Cabinet Bill Proposal

[Peter]

Since this seems rather popular from reaction, I wrote you a bill for it. Perhaps one of the Senators would be kind enough to adopt it.

Cabinet Officers and Structure Bill

All executive departments are hereby abolished and new executive departments are assigned duties from the US executive departments and principal officers as follows:

1. Department of State and Defense:
i. This department shall have jurisdiction over all matters relating to the Departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans' Affairs.
ii. Its Prinicpal Officer shall be the Secretary of State and Defense, who upon adoption of this act shall be either the sitting Secretary of State or the sitting Secretary of Defense and Security as the President may wish.

2. Department of Economic Affairs:
i. This department shall have jurisdiction over all matters relating to the Departments of the Treasury, Commerce, Energy, Agriculture and Transportation
ii. Its Principal Officer shall be the Secretary of Economic Affairs, who upon adoption of this act shall be the sitting Secretary of the Treasury.

3. Department of Education, Health and Welfare
i. This department shall have jurisdiction over all matters relating to the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and Labor.
ii. Its Principal Officer shall be the Secretary of Education, Health and Welfare, which shall be vacant upon the adoption of this act.

4. Department of Forum Affairs
i. This department shall have jurisdiction over all matters relating to Elections and to the Department of the Interior and shall also maintain the Atlas Forum Headquarters.
ii. Its Principal Officer shall be the Secretary of Forum Affairs, who upon adoption of this act shall be the sitting Secretary of Forum Affairs.

5. Department of Justice
i. This department shall have jurisdiction over all matters relating to the Department of Justice, and shall be the legal advisor to the government and shall also maintain the Senate status thread.
ii. Its Principal Officer shall be the Attorney General, who upon adoption of this act shall be the sitting Attorney General.

6. In line with those provisions contained within the Constitution, the Line of Succession after the Chief Justice shall be as follows:
i. Secretary of State and Defense
ii. Attorney General
iii. Secretary of Forum Affairs
iv. Secretary of Education, Health and Welfare
v. Secretary of Economic Affairs
The reason EHW has to be above EA in the line is because EHW controls Labor under my proposal which means Constitutionally it is guaranteed a place in the line of succession.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Sure... I'll probably give Economy Labor for old times sake :-)

[Colin]

I do not believe in putting together Defense and State. Having a man that controls the military also acting as Atlasia's lead spokesman may be unsettling to many in the international community. Also State and Defense are the two cabinet positions that are most needed and the some of the most active cabinet positions in Atlasia.

[Jake]

I do not believe in putting together Defense and State. Having a man that controls the military also acting as Atlasia's lead spokesman may be unsettling to many in the international community. Also State and Defense are the two cabinet positions that are most needed and the some of the most active cabinet positions in Atlasia.

Since becomin SecState Gustaf hasn't really done much.  He is busy, no problem.  Ford can easily handle both positions by himself.

[Gabu]

I do not believe in putting together Defense and State. Having a man that controls the military also acting as Atlasia's lead spokesman may be unsettling to many in the international community. Also State and Defense are the two cabinet positions that are most needed and the some of the most active cabinet positions in Atlasia.

In the real world, I would agree with you, but given that the Secretary of State in Atlasia doesn't really have all that much to do, it seems like the most obvious way to merge it with something.

[Colin]

I do not believe in putting together Defense and State. Having a man that controls the military also acting as Atlasia's lead spokesman may be unsettling to many in the international community. Also State and Defense are the two cabinet positions that are most needed and the some of the most active cabinet positions in Atlasia.

In the real world, I would agree with you, but given that the Secretary of State in Atlasia doesn't really have all that much to do, it seems like the most obvious way to merge it with something.

Well I believe that it should be the job of the Secretary of State to do more. When you are a cabinet official here in Atlasia you need to take the initiative and talk to the President and the Senate and to work out things yourself.

[Gabu]

I do not believe in putting together Defense and State. Having a man that controls the military also acting as Atlasia's lead spokesman may be unsettling to many in the international community. Also State and Defense are the two cabinet positions that are most needed and the some of the most active cabinet positions in Atlasia.

In the real world, I would agree with you, but given that the Secretary of State in Atlasia doesn't really have all that much to do, it seems like the most obvious way to merge it with something.

Well I believe that it should be the job of the Secretary of State to do more. When you are a cabinet official here in Atlasia you need to take the initiative and talk to the President and the Senate and to work out things yourself.

You do have a point there.

[King]

Secretary of Economic Affairs sounds like an interesting job.

[Akno21]

I do not believe in putting together Defense and State. Having a man that controls the military also acting as Atlasia's lead spokesman may be unsettling to many in the international community. Also State and Defense are the two cabinet positions that are most needed and the some of the most active cabinet positions in Atlasia.

In the real world, I would agree with you, but given that the Secretary of State in Atlasia doesn't really have all that much to do, it seems like the most obvious way to merge it with something.

Well I believe that it should be the job of the Secretary of State to do more. When you are a cabinet official here in Atlasia you need to take the initiative and talk to the President and the Senate and to work out things yourself.

If that's all a cabinet secretary does, do we really need it? Anyone can talk to the President, anyone can post in Senate threads, and everyone here is capable of working things out themselves.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Secretary of State is an important post, especially if we have a sane GM to provide foreign affairs, but we have yet to have a really good one since we started having GM's.  Ideally in foreign affairs, State and Defense serve as our good cop/bad cop or carrot and stick.  It is the fact that we have tended to have petty Secretary of States that have made the office look petty.  If for lack of capable cabinet people the position  of Secretary if State is to be merged, then given the historical origins of the post in US history, it should be merged with the Secretary of Forum Affairs.  The State department was the office charged with the administration of state functions, of which foreign affairs was originally only one such function.  Over time those other functions have largely been stripped away, but he still retains a few.

[PBrunsel]

This mseems like a fine proposal Peter, it has my support, whatever that's worth anymore.

[Gabu]

This mseems like a fine proposal Peter, it has my support, whatever that's worth anymore.

Bah!  I still support you overall, Mr. President.  You're a good guy.

[Peter]

I'd like anybody to tell me something that a SecState has done that has been of any substanative value to the forum. I honestly cannot remember any throughout all the months I've been here. There has been an ongoing string of foreign affairs adventures that Niles cooked up and frankly the various SecStates did absolutely nothing; They never pushed the resolutions that the Prez called for. I'm pretty sure there's meant to have been a resolution condemning China and some sort of tariff legislation as well. None of it ever happened.

I'm fed up with this shameful state of affairs. When its broke, fix it.

[minionofmidas]

I'd like anybody to tell me something that a SecState has done that has been of any substanative value to the forum. I honestly cannot remember any throughout all the months I've been here. There has been an ongoing string of foreign affairs adventures that Niles cooked up and frankly the various SecStates did absolutely nothing; They never pushed the resolutions that the Prez called for. I'm pretty sure there's meant to have been a resolution condemning China and some sort of tariff legislation as well. None of it ever happened.

I'm fed up with this shameful state of affairs. When its broke, fix it.

Then again, I don't think Niles' scenarios have been of substantial value to the Forum either.
But yeah, I can't remember seeing a Sec.of State ever doing anything except collecting his fantasy salary - oh yeah, I saw Gustaf getting himself a coffee yesterday.