27 Jun 2024 9:23 am
At least one other attempt to close the Department was made in the mid-1990s when Republicans introduced a bill that would have taken it apart, privatizing its assets and transferring its functions, such as defense-related nuclear weapons responsibilities, to other parts of the government.
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was Energy secretary under Trump for nearly three years, pledged to kill the DOE if elected president, though later said he regretted “recommending its elimination” after he had been “briefed on so many” of its “vital functions.”
As a presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also said he would cut the Department of Energy, as well as Education, Commerce, and the IRS. We hope that if DeSantis ever occupies the White House, he won’t backtrack on his commitment.
We’re not going to argue that none of the federal departments is necessary. A few are. But the ones that have been mentioned here — along with Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture — not only violate the principles of federalism, they are counterproductive.
“We got along without departments of Energy, Education, and Commerce for nearly 200 years, and education and energy was better for sure,” says Burnett. “They are a drain on resources and a wedge to control states’ internal policies with federal money with no net positive return to the nation.”
Despite the burden they put on the country, the departments are deeply rooted in Washington. No matter who is in the White House and which party has the majority in Congress, abolishing them is nearly impossible.
But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be starved slowly of the taxpayer dollars that they feed on like leeches.
— Written by the I&I Editorial Board
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was Energy secretary under Trump for nearly three years, pledged to kill the DOE if elected president, though later said he regretted “recommending its elimination” after he had been “briefed on so many” of its “vital functions.”
As a presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also said he would cut the Department of Energy, as well as Education, Commerce, and the IRS. We hope that if DeSantis ever occupies the White House, he won’t backtrack on his commitment.
We’re not going to argue that none of the federal departments is necessary. A few are. But the ones that have been mentioned here — along with Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Agriculture — not only violate the principles of federalism, they are counterproductive.
“We got along without departments of Energy, Education, and Commerce for nearly 200 years, and education and energy was better for sure,” says Burnett. “They are a drain on resources and a wedge to control states’ internal policies with federal money with no net positive return to the nation.”
Despite the burden they put on the country, the departments are deeply rooted in Washington. No matter who is in the White House and which party has the majority in Congress, abolishing them is nearly impossible.
But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be starved slowly of the taxpayer dollars that they feed on like leeches.
— Written by the I&I Editorial Board