If President Obama gains the authority he has requested from Congress to consolidate six trade and commerce agencies, The Office of Management and Budget has said a follow-up proposal would be to consolidate USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) with the food safety unit at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The six business-orientated agencies that the President is proposing to merge are the Commerce Department’s core business and trade functions, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
Officials in the Obama administration are said to favor the merging of FSIS with the food regulatory function of FDA because it would make food safety independent of USDA, which primarily markets and promotes American farm products. The Government Accountability office has previously called for consolidating all food-safety functions into a single agency to put an end to fragmented oversight.
Presidents from Hoover through Reagan had the power to organize the executive branch of government, subject only to congressional veto. However, Congress took away those organizational powers during the Reagan administration.