HOUSE . . . CUT THAT (COMMITTEE) OUT

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House Republican leaders today unveiled their much-discussed plan to slash a fifth of the congressional bureaucracy, saying they'll abolish three committees and two dozen subcommittees. The big ones to go entirely would be the House Post Office and Civil Service, District of Columbia and Merchant Marine and Fisheries committees (tasks will be folded into other panels). Many of the remaining 19 House committees would be renamed: for example, the House Armed Services Committee will become the House National Security Committee. TIME's Tumulty says the changes suit themaster plan of incoming Speaker Newt Gingrich, who wants to minimize intra-GOP opposition so that he can capitalize on the party's current window of opportunity. "The more committees that get cut, the more power gets centralized in the House leadership -- i.e., Newt Gingrich," Tumulty says. "It's an effort to make sure these committee chairmen don't establish fiefdoms out there. Some of these committees have been empires."Post your opinion on theWashingtonbulletin board.