Administrative Law: President

The President has the power to allocate "resources placed at his or her disposal by congressional statute." G. Lawson, Federal Administrative Law 5 (6th ed. 2013). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §§ 901-912 (2016), the President has authority to "examine the organization of all agencies and shall determine what changes in such organization are necessary to carry out any policy" set forth in § 901(a). He or she then submits proposed reorganization plans to Congress, setting out the changes needed (§ 903). To become effective, the House and Senate must pass a joint resolution approving the plan (§ 909) -- failure to act on the resolution by the required period of time is the same as disapproval (§ 906).  This was the means by which numerous agencies were combined into the Environmental Protection Agency. However, Congress has not given the President the authority to implement reorganization plans since 1984. See 5 U.S.C. § 905(b).