The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Thursday that it will reduce its full-time employee workforce by around 10,000.
HHS said this reduction will save American taxpayers $1.8 billion yearly.
Including early retirements and Fork in the Road, the agency will reduce its full-time employees from 82,000 to 62,000.
The Fork in the Road program allows federal employees to resign while maintaining their full salaries until September 30.
Furthermore, HHS will reduce its divisions from 28 to 15 and its regional offices from 10 to five.
The HHS says this overhaul will help it prioritize “ending America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins.”
In addition, the agency says the restructure will become “more responsive and efficient, while ensuring that Medicare, Medicaid, and other essential health services remain intact.”
“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said. “This Department will do more – a lot more – at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”
Kennedy added that the HHS had become “wasteful and inefficient” over time like most bureaucracies; however, he noted that most staff members are “dedicated and competent civil servants.”
“This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy explained.
The HHS’ restructure follows an executive order (EO) that President Donald Trump signed last month to make the federal government more efficient.
“To restore accountability to the American public, this order commences a critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy. By eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity, my Administration will empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of Government itself,” the EO says.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com. Follow Zachery on Twitter @zacheryschmidt2.
Photo “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
