A CASE FOR ELIMINATING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

In 1994, Newt Gingrich led the Republicans to takeovers of the US House and Senate using the Contract of America as his main marketing tool….Of course, many of the items in the Contract With America such as term limits were given up on as soon as the Republicans took power.

One idea proposed in the Contract with America was to shut down cabinet level government departments particularly the Department's of Education, of Energy, of Agriculture, and of Commerce in order to save money and eliminate waste.

I can’t say I agree with the idea of closing the Department of Education considering that many states are barely able to do the job of educating their own students but the others are worth discussing especially closing the US Department of Commerce.

The US Department of Commerce’s main task is according to its charter is "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce." That’s a vague but otherwise well intentioned statement. However many of its tasks are done elsewhere.

The United States Trade Representative which is itself a cabinet level position is the main crafter of trade based policy and legislation. The Small Business Administration (SBA) whose job it is to encourage the creation of small businesses in America isn’t under the Department of Commerce. The Commerce Department includes an economic analysis wing but the most complex reports on the US Economy come from the Budget Director’s office and the Council of the Economic Advisors not to mention the Department of the Treasury.

Overlap with other departments and no clear and pressing mandate for a separate Commerce department so why then do we have a Department of Commerce?

Well it’s worth noticing that many of the more recent Commerce secretaries were money people, bag men for winning presidential campaigns – Robert Mosbacher for George HW Bush, Ron Brown, Mickey Cantor, and William Daley for Bill Clinton, Don Evans for George Bush, President Obama wanted New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson another well connected campaign money type but allegations of corruption derailed the nomination. It seems like the commerce department has become the vehicle for sitting presidents to focus on fundraising.

When the Commerce and the Labor departments split into two separate entities in 1913, Labor continued on with a clear set of duties. The Commerce Department, however, became a vague entity with no clear mandates that weren’t already being done in a bigger way by other departments. In the days of tightened belts and out of control deficits, if America wanted to save a little money closing down the Department of Commerce would be a start.