Summary: A congressional proposal to consolidate the Departments of Labor and Education along with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) envisions saving billions of dollars and creating more efficient services, but savings might be elusive if downsizing proceeds too quickly or proceeds without careful planning. The proposal to create a new Department of Education and Employment could yield savings of about $1.65 billion in administrative costs through the year 2000. The proposal's cost-saving goal, in addition to its organizational requirements, would significantly change Education's existing structure, program offerings, and processes. The proposal would also raise program consolidation, workforce, accountability, implementation, and oversight issues that Congress, Education, and other agencies would need to address to ensure that federal education and training programs meet the nation's needs. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Federal Reorganization: Proposed Merger's Impact on Existing Department of Education Activities, by Linda G. Morra, Director of Education and Employment Issues, before the House Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities. GAO/T-HEHS-95-188, June 29, 1995 (17 pages).
