Kerrey Proposes Cutting Cabinet 50%

Democratic presidential candidate Bob Kerrey on Monday proposed a drastic pruning back of the federal bureaucracy by cutting the current 14 Cabinet departments to seven, to cut the deficit and pave the way for increased investment and reform of education, technology and health care.

These steps, he said, would provide “the basis upon which we can begin to rebuild a dynamic and growth-driven economy.”

The 48-year-old Kerrey--a Medal of Honor winner in Vietnam, where he lost a leg, and former governor of his state--has stirred great enthusiasm among some Democrats because of his status as a hero and his youthful vigor, which has prompted comparisons with John F. Kennedy.

But critics have suggested that Kerrey’s early campaign efforts lacked substance and specifics. His aides acknowledged that Monday’s speech was intended as the start of an effort to rebut such criticism.

In a National Press Club address, Kerrey estimated that cutting the number of Cabinet departments would help him reduce discretionary spending, exclusive of the defense budget, by 25% over the next 10 years. Kerrey gave no figures but a rough estimate based on current budget outlays would mean a total savings of about $50 billion to $60 billion. He contended also that the United States could cut 30% to 40% from current defense spending, which would save an additional $100 billion or so over 10 years--while still maintaining military superiority in the world.

And he called for the legislative branch of government to economize, too--by reducing by 75% the number of congressional committees and subcommittees and by trimming staff 30%.

“We have a Department of Commerce that creates no commerce,” Kerrey said in justifying his Cabinet reorganization plan, which he said is modeled after a proposal by Rep. Leon E. Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), chairman of the House Budget Committee.

“We have a Department of Labor that fails to protect workers. We have a Department of Agriculture which has presided over the destruction of the American family farm,” he said.

Kerrey aides said that his plan would retain four existing Cabinet agencies as is--Defense, State, Treasury and Justice. The remaining 10 departments would be compressed into three new superdepartments--Human Resources, Natural Resources and Economic Policy.