AHC: US Department of Environment

[anw_rev]

How to make the United States has a real, functioning department of environment?

Thanks in advance!

[e of pi]

How would such a "real, functioning" department differ from the EPA or the Department of the Interior? What roles do you see it filling that other agencies do not, or how do you see those other agencies failing to meet their assigned roles?

[anw_rev]

Originally Posted by e of pi

How would such a "real, functioning" department differ from the EPA or the Department of the Interior? What roles do you see it filling that other agencies do not, or how do you see those other agencies failing to meet their assigned roles?

Functioning as a department, meaning not as an agency (although EPA is independent one)
With more authority and has various lower organizations.

How's CIA compared to the Department of Defense?

[e of pi]

Okay, then. How's this: instead of being established as a seperate agency, Nixon establishes the Bureau of Environmental Protection as a subdivision of the existing department on the Interior (already contains the US Geological Survey, the National Parks, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Mineral Management Service), and renames it the Department of the Environment. It'd be a little odd to keep the Indian Affairs stuff under the new department, so maybe move that to State or something? Beyond that, to keep it "functioning" in the role, you might need to avoid administrations neutering attempts to enforce tighter emmisions standards, restrict strip mining, or protect endangered species. Basically, that'd require butterflying Reagan or Bush-type "deregulation." Would that meet the challenge?

[anw_rev]

Originally Posted by e of pi

Okay, then. How's this: instead of being established as a seperate agency, Nixon establishes the Bureau of Environmental Protection as a subdivision of the existing department on the Interior (already contains the US Geological Survey, the National Parks, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Mineral Management Service), and renames it the Department of the Environment. It'd be a little odd to keep the Indian Affairs stuff under the new department, so maybe move that to State or something? Beyond that, to keep it "functioning" in the role, you might need to avoid administrations neutering attempts to enforce tighter emmisions standards, restrict strip mining, or protect endangered species. Basically, that'd require butterflying Reagan or Bush-type "deregulation." Would that meet the challenge?

No need to add quote marks on "functioning", thank you.

I don't know much about US environmental policy (domestic at least) during post-WW2 and much of the Cold War.
Maybe longer or more succesful Carter Administation could do it?

[SlideAway]

Nearly did happen during the first Bush Administration:

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly today to add to the Cabinet by creating a Department of Environmental Protection.

President Bush supports raising the status of the Environmental Protection Agency, a move that would give its head the rank of Secretary. But he opposes a provision of the legislation adopted today that would require a major reorganization and expansion of the agency.

The White House said Mr. Bush would veto the measure because it would create an independent statistics-gathering agency within the E.P.A. that would be exempt from Presidential authority. The White House contends this independence would challenge the President's constitutional right to manage the executive branch.

...

The vote on the bill was 371 to 55, with many Republicans defying the President and joining the Democrats in supporting it. Politicians generally acknowledge that the American public has grown so concerned about environmental problems that it is risky to vote against environmental legislation.

The Senate is expected to vote on a similar bill within the next few weeks and passage is considered likely. Administration officials said today that it was possible that the President's concerns about the legislation could be worked out in conference between the House and the Senate.

Not sure what derailed the effort - likely disagreements plus other things moving onto the agenda. I believe an effort was made in the early Clinton years too.

Maybe the Democrats agree to pass a less expansive version of the bill to appease the Bush Administration. Or - though it requires an earlier POD - have Dukakis win the presidency in 1988.