.

As part of the Administration�s welfare reform initiative, President Clinton in March 1997 charged federal agencies with setting a good example for the private sector by hiring former welfare recipients. He asked NPR to lead this initiative. NPR worked with agencies to set a goal of 10,000 hired over a three-year period. By the end of 2000, agencies had hired 50,330.

Changing the Way Government Works with Businesses

The use of regulatory partnerships has become the preferred approach for getting results. NPR worked with five key regulatory agencies (EPA, FDA, FSIS, OSHA and FAA) to pilot new approaches, to deploy information technology, and to do a better job measuring what matters�namely their impact on their mission (e.g. clean air) as opposed to historical process measures (e.g. the number of tickets written for regulatory violations). As a result, food-borne illness, toxic emissions, and worker injury rates are dropping. And the regulated community has better information and tools to help with compliance.

In 1996, agencies eliminated more than 16,000 pages of unnecessary federal regulations affecting businesses.

Agencies also rewrote another 31,000 pages into understandable, plain language. This initiative spread to a broad segment of the federal workforce, with more than one-third recognizing it as an important initiative. Customers of agencies and programs, such as the Small Business Administration, the Security and Exchange Commission, and Medicare, have recognized the change.

Changing the Way Government Works With Communities

Used partnerships and networks to achieve results and streamline services via five initiatives:

The Oregon Option piloted joint federal-state-local efforts in three policy areas: child health, workforce development, and family stability.

Reducing gun violence in 10 cities working together in a SafeCities network with a range of federal partners. Included the development of a gun violence injury tracking system.

Implementation of the 1998 Workforce Investment Act via a network of more than 2,000 one-stop job centers, a website with 1,000 useful links for workers, streamlined planning, measurement, and cost sharing efforts, and a local 21st century skills community network among 20 communities and federal partners.

A network of 13 communities and states, along with 70 associate communities and federal partners in a Boost 4 Kids network focused on improving child well-being in part by insuring children.

Afterschool network to ensure children have access to appropriate supervision after school. In 2000, resource fairs were conducted in 50 communities and networks of providers and users were created.

Transforming Access to Government Through Technology

Worked to help create FirstGov � a one-stop website www.firstgov.gov for government information, transactions, program results, and e-mail feedback to public officials � with connections to 27 million web pages and about 1,000 forms and services.

Catalyzed the creation of more than a dozen Internet gateway websites to serve specific populations of users, such as students, workers, disabled, business, state-local, recreation users.

Catalyzed the creation of kiosks offering touch screens for one-stop services in 36 communities traditionally under-served by the Internet. Piloted by GSA, more are under development by other agencies, and private businesses.

Catalyzed the use of mapping and other geographic information as an organizing tool for achieving cross-agency, intergovernmental policy results and accountability in public safety, smart growth, and responsive citizen services. For example, catalyzed a joint 17-agency agreement with North Carolina after the 1999 Hurricane Floyd to ensure better public safety information in the future. Also supported the Census�s American Community Survey to provide more performance information to policymakers outside the decennial census.

Making the Federal Government a Better Place to Work

Recognized frontline employees for their reinvention innovations. More than 68,000 employees on 1,378 teams received Vice President Gore�s Hammer Award. Together, they not only improved government operations but also saved or put to better use more than $53 billion.

Empowered front-line employees to better do their jobs. NPR chartered more than 350 reinvention labs to pilot new ways of doing business. President Clinton also directed agencies to streamline the granting of waivers from their own internal regulations so frontline operating units could better serve their customers.

Streamlined some administrative silliness. About 41 percent of employees said sign-in sheets and time cards had been eliminated and statutory changes have allowed paperless travel arrangements and vouchers, saving millions in administrative costs.

Increased employee understanding of what constitutes good performance from 26 to 31 percent. Embedded continued change by requiring that SES bonuses be based on demonstrated improvements in business results, customer satisfaction, and employee feedback.

Expanded initiatives to create a family-friendly workplace. Sixty-five percent of employees rated the federal government as a family-friendly workplace.

850 labor-management partnerships were sponsored by agencies, covering 66 percent of bargaining unit employees.

Governmentwide employee surveys between 1998 and 2000 showed that employees who felt their organizations actively promoted reinvention were twice as satisfied with their jobs than those employees who did not believe reinvention was a priority in their organizations.

Conclusion

Overall, accomplishments like these have been important steps in restoring trust and faith in the government by improving the delivery of service to the public. After a 30-year decline, public trust in the federal government is finally increasing. When last measured by the University of Michigan in 1998, the public's trust in government had nearly doubled within a four-year period to 40 percent. While this cannot be totally attributed to the results of reinvention, NPR believes reinvention has made an important contribution in raising the public's trust in the government and creating a better workplace for federal employees.

January 12, 2001

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