By merging several agencies, the Government also expected to save money.

The bill closely mirrors President Bush's original proposal to merge 22 federal agencies into a single department.

The Commission should therefore evaluate the possibility of merging agencies with overlapping or complementary activities.

On Tuesday, the Senate approved the legislation that merges 22 agencies into the new department after arm-twisting by the president.

Merging agencies and cutting staff do not.

Once the legislation is approved, in whatever form, the administration will have to merge almost two dozen slow-moving and highly independent agencies into a single unit.

At first, a merger of two such disparate shops seems as logical as merging agencies devoted to, say, health care advertising and direct marketing.

He wants to create 11 departments under his control, merge or abolish 39 major independent agencies and cut out about 700 state jobs, and save $32 million.

It would merge various agencies under five general umbrellas - railroad, subway, buses, bridges and tunnels, and capital projects.

The most recent changes mainly involve account shifts and merging agencies at what became units of the new Partnership division of Interpublic.