By KEVIN MCCABE
There was a time when federal programs had clear, limited objectives — programs like the Job Corps, designed to offer young Americans vocational training and a path to employment. But over the years, the original mission was quietly stretched by deep state bureaucrats with a liberal agenda.
Today, Job Corps includes housing support, counseling services, and wraparound programs that were never in the original blueprint. This is not an isolated example. It’s part of a larger trend known as “mission creep,” and it is costing the American taxpayer dearly.
Federal bureaucrats, often insulated from elections and accountability, have enormous discretion in how these programs evolve. They can add services (and forced education like DEI), expand eligibility, and reinterpret mandates, all without a vote in Congress. It is no surprise that programs grow beyond their scope. Bureaucrats do not spend their own money; they spend ours. And with little oversight from Congress, expansion becomes the default.
We see the same pattern in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, better known as WIC. What began as a basic nutritional aid program has expanded into a sprawling system that includes everything from breastfeeding peer counselors to state-specific initiatives with little measurable return on investment. Each well-intentioned layer adds cost and complexity, yet oversight remains minimal.
Then there’s USAID, the United States Agency for International Development. It is one of the worst offenders. Originally meant to support nations in crisis, USAID has become a bureaucratic behemoth spending billions on long-term development projects such as DEI education and LGBTQ support in foreign countries, many of which yield questionable results. From failed agricultural projects in sub-Saharan Africa to redundant health initiatives in Central America, USAID operates with virtually no accountability. Add to the billions in foreign aid funneled into unstable regions, and we find ourselves bankrolling inefficiency on a global scale while our own infrastructure and veterans go underfunded.
Bureaucratic expansion happens for a few simple reasons. First, there is a built-in incentive for bureaucrats to grow their agencies. Bigger budgets mean more influence and more job security. The National Taxpayers Union has documented how agencies justify budget increases by adding responsibilities and staff, often duplicating existing efforts. Second, political pressure from advocacy groups and elected officials often encourages expansion. Programs get loaded, often with no clear program association, with extras to appease interest groups and constituents. Finally, there is the, often times genuine, perception that new or emergent challenges must be addressed, even if they fall outside a program’s original scope (again, DEI).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is another example. Originally established to combat communicable diseases, the CDC has taken on workplace safety, obesity, and even gun violence research. These might be serious issues, but they are not within the CDC’s founding mission. Meanwhile, the agency was an utter failure, during COVID-19, performing its core function of disease control. By broadening its scope, the CDC diluted its focus and weakened its performance, even as its budget ballooned to nearly $12 billion.
The Federal Reserve has also wandered far from its lane. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed has engaged in direct credit allocation, studied inequality, and ventured into climate change policy. These are not monetary policy. When the Fed speaks on social issues, DEI, and ESG, it raises questions about its neutrality and credibility, all while expanding its power without direct accountability to the American people.
Mission creep is not always easy to see. It often unfolds slowly, behind closed doors, under the radar of the average taxpayer. But its effects are real. Budgets swell, programs become unfocused, and the cost of government rises. Worse, it erodes public trust. When agencies do too much and achieve too little, Americans rightly wonder whether their money is being used wisely. And then there are those who complain when a service they have come to expect is cut.
Oversight is supposed to be Congress’s job. We have committees for that very purpose. But the reality is far less reassuring. Congressional oversight suffers from resource constraints, limited expertise, and shifting political priorities. Committees are often understaffed and overwhelmed. Complex programs require specialized knowledge that few lawmakers possess. Oversight rarely wins headlines or re-election campaigns.
Meanwhile, federal spending surges. In 2025, the federal budget will top $6 trillion. A significant portion of that goes to programs that have strayed far from their original missions. Add the $34 trillion national debt and interest payments that will burden our children, and it becomes clear that mission creep is not just a bureaucratic problem. It is a taxpayer problem. And It’s a national problem and a national disgrace.
We cannot afford to ignore this any longer. Reform starts with reclaiming congressional authority. Agencies must be held to their statutory mandates. If expansion is necessary, it should go through Congress, not through regulation. Second, we need transparency. Every federal program should be subject to routine performance audits and cost-benefit analyses – programs and projects must have a discernible Return on Investment. And third, we must demand that spending reflects American priorities. Before sending billions overseas or funding redundant federal programs, let’s take care of our own.
This is not about gutting government. It is about restoring focus and discipline. Programs should do what they were designed to do — no more, no less. When unelected bureaucrats chart their own course, the American people lose control of their government. And when Congress fails to hold them accountable, it fails in its duty to the taxpayers.
Mission creep might be gradual, but its impact is enormous. The time to push back is now. Demand an ROI!
Kevin McCabe serves in the Alaska Legislature on behalf of Big Lake.
Bureaucratic Largess ==> “Self Licking Ice Cream Cone!”
Rein it in or(!), it’ll have the Rein’s & Spur’s on you!
Excellent lay down of the garbage government we suffer under for no other reason than personal & special interest greed. WIC is a great example of not only government overreach but special interest lobbying at its finest. It literally peddles over processed, toxic food with minimal health benefit. It can’t even be used at stores that offer healthy versions of the allowed products. Anyone with common sense knows how terrible cereal & sugar laden peanut butter are!
That said, I could write an equally shocking synopsis about this same phenomenon in the military. The mission creep, redundancies, lack of evidence for any ROI, fraud, waste, & abuse is real & bringing it to the attention of leadership goes no where, even if they agree. It just labels the person highlighting the nonsense as someone who doesn’t care about people. It’s a self-licking ice cream cone that the few who care or are paying attention feel helpless to do anything about.
This is exactly what’s happened to the Indian Healthcare system. It’s turned into a huge social system and minimal actually Healthcare. I wish DOGE would investigate them. I’ll bet the waste and fraud is through the roof.
All true. Sadly, this could’ve been written decades ago (and likely was). Has the Pentagon been audited yet? Has Fort Knox been audited yet? How do new members of congress suddenly increase their net worth by millions on annual salaries of 200k or less? The bureaucracy has controlled for a very long time.
It WAS written decades ago….
The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America, Phillip K. Howard
Politicians can spend whatever they want on whatever luxury items they want. Why? Because their source of revenue cannot say no.
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Imagine buying a luxury European sedan you cannot afford. So, you go into your boss’ office and tell him you need a raise because you spent more than you had. How well do you think that would work?
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Makes no sense for an employee, but for some reason politicians (our employees) can get away with it.
McCabe what bills have you sponsored or voted for in the Alaska state house to ATTACK the gross “mission creep” of Alaska state monies?
But this same energy into a DOGE of Alaska state spending.
We already know what’s going on with Feds.
What’s really going on with our monies here in Alaska.
Are you allowed to challenge that as vociferously as you e challenged the Feds?
Do something, anything, to stop the thieves, liars, scalawags, and scum ags from stealing our PFD’s.
We really don’t need you lecturing us about what’s going on, on the federal level.
There is a TREMENDOUS about of graft, corruption, waste, and abuse of Alaska state dollars occurring – please write an article about that – if you’re allowed to …
Cool. Now do Alaska.
Recently saw some info from the UK. (I have not personally confirmed any of it, so presenting it for discussion.)
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Apparently, the United Kingdom expends over 1 Billion UK Pounds Sterling a month to feed and house migrants and immigrants. For the math impaired, that is 12B a year.
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The UK is also complaining because their NHS is seeing a massive budget shortfall for 2025. The shortfall? 787M Pounds Sterling.
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Why am I bringing this up? Because it is an outstanding example of what politicians do with the taxpayers money. They will consistently spend on luxury items (see Anchorage funding the homeless) while complaining that important services the taxpayer pay for cannot be fully funded. If the UK were to cut all of 100M pounds a month from the freebies they are giving the invaders…. errr… I mean immigrants, they could fully fund their health services, AND have 500M left over.
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If you were to run your home the same way, purchase luxuries first, pay bills next, save for the future third, what do you think would happen?
Yet… here we are, allowing the elected representatives to do exactly that.