Trump wants to eliminate waste

Seventeen national security agencies. Really? Yes, really!

How is it possible for 17 agencies to have the same major responsibility of protecting the American people with no duplication of charter or singular purpose? Do you think that no duplication and waste is possible?

What are the budgets of these 17 national security agencies? According to the Federation of American Scientist Intelligence Resource Program, the Fiscal Year 2017 budget request for intelligence was updated to include a request of $54.9 billion for the National Intelligence Program (NIP) and a request of $18.5 billion for the Military Intelligence Program (MIP) for a total budget of $73.4 billion.

The total for Fiscal Year 2016 was $70 billion. Do you feel safer?

Now comes the Grim Reaper of Change. Need I tell you the Grim Reaper of Change’s name? (Hint: President Donald Trump.)

When I was a consultant at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., the attitude of the bureaucracy was: “We were here when you came. We will be here when you leave. While you are here, we will tell you anything you want to hear.”

The bureaucracy cannot stand someone who comes in and eliminates their job by budget cuts or evaluates them on results.

Who is watching the watchers and the bureaucracy? We are. The American people!

Only three things matter — results, results results!

Stephen Zwelling Lewis Center

William Allman Upper Arlington