A prominent business group is lining up behind the Obama administration’s bid for fast-track government reorganization authority.
“This is a cause that’s ripe for collaboration across the aisle and in both chambers,” Business Roundtable President John Engler wrote in a joint op-ed with Jeff Zients, acting director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. “Waste and duplication in government are not the fault of Democrats or Republicans alone. Both parties share responsibility for this problem. Now both have an opportunity — and a responsibility — to address it.”
Engler, a Republican, is the former governor of Michigan; the Roundtable is an organization of chief executive officers of large companies.
The op-ed, posted on the web site of “Politico,” comes less than a week after the fast-track legislation got its first formal airing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The bill would still give Congress the final say on any significant Executive Branch restructuring, but would restrict lawmakers to voting specific proposals up or down, without the opportunity to filibuster or offer amendments.
