PRESS RELEASE ---For immediate release--- Contact: Anna Oman, (202) 234-8494 Washington -- Sep 27, 2005 -- Government reorganization cannot come at the expense of public protections, according to testimony by Robert Shull, OMB Watch’s regulatory policy director, to be delivered today before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce and Agency Organization. Shull will testify at a legislative hearing on H.R. 3276, the Government Reorganization and Improvement of Performance Act. The act would give the White House unprecedented authority to reorganize the federal government and would force any recommendations for reorganization to be fast-tracked through Congress, with limitations on debate and no opportunity for amendments. A related proposal before the House, H.R. 3277, would force federal programs to justify their very existence every ten years or face elimination. Both bills would "imperil the balance between the executive and legislative branches by concentrating power in the White House free of democratic accountability," according to Shull, "and expose longstanding public protections to powerful special interests and industry insiders." Further, Shull and other public interest advocates fear these proposals for reorganizing government would squander agency resources, without substantively improving government efficiency and effectiveness. Along with outlining the inherent problems of these bills, Shull's testimony provides alternatives for government reform. Any effective reform of government function, Shull will testify, should address not only government waste, "but should also seek to identify and meet the unmet needs of the public." Strengthening the Freedom of Information Act is one such reform that would provide greater government transparency and accountability, Shull notes. ### The hearing will be held today at 2 pm in Rayburn Room 2247. OMB Watch testimony is available here.