Obama asks for greater executive authority

President Obama asked Congress on Friday for the authority to streamline the executive branch by merging several agencies that have similar duties.

“Right now, there are six departments and agencies focused primarily on business and trade in the federal government,” Obama said. “In this case, six isn’t better than one. It’s redundant and inefficient. With the authority I am requesting today, we could consolidate them all into one department with one website, one phone number and one mission.”