President Obama's pick to head the EPA's air pollution division is being blocked from confirmation by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., over concerns about the agency's plans for regulating carbon dioxide.
Barrasso's office confirmed Wednesday that he has placed a hold on the nomination of Gina McCarthy to become director of the EPA Office of Air and Radiation.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved McCarthy's nomination last week by voice vote, with only Barrasso opposed.
McCarthy is the head of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
Kathleen Sebelius became the final member of President Obama's Cabinet to win Senate confirmation Tuesday, as the chamber voted 65-31 to approve her appointment as HHS secretary. Under an agreement with Republicans, the confirmation required 60 votes to be approved.
Sebelius, 60, immediately announced her resignation as Kansas governor, allowing Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson, a former state Republican chairman turned Democrat, to ascend to the state's top elected office.
President Obama administered the oath of office to Sebelius just after 8 p.m. Obama tapped Sebelius for the HHS post in early March, after his first choice, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., withdrew from consideration following revelations he owed about $140,000 in back taxes and interest.
Sebelius also faced tax questions, but survived after paying about $8,000 in back taxes and interest because of what she called unintentional errors. Sebelius still faced opposition from Republicans, though, including senators concerned about her lack of experience in health care policy and for support she received from a Kansas physician who provides abortions.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Say this about Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.: On just about any issue, you know exactly where he stands. On the nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to head HHS, Coburn is not just voting "no" but saying that confirming her will help destroy the country. Because of her support for abortion rights, Coburn said, her ascension to the job will put the United States "on our way to oblivion as a nation."
Other Republicans, including Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, said they would vote against confirmation because of her backing of government-backed health care. Bennett said his opposition wasn't partisan but was based on his view that nationalized health care "doesn't work." The vote is expected late this afternoon or early this evening. Even Coburn acknowledged that Sebelius is likely to be confirmed.
By JILL R. AITORO, Nextgov
Google's chief executive officer is one of 20 individuals that will advise the president and vice president in formulating policy about science, technology and innovation.
Eric Schmidt, Google chairman of the board and CEO, is the only person named to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, or PCAST, that comes directly from the information technology community. Prior to joining Google in 2001, he held executive positions at Novell and Sun Microsystems.
Schmidt will join experts in the areas of nanotechnology, oceanography, climate-change science and ecology, and solar system exploration, to name a few, in advising the administration about "national strategies to nurture and sustain a culture of scientific innovation," President Obama said in a statement.
PCAST will be co-chaired by John Holdren, assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; Eric Lander, director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project; and Harold Varmus, president and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, former head of the National Institutes of Health and a Nobel laureate.
PCAST members under the George W. Bush administration wrote a transition letter that highlighted for their successors operational procedures and critical issues identified during their two terms on the council, and suggested that the new council work closely with the administration -- conducting interviews with people in the White House as well as in cabinet agencies -- to determine topics of study.
"The important role played by science and technology in our modern society can not be overemphasized," the previous council wrote in the letter. "As a result, the importance of dedicated individuals to provide advice to future administrations will be of growing importance."
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved nominees Monday to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office at the Homeland Security Department.
W. Craig Fugate, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, was approved as FEMA administrator, and John Morton, a longtime Justice Department official, was approved to be assistant secretary of ICE.
Both nominations were approved by unanimous voice votes and should be on the Senate floor soon.
By JERRY HAGSTROM, CongressDaily
Only one Agriculture Department undersecretary and one assistant secretary have been confirmed by the Senate, but when the holders of many USDA sub-Cabinet positions get to their desks they will find that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has already put their confidential and special assistants with proven Obama campaign experience in place.
"These individuals, representing diverse backgrounds, strengths and skills, are a dynamic team prepared to address the issues facing 21st century food and agriculture," Vilsack said in a recent news release announcing the hiring of 14 aides. "They are committed to the president's goals for a prosperous rural America and a strong American agriculture and they believe that U.S. agriculture must play a leadership role in tackling the nation's renewable energy challenges."
Vilsack announced that the confidential assistant for Agriculture Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Jim Miller is Elisabeth Reiter, a director of advance for Obama's campaign who previously worked on many other campaigns, including for Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.
Vilsack also announced that the special assistant to Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Joe Leonard is Cristina Chiappe, the Latino vote director for the Obama campaign in Virginia. Chiappe, a native of Peru, has also been a research associate at the Institute for Educational Leadership's National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth in Washington.
The other campaign aides are assigned to offices in which the undersecretary has not yet been confirmed.
By CARRIE DANN, CongressDaily
Former Census Bureau director Kenneth Prewitt will become involved with the 2010 decennial count as the agency's part-time consultant, the Commerce Department confirmed today. Prewitt, a Clinton-era appointee who ran the bureau from 1998-2001, was widely considered to be a frontrunner to return to the post in advance of next year's population count but withdrew his name from consideration earlier this year.
President Obama nominated another former bureau official, Robert Groves, earlier this month to fill the post instead. Now a professor at Columbia University, Prewitt will work "a couple days a week" with bureau officials to troubleshoot problems that arise as the nation's largest peacetime mobilization effort gets underway, said Commerce Department spokesman Nick Kimball.
House Republicans, who have raised concerns that the potentially controversial headcount will be unduly influenced by the White House, have drafted a letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to object to Prewitt's "back door entry" to the bureau without going through the Senate confirmation process. Democrats scoffed at the complaint, pointing out that it is hardly uncommon for former federal officials to offer expertise on a part-time basis. "Considering former Secretary [Carlos] Gutierrez used [Prewitt] as a consultant, too, you have to ask why the Republicans are in such a tizzy," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. Groves' Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled for May 6.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
The Senate will vote Tuesday on the nomination of Kansas Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be HHS secretary. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the nomination will be subject to a 60-vote threshold following eight hours of debate.
Sebelius is expected to be confirmed, but debate on her nomination could be contentious, given that her opponents are upset over her support for abortion rights, particularly late-term abortions. Some Republicans claim she was not forthcoming about contributions she received during her run for insurance commissioner from a Kansas abortion provider, George Tiller.
Sebelius claimed she had received $12,450 from Tiller, but amended the number to about $35,000 after press reports found discrepancies.
The 15-8 Senate Finance Committee vote last week on the nomination fell largely along party lines. Sens. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, crossed the aisle to support Sebelius.
Finance ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, told Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., his "no" vote was not meant to foretell a partisan tone for the upcoming debate on overhauling the nation's health care system.
By GAUTHAM NAGESH, Nextgov
Following reports that surfaced last week, a White House spokesman has confirmed to Nextgov that Google executive Sonal Shah will be joining the Obama administration as director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.
Formerly the head of Google's philanthropic arm, Shah is slated to lead the office, which is expected to work with nonprofits and community organizations to encourage "social entrepreneurship." The administration has thus far avoided releasing any details about the mission or structure of the office. Shah also served as a member of Obama's transition team, helping to develop technology policy.
The news of Shah's appointment has been greeted favorably in some circles, particularly among the philanthropic community.
However, her involvement with the White House has been controversial due to her ties to the right-wing Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which is accused of using charitable works in India as a cover for inciting communal hatred. The VHP has been condemned by the State Department and the nonprofit Human Rights Watch for its role in the 2002 mob violence in Gujurat, which resulted in the deaths of 1,000 people, most of whom were Muslims.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
The Senate confirmed Ashton Carter to be the Pentagon's top weapons buyer on a voice vote Thursday night. Carter's nomination to become the assistant secretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics had been stalled by Alabama's two Republican senators over concerns about the competition for aerial refueling tankers. Sens. Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby lifted their holds after they received assurances from Carter and Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the Pentagon is committed to a fair and open competition for the tanker.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS, the European consortium behind Airbus, had planned to build the Air Force tanker in Mobile, Ala., after winning the lucrative contract last year. GAO ultimately upheld a protest filed by Boeing Co., the losing bidder, and the Pentagon decided to reopen the competition. Defense officials have said they expect to restart the competition this year, with a contract award early next year. "I recognize the need for the secretary to have a confirmed acquisition chief to move the tanker replacement process forward," Shelby said in a statement.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
President Obama late Thursday nominated Edward Avalos, a New Mexico agriculture marketing official, to be USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs.
Avalos has spent 34 years in agriculture marketing, including promoting the sale of chile peppers in 12 states; sheep, goats and cattle in Mexico; and pecans in Japan and China. The position requires Senate confirmation.
By ALIYA STERNSTEIN, Nextgov
A lawmaker who backed the recent selection of Aneesh Chopra for White House chief technology officer continues to push his bill to make the position permanent, more powerful and more expansive, because the job's responsibilities are not what President Obama had first described.
Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., is still backing a bill (H.R. 1910) he introduced on April 2, because the job the president granted Chopra -- coordinating national strategies to spur innovation throughout the economy -- is not the role outlined during the transition. At that time, Obama said the responsibilities would be "to ensure the safety of our networks and lead an interagency effort, working with chief technology and chief information officers of each of the federal agencies, to ensure that they use best-in-class technologies and share best practices."
The CTO -- the first-ever in government -- will focus more on leveraging technology to drive public and private innovation rather than using technology to transform government operations. Vivek Kundra, Obama's chief information officer, who resides in the Office of Management and Budget, will play that role by overseeing government-wide information technology. Obama made the CTO an assistant to the president, with direct access to him, and an associate director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, reporting to OSTP Director John Holdren.
In contrast, the Connolly proposal would station an official in the Executive Office of the President to supervise both technology government-wide and national technology strategies.
Connolly said his bill would ensure that the CTO is the supreme technology leader in the White House, responsible for advancing intergovernmental and nationwide technology. Under the measure, the CTO's duties would include assessing federal IT policies, analyzing trends inIT, developing IT to assist human resource management, evaluating the effect of systems on privacy and security, and advising the president on the federal IT budget.
"What I'm trying to do here is essentially provide a statutory framework for what President Obama has done by executive order," said Connolly, referring to a February order that established the position of assistant to the president and chief technology officer. "It is a logical extension of what he has done. It guarantees that the CTO is the spokesman for technology in the federal government and the White House itself -- and the advocate for it."
By WINTER CASEY
In the next few months it is expected that Philip Verveer will become the State Department's next U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, according to sources familiar with the matter. Verveer will be filling the shoes of David Gross, who held the title of coordinator since 2001. The position also comes with the title of "ambassador." Sources say the White House is currently doing a background check of Verveer and his nomination will also be subject to approval by the Senate in addition to the administration. Verveer is currently counsel at the firm Jenner & Block's litigation department [bio]. He is also a member of the firm's communications practice with a focus on regulatory and antitrust issues.
Verveer has nearly three decades advising clients on communication regulatory issues before Congress, the FCC, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Office of U.S. Trade Representative, Federal Trade Commission, the State Department, and the Committee on Foreign Investment. Verveer, who served in the military, also worked as a partner in the Washington office of Willkie Farr & Gallagher where he founded the firm's communications practice. He has also served as a trial attorney in the Justice Department's antitrust division, a supervisory attorney in the FTC's Bureau of Competition, and as the chief of the cable bureau at the FCC. He earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1969 and is married to Melanne Verveer, who was Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief of staff when she was first lady. President Obama has tapped her to be his ambassador at large for global women's issues.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Tammy Duckworth, a disabled veteran who lost both legs in the Iraq war and was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 2006, is the new assistant secretary of public and intergovernmental affairs at the Veterans Affairs Department.
The Senate confirmed Duckworth to the post Wednesday by unanimous consent. President Obama nominated Duckworth in February, but Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., said this month he had placed a hold on her confirmation so he could conduct "due diligence ... to ensure that veterans have the best representation possible," a Burr spokesman told the Associated Press. Burr did not object when the nomination came up on the Senate floor Wednesday.
Duckworth, the former director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, sought the House seat vacated by Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., in 2006, but lost to now-Rep. Peter Roskam, a Republican.
By ANNA EDNEY, CongressDaily
Despite opposition to Democratic Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' nomination to serve as HHS secretary, a Senate GOP aide said Wednesday Republicans had not placed any holds on the confirmation.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to be forced to file cloture on the nomination, the aide said, because he will not receive unanimous consent to proceed directly to a vote. Republicans oppose Sebelius, in part, for her policy positions and her support of abortion rights.
But one of the Senate's staunchest abortion opponents, GOP Sen. Sam Brownback, happens to be from Kansas and said he plans to support Sebelius. "That's pretty typical for in-state senators to support the nominee from their home state," said Brownback, a contender for the Kansas governor's race next year.
His staff even researched the situation and found just two cases where senators opposed Cabinet nominees from their home states. Sen. Pat Roberts, also a Kansas Republican, supports Sebelius as well and voted for her during Finance Committee approval.
By CHRIS STROHM, CongressDaily
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I/D-Conn., and ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, used the confirmation hearing for a top Homeland Security Department official today to criticize the poor coordination of border security efforts. With John Morton there to answer questions about his nomination to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Lieberman complained about "unacceptable turf wars" between federal agencies along the nation's Southwest border. Collins said she fears a recent decision by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to create a border czar will only exacerbate coordination problems and lead to more confusion.
Morton had to navigate through the politically charged topic of how to limit illegal immigration while clamping down on guns and money being smuggled from the United States to Mexican drug cartels. By all accounts, it appears the committee will approve his nomination and he will be confirmed by the Senate.
Lieberman decried turf wars between ICE, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and called on Morton to help bring the problem to "a rapid halt." Morton said he is aware of the turf battles and pledged to focus on solving them immediately. He added that he personally knows key Justice Department officials, who he said will help solve the problems. Morton also said he will seek authority for ICE agents to conduct drug investigations, which can only be done on a limited basis through an agreement with the DEA. He said he would seek legislation for the authority if needed.
Collins expressed concern the Obama administration is relying on a proliferation of czars to address problems. She said she was specifically concerned about Napolitano's recent appointment of Alan Bersin, a former U.S. attorney, to be the border czar within the Homeland Security Department. Collins said she worries his responsibilities will conflict with chiefs of ICE and Customs and Border Protection. Morton said he is not concerned the roles will conflict and described Bersin as an adviser who will not have an operational role. On a related matter, Morton said in answers to written questions that he supports proposals that would require employers throughout the country to use the E-Verify system to confirm their employees are legally allowed to work in the country.
Lieberman's committee also considered the nomination of W. Craig Fugate to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Fugate is widely viewed as a qualified and skilled emergency manager and is expected to be confirmed. Answering the most politically charged question of his confirmation hearing, Fugate expressed support for keeping FEMA within Homeland Security, as opposed to an independent agency under White House control. "That debate, as far as I'm concerned, is over," he said.
By ALIYA STERNSTEIN, Nextgov
The appointment of Aneesh Chopra as the government's first chief technology officer signals that the administration is serious about updating the nation's technology infrastructure, said former federal officials, industry leaders and open government advocates.
As CTO, Chopra will be an assistant to President Obama, with direct access to him. Chopra also will serve as associate director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, if confirmed by the Senate for that position, administration officials said on Monday.
Until Obama tapped Chopra on April 18, the technology industry feared the president had reneged on the White House-level position he had promised during the transition. Months went by without an appointment, the administration announced the CTO would work within OSTP, and reports surfaced that heavy hitters such as Google Inc.'s CEO Eric Schmidt had turned down the job.
But with the president's ear -- Chopra, a well-respected technology secretary for the commonwealth of Virginia -- will carry the backing of the White House when conferring with agency officials. The administration's tech team also includes Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, Washington's former chief technology officer; New Media Director Macon Phillips, who helped manage Obama's online presidential campaign; and Citizen Participation Director Katie Stanton, a veteran of Google.
White House officials described the CTO and CIO positions as complementary. The CTO role involves contemplating how advanced technologies can improve the economy and quality of life, said Rick Weiss, senior science and technology policy analyst at OSTP. Examples include examining how technology can foster private sector innovation, reduce health care costs and transform teaching. Kundra will be more focused on intergovernmental uses of technologies to improve federal operations and public outreach.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
President Obama Tuesday signed into law legislation to encourage national service that aims to increase the AmeriCorps program from 75,000 to 250,000 members.
The action came on the same day Obama announced his intention to nominate Maria Eitel to be CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs AmeriCorps and other programs such as Senior Corps.
Eitel is president of the Nike Foundation and is a vice president of Nike, Inc. According to a White House release, she helped lead the foundation's work to increase opportunities for the world's most disadvantaged girls. Nike has been criticized for harsh labor conditions at its plants in the developing world.
Before she became president of the foundation, she was Nike's first vice president for corporate responsibility. Before going to Nike, she worked at Microsoft and was deputy director of media relations and was a special assistant to the president in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush.
"Maria is a smart and innovative thinker, and a leader who shares my belief in the power of service," Obama said at the bill-signing at the SEED School of Washington.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
The Senate voted 73-23 Tuesday to confirm Christopher Hill as U.S. ambassador to Iraq.
Hill, assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs since 2005, had a bumpy ride to the post, with Republican senators criticizing his past role as a negotiator on North Korea's nuclear program and his lack of experience in the Middle East. Hill was previously a U.S. ambassador to Korea, Poland and Macedonia.
All the votes against Hill came from the GOP, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Minority Whip Jon Kyl and Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
But Senate Foreign Relations ranking member Richard Lugar, D-Ind., joined 16 other Republican senators in supporting Hill's confirmation.
By ROBERT BRODSKY and ELIZABETH NEWELL, Government Executive
President Obama's pick for chief performance officer is a government outsider, but observers say Jeffrey Zients' private sector experience could prove valuable in improving federal programs and reducing waste government-wide.
Zients, who also would serve as deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, is a departure from Obama's first selection for the two positions because his experience is almost exclusively in the consulting and business community. Original nominee Nancy Killefer had served in several top Treasury Department positions during the Clinton administration; Killefer withdrew her name from consideration in February after issues with her personal income tax filings surfaced.
While Zients is not well-known in government circles, his private sector work earned him a spot on Fortune magazine's list of the richest Americans under 40 in 2002. He served as chief executive officer and chairman of the Washington-based Advisory Board Co. and as head of the Corporate Executive Board, a spin-off organization.
The firms, which were established by Washington businessman David Bradley, provide best practices and customized market research on health care and financial management. Bradley is the owner of Atlantic Media, the parent company of Government Executive and National Journal.
"It's a fantastic model that, if brought to the public sector, could do a lot to help agencies decide which new management fad is really worth pursuing," said Robert Shea, who served as associate director of administration and government performance at OMB during the Bush administration and is now director of consulting firm Grant Thornton LLP's global public sector. "I don't know if he plans to use any of those methodologies in his [deputy director for management] job, but I hope he would."
By ANNA EDNEY, CongressDaily
Updated 3:45 p.m.
The Senate Finance Committee today gave Democratic Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius the green light to head HHS, signaling that President Obama will soon be able to finish filling his Cabinet. Senate Democratic leaders are working to get a full Senate vote soon, a spokeswoman for Majority Leader Harry Reid said.
The Finance Committee's 15-8 vote fell largely along party lines; all Republicans -- except Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine and Pat Roberts of Kansas -- voted no. Some of those opposing Sebelius cited her support of abortion rights, while others expressed dissatisfaction with her answers to questions raised during confirmation hearings.
An aide to Senate Finance ranking member Charles Grassley said the Iowa Republican felt Sebelius had failed to respond candidly when lawmakers asked her to explain campaign contributions from George Tiller, a prominent physician in Kansas who performs abortions. Sebelius originally said she received about $12,000 from Tiller during her run for Kansas insurance commissioner. Reports later revealed that Sebelius received nearly $40,000 from Tiller and his wife, either directly or through a PAC.
Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl criticized the nominee's position on health care policy, arguing that she would eliminate choice, particularly in treatment options. Kyl said she failed to promise the government would "not use comparative effectiveness research as a tool to deny care." The latest stimulus package included $1.1 billion for research that compares the effectiveness of medical treatments. Some Republicans argue such research could be used to block access to the best care.
So far President Obama has absorbed criticism from his right and his left on national security issues. In a recent interview with NationalJournal.com's Alina Selyukh, former Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff declined to join the chorus of conservative disapproval, and praised Obama for facilitating a seamless transition -- though his comments may add fuel to liberal outrage over the apparent continuation of some Bush policies.
NJ: Dick Cheney recently blamed Obama's administration for making the country less safe by turning the fight against terrorism more into a law enforcement problem. Do you agree?
Chertoff: I actually think the best take on this is that of President Bush, who has said he's not going to get in the position of sitting on the shoulder of his successor and starting to criticize. I think that's a very good position.
Speaking more generally, I'm pleased with the fact that President Obama's administration is going forward in a very measured way in looking at all the tools that we've used in dealing with terrorism. The new president has talked about closing Gitmo, but he hasn't been in a rush to do it.... They are not just throwing over everything that went before. They are protecting secrets that need to be protected. They are not relinquishing the authorities that are very important.
NJ: So you don't think the country is less safe?
Chertoff: Right now, from my standpoint there's a lot of continuity. And I think that's a good thing.
Chertoff also discussed cybercrime, border security, Somali pirates and former FEMA Director Michael Brown. Read the full interview here.
By ALIYA STERNSTEIN, Nextgov
Aneesh Chopra, the nation's first-ever chief technology officer, would serve as both "assistant to the president" and "associate director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy" if confirmed by the Senate, White House officials said on Monday.
As assistant to President Obama, he would have direct access to the president, said Rick Weiss, senior science and technology policy analyst at OSTP. Within OSTP, he also would report to OSTP Director John Holdren.
The CTO job was initially touted as a White House-level position, but the technology industry feared the post had been downgraded after months went by without an appointment. When the administration announced the CTO would work at OSTP, open government advocates and industry expressed even more doubts about the job's heft.
But with the president's ear, Chopra, the current technology secretary for the state of Virginia, will automatically carry the backing of the White House when conferring with agency officials.
The CTO slot entails thinking through uses of advanced technologies that can improve the economy and quality of life, Weiss said. Examples include examining how technology can foster private sector innovation, reduce health care costs and transform teaching. White House officials described the CTO position and the role of Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra as complementary. Kundra is more focused on intergovernmental uses of technologies to improve federal operations and public outreach.
The OSTP appointment requires confirmation by the full Senate, but the assistant to the president appointment takes effect immediately, officials said.
Chopra's start date has not yet been determined, as he is tying up loose ends in the Virginia government.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
The Senate voted 73-17 Monday to cut off debate on the nomination of Christopher Hill to be U.S. ambassador to Iraq, clearing the way for a final vote on his appointment today.
Hill, who has been assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs since 2005, was opposed by conservative Republicans, including Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who criticized Hill's past role in negotiations on North Korea's nuclear program.
But Hill had support from other key GOP senators, including Foreign Relations ranking member Richard Lugar, R-Ind., to win a three-fifths majority in the cloture vote.
In other confirmation news, three assistant attorneys general won Senate approval Monday on separate votes.
San Francisco attorney Tony West was approved 82-4 to lead the Justice Department's civil division. Lanny Breuer, a Washington attorney who was a special counsel to former President Bill Clinton, was unanimously approved to become head of the criminal division. And former FTC commissioner Christine Varney won approval, 87-1, to head the department's antitrust division.
By JERRY HAGSTROM, CongressDaily
With his two latest picks for key USDA posts, President Obama is signaling a possible shake-up in several programs that have historically gotten little attention, including nutrition and agricultural research.
Kevin Concannon, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, has been tapped to be USDA undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services -- a post that oversees, among other things, the food stamp program -- while Rajiv Shah of the Gates Foundation has been nominated for USDA undersecretary for research, education and economics. Both appointments, announced Friday, require Senate confirmation.
The undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services has traditionally not been a high-profile position. But with food stamps and school meals programs, known formally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, now totaling about 68 percent of the department's budget, or $80 billion, that is set to change.
The child nutrition programs are scheduled for reauthorization this year, and Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack want to make the fight against child obesity a priority. The position will be critical as the debate over child nutrition and obesity policy are likely to lead to conflicts among agricultural sectors over what foods the government buys and what messages it sends the public.
As Iowa governor, Vilsack appointed Concannon as director of the department in 2003, and Vilsack's successor, Democratic Gov. Chet Culver, reappointed him in 2007. Iowa DHS is in charge of food assistance as well as cash welfare and medical aid programs.
Continue reading Obama's USDA Picks Might Signal New Priorities.
By ALLAN HOLMES, Nextgov
Virginia Secretary of Technology Aneesh Chopra, President Obama's choice for the long-promised chief technology officer post, is intimately familiar with the role the CTO will play. He was a member of Obama's transition team, which helped craft the priorities for the CTO. He will have a stake in overseeing the $19 billion in the stimulus package aimed at encouraging the creation of electronic health records.
In an interview with Nextgov, Chopra said the health records initiative faces the biggest opposition from physicians. Estimates put the percentage of physicians who use electronic health records in their practices between 4 percent and 17 percent.
"Adoption is the major barrier," Chopra said. "My general view is the [stimulus package] will encourage physicians to move to the tipping point of saying, 'Maybe I will take the plunge.' But there is still risk the physician has to take.
"My guess is that President Obama views this money as a down payment, the initial component of an overall health reform goal that will include reform of our health payment system in general to pay for outcomes and quality. The secret will be watching closely Obama's health reform goals to see if quality is tied to payments. I have strong confidence in the discussion taking place."
During his run for president, Obama released a government reform agenda in September 2008 that outlined what the CTO would do, including meeting with agencies to make sure they were using the best technologies and best practices. "Like he has in the campaign, Obama will employ innovative technologies, including blogs, wikis, social networking tools and other new strategies, to modernize internal, cross-agency, and public communication and information sharing," according to the plan.
Sources said Chopra was interested in the CTO position within the Health and Human Services Department, where he could focus on IT as it pertained to health care, such as creating a national network of electronic health records. In the interview with Nextgov, he said health IT was "a labor of love" and that he spent his career in state government advancing the cause of using IT to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. Chopra is a former managing director with the health care think tank The Advisory Board Co.
Nextgov has more on this story.
By KELLIE LUNNEY, Government Executive
President Obama on Saturday named a Washington-area entrepreneur and management consultant as the government's first chief performance officer.
Jeffrey Zients also will serve as deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, Obama said during his April 18 radio address. A multimillionaire who made his money as a management consultant, Zients currently runs Portfolio Logic, a firm that invests in business services and health care companies.
"Jeffrey will work to streamline processes, cut costs, and find best practices throughout our government," Obama said.
The president focused his address on government efficiency and accountability. He said he will ask department heads during their first full Cabinet meeting next week for specific proposals on cutting their budgets.
"Already, members of my Cabinet have begun to trim back unnecessary expenditures," Obama said, citing Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Defense Secretary Robert Gates as examples.
Obama said that he plans to announce in the coming weeks the "elimination of dozens of government programs shown to be wasteful or ineffective," adding that there will be "no sacred cows, and no pet projects."
The president also announced that Aneesh Chopra, Virginia's technology secretary, will serve as the government's chief technology officer and work closely with Vivek Kundra, the chief information officer.
Zients replaces Nancy Killefer as Obama's pick for the top federal management position. Killefer withdrew in February to avoid controversy over issues related to her personal income taxes.
Zients served as chief executive officer and chairman of the Washington-based Advisory Board Company -- where Chopra has also worked -- and as head of the Corporate Executive Board. The firms provide best practices and customized market research on health care and financial management. Zients also launched an unsuccessful bid with other Washington-area investors in 2005 to buy the Washington Nationals baseball team.
By ANDREW NOYES, CongressDaily
President Obama on Saturday announced the selection of Virginia Secretary of Technology Aneesh Chopra to serve as the nation's first chief technology officer, making good on a campaign promise to create the post that enthused Silicon Valley and high-tech policy watchers in Washington.
Chopra "will promote technological innovation to help achieve our most urgent priorities -- from creating jobs and reducing health care costs to keeping our nation secure," Obama said in his weekly radio address.
He will work closely with Obama's chief information officer, Vivek Kundra, who is responsible for setting technology policy across the government, and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency and lower costs.
Kundra was appointed CIO and administrator for e-government at OMB last month. The pair worked together before when Kundra served as Virginia's assistant secretary of commerce and technology.
Before joining Gov. Tim Kaine's cabinet, Chopra was a managing director at the Advisory Board Company, a health care think tank.
The Senate Finance Committee has scheduled a Tuesday vote to approve President Obama's choice of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be HHS secretary, the Associated Press reported. She is expected to be confirmed despite concerns raised by anti-abortion-rights activists recently over campaign contributions she got from a Kansas physician who performs abortions and a flap over taxes. Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has endorsed her nomination.
By AMY HARDER
Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., urged a room full of Republican attorneys today to fight President Obama's judicial nominees -- but to stop short of the filibuster.
Speaking at a Republican National Lawyers Association conference at the National Press Club, Santorum insisted to a skeptical audience that filibustering judicial nominees would be counterproductive. Two questioners wondered why Republicans should show restraint after Democrats blocked several of President Bush's nominees. "We will lose every single filibuster attempt, even if it's the worst judge in the world. We don't have the votes," Santorum rejoined. "You don't pull out a gun if everyone in the room knows it's not loaded."
Santorum also predicted that a filibuster would cause dissent even within GOP ranks. "Half of the caucus will turn on you," Santorum said. "Democrats don't turn on other Democrats. Republicans do."
When NationalJournal.com caught up with Santorum after his speech, he said that the only way his party will be able to block any of Obama's nominees would be to wage massive campaigns against the most "egregious" ones to the point where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., decides not to bring the confirmation to a vote. Going against every single one of them will not work, he said. Would the former senator be involved in such campaigns himself? "Oh, I don't know," Santorum said with a laugh. "I like to light a lot of fires and then step out of the way."
One thing that the audience, Santorum and his fellow speaker, Wendy Long, could agree on was their concern about Obama's philosophy in making judicial nominations. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network, expressed her alarm about a comment Obama made on the campaign trail indicating that he preferred judges who have "heart" and "empathy." "This is the first time in history that a president has put forth as his gold standard for judicial nominees the very definition of judicial activism," Long said.
Obama has made just three nominations so far. The first, David Hamilton, nominated to a 7th circuit Court of Appeals seat in mid-March, has already drawn conservative opposition. Hamilton is now awaiting a confirmation vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Republicans on the committee, including Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., boycotted Hamilton's confirmation hearing on April 1, saying they didn't have enough time to prepare.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
The Senate will vote Monday on three Justice Department nominees for assistant attorney general posts: Tony West, Lanny Breuer and Christine Anne Varney to head the department's civil, criminal and antitrust divisions, respectively.
The Senate is also scheduled to hold a cloture vote Monday on the nomination of Christopher Hill as ambassador to Iraq. Hill has drawn some GOP opposition for what lawmakers led by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., consider inadequate attention to human rights concerns while he oversaw talks with North Korea and Hill's lack of experience in the Middle East.
Brownback discussed the Hill nomination last month with National Journal's Kirk Victor.
By AMY HARDER
On Tuesday, President Obama announced the nomination of Judith A. McHale as undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs. McHale is the former president and CEO of Discovery Communications.
In February, NationalJournal.com spoke with James Glassman, McHale's predecessor. "What I dread, what I'm really worried about, is appointing somebody who essentially sees his or her job as an image-maker," Glassman said then. "That would be a huge mistake."
Now, more than two months later, NationalJournal.com was able to catch up with Glassman to get his initial response to the McHale nomination. First, Glassman said he was "thrilled that there is a nominee after nearly three months. It's an extremely important position. I'm sorry it took this long."
Glassman emphasized that he did not want to prejudge McHale. In February, he said his successor must have an "an orientation toward national security, not an orientation toward public relations." McHale has no substantial national security or foreign policy background, but Glassman was quick to point out that neither did he. He said the important thing is to make sure McHale takes the proper approach to her new job.
On his blog, Glassman wrote that McHale's record shows she "certainly has the drive and talent to do the job. The bigger issue is what she thinks the job is. We will soon find out."
Both in his interview with NJ.com and his blog comments, Glassman took issue with Foreign Policy's Marc Lynch, who argued in a blog post that McHale would be a "terrible, terrible selection." "While I like Marc a lot, I think that was kind of unfair," Glassman said. Lynch and others have pointed out that McHale has been a longtime friend and donor to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. That fact alone should not discredit McHale, Glassman said. It's common for supporters of politicians to end up being brought into a new administration, and these people often serve admirably, he added.
Glassman has not met with his successor, but he said he would be more than happy to do so if approached. So, what advice does he have for McHale? "I would urge her to not simply talk to the people in the building," Glassman said. "She needs to understand how the office works within the State Department, but she should also get out and talk to the key players in the interagencies." He cited the Defense Department as the most crucial agency relationship.
After the jump, see McHale's full biography, per the White House.
Continue reading Glassman Weighs In On His Successor At State.
Dora Schriro was recently appointed to the new position of special adviser to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and detention and removal. Immigration detention is the fastest-growing form of incarceration in the U.S., and the issue will inevitably come up in the push for immigration reform from President Obama. After moving to Washington from Arizona, where she headed the Department of Corrections under Gov. Napolitano for six years, Schriro spoke to NationalJournal.com's Alina Selyukh about adapting to government at the federal level and working to improve the national detention system.
NJ: After being in Washington for about two months, how do you feel about the city?
Schriro: It's great to be here for cherry blossoms.... I've always been kind of a news junkie, so it's pretty exciting to be in a place where so much news comes from. People here are great. I'm very close to the airport because I'm on the road a lot.
NJ: Where do you travel?
Schriro: In these first 90, 120 days, I am actively involved in preliminary assessment for the secretary, so I've been hitting a number of facilities... speaking with as much of the detained population as I can, talking with staff.
NJ: So what will come out of these travels?
Schriro: It's a first assessment. That's why I'm calling it preliminary; it's not a one-time kind of a thing. It is to get a really good feel for the many strengths that are here at ICE.
NJ: When will we start seeing new policies from ICE?
Schriro: There have been some small but I think symbolically substantive changes already. For example, the whole of how we detain aliens has attracted considerable public and congressional attention -- as it should. Included in that is the health care that the population receives, and included in that is deaths in detention.Early in my tenure, at the beginning of March, there was an appropriation hearing... about deaths in detention. Within several weeks of that hearing, there was a death, apparently of natural causes -- we are still pending, of course, the autopsy to make that confirmation. That was an opportunity to make an immediate change... to make immediate notification to Congress, also to release a news advisory and to put that news advisory on our Web site. So it's faster and clearer transparency.
Continue reading DHS Immigration Adviser Faces Learning Curve.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday appointed Michael Scuse as USDA's deputy undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services in charge of domestic affairs. Scuse will oversee the Farm Service Agency, which distributes farm subsidies, and the Risk Management Agency, which handles the crop insurance program. Scuse has been chief of staff to Democratic Gov. Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware, and from 2001 to 2008 served as Delaware's secretary of agriculture. Scuse will report to Agriculture Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Jim Miller.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the appointment of a former federal prosecutor to the new post of "border czar," to oversee efforts to end drug-cartel violence along the U.S.-Mexico border and slow the tide of people crossing illegally into the United States. Napolitano named Alan Bersin, a former Justice Department official who was charged with cracking down on illegal immigration in the 1990s.
By ANDREW NOYES, CongressDaily
The Obama administration's selection of a Patent and Trademark Office director cannot come soon enough, according to officials inside the agency. They cite serious cash-flow problems, internal cutbacks and a downturn in the number of applications filed and patents granted amid continued U.S. economic gloom. "We need a new director just as soon as we can get one," Patent Office Professional Association President Robert Budens said Monday.
While the administration and Commerce Department, which houses PTO, have been tight-lipped about the appointment, sources say Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is involved and an announcement could come in the next week or two. Oft-mentioned prospects for the job include Q. Todd Dickinson, who ran the office under former President Bill Clinton, Silicon Valley attorney Jim Pooley and IBM Vice President David Kappos.
During his March confirmation hearing, Locke vowed not to let urgent issues like the 2010 census crowd out topics like improving the patent office's productivity. The agency faces a backlog of more than 750,000 applications.
By JERRY HAGSTROM, CongressDaily
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has filled several key posts in his department, including aides who will focus on nutrition programs and rural development. Vilsack appointed Janey Thornton, a former school nutrition director in Elizabethtown, Ky., as deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services. FNS manages the food stamp, school meal and commodity distribution programs that spend about $80 billion per year, two thirds of the agency's $120 billion budget. Vilsack said Thornton, a former president of the School Nutrition Association, will provide policy direction for the FNS and the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Thornton will report to the undersecretary for FNS, a position not yet filled by President Obama.
Vilsack also appointed Cheryl Cook, a former National Farmers Union official and deputy secretary in the Pennsylvania Agriculture Department, as deputy undersecretary for rural development. Cook will report to the undersecretary for rural development. Obama has nominated Dallas Tonsager, a Farm Credit Administration board member, to that post, but Tonsager has not had a Senate confirmation hearing. Vilsack also appointed Doug O'Brien, a former Senate Agriculture Committee counsel, as chief of staff to Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. O'Brien has also served as an adviser to Iowa Democratic Gov. Chet Culver, and has been an assistant secretary in the Ohio Agriculture Department. The appointments were announced late Friday.
The 2010 census has been a source of controversy throughout the transition period, beginning in early February with President Obama's selection of Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., to run the Commerce Department. The pick created a firestorm of protest (subscription) from minority groups who believed Gregg was unsupportive of efforts to adequately count their constituencies in the census -- leading the administration to announce it would wrest control of the Census Bureau from Commerce. This move created another angry backlash (subscription), this time from Republicans complaining that the White House was politicizing the census and making an unprecedented power play. When Gregg resigned on Feb. 12, he cited the census as one of the main reasons.
The storm seemed to die down when Gregg's replacement, former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, insisted to Congress that Commerce would retain control of the Census Bureau after all. But a new controversy has emerged over Obama's pick to head the bureau, Robert Groves, a statistics expert from the University of Michigan. This time, Republicans are concerned that Groves will introduce statistical sampling to the 2010 count -- a practice that he unsuccessfully advocated as a bureau official in the early 1990s.
Eliza Krigman has more on the Groves controversy, and the difficulties facing the bureau less than a year out from the census, in this week's National Journal (subscription).
By ROBERT BRODSKY, Government Executive
Bush administration political appointees at the Defense Department have until the end of the week to sign President Obama's ethics pledge, or they will be asked to resign, according to internal correspondence.
In an April 7 e-mail, Robert Rangel, special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, gave all Bush holdovers until the close of business on Friday to sign the agreement, which puts restrictions on post-government employment.
Politicos who refuse to comply will be required to leave their position by the end of April.
"Those who choose not to sign the ethics pledge and leave before April 30, 2009 (or those who choose to sign the pledge and are replaced after April 30, 2009), will be asked to submit their resignations, and the department will treat their separations as involuntary," Rangel wrote.
Continue reading DoD Gives Ethics Ultimatum To Bush Holdovers.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is expected to announce Friday he has chosen Burnham John (Bud) Philbrook to be Agriculture deputy undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services in charge of international affairs. Since 1994, Philbrook has been president and CEO of Global Volunteers, an organization that sends Americans on volunteer vacations on American Indian reservations and 21 countries overseas. The Minnesota native also practiced law, served in the state House and worked as assistant commissioner in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. As deputy undersecretary, Philbrook will oversee USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, and cover trade and food aid issues. He will report to Jim Miller, the USDA undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
President Obama today announced he will nominate Peter Rogoff, staff director of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, to lead the Federal Transit Administration. The expert on infrastructure budgeting and finance issues has served on the Senate Appropriations Committee for 22 years, the last 14 as staff director of the Transportation-HUD Subcommittee. He is a veteran of the last three surface transportation bills dating back to 1991.
If confirmed, Rogoff will join FTA as Congress gears up to renew the current transportation law, which expires Oct. 1. FTA provides more than $10 billion a year in financial assistance through formula and discretionary programs to support transportation across the country, according to the agency. Rogoff has had a key role in advising lawmakers on the operating and capital needs of Amtrak, including the initiation and financing of the high-speed Acela service, as well as on the financing of dozens of new light rail and bus rapid-transit systems.
By GAUTHAM NAGESH, NextGov
President Obama's pick to lead the General Services Administration is a strong choice with a solid information technology background, industry analysts said on Monday. But if confirmed, Martha Johnson will have her hands full managing the billions in stimulus funds set aside to renovate and upgrade federal buildings, they noted.
Obama announced Johnson's nomination on Friday evening. Johnson, currently vice president of culture at Computer Sciences Corp., an IT consulting firm in Falls Church, Va., would succeed Lurita A. Doan, who resigned last May as GSA administrator. Paul Prouty, a 38-year veteran of the agency, has been serving as acting administrator since late January and before that, Jim Williams and David Bibb held the interim position.
Doan said Johnson is well-prepared for the demanding job.
"President Obama is going to be especially dependent upon GSA to help implement his agenda -- to simultaneously modernize federal buildings, expand the fleet of federal autos and ramp up unprecedented levels of federal spending," Doan said.
Johnson is no stranger to GSA. She served as the agency's chief of staff from 1996 to 2001 under then-administrator David Barram, and she was co-chair of the Obama transition team that assessed the agency.
"She's a good person and a sound choice," said Larry Allen, president of the Coalition for Government Procurement. "It's always good to have somebody as administrator who doesn't need 'GSA 101.' "
By ALYSSA ROSENBERG, Government Executive
The Senate on Friday confirmed Clinton administration veteran and former National Zoo head John Berry to be the next Office of Personnel Management director.
"I look forward to getting to work with the great men and women at OPM and to advancing the president's goal of ensuring that our country's best and brightest continue to be drawn into the service of our country," Berry said in a statement.
During his Senate confirmation hearing last week, lawmakers questioned him on his views regarding pay-for-performance systems. Berry said he was amenable to any effective compensation system, but that the federal government has an obligation to ensure employees with comparable job performances receive similar pay and treatment.
Berry has a long history in federal workforce and management issues. At the zoo, he drew up a strategic plan, reorganized its management structure and completed a 20-year capital plan for its finances. During the Clinton administration, Berry served as assistant secretary for policy, management and budget at the Interior Department, where he oversaw a number of programs to improve employees' work-life balance. And he also worked as legislative director to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., for a decade. Hoyer's district includes many federal employees.
Also confirmed late last week was venture capitalist Karen Gordon Mills as head of the Small Business Administration.
By TOM SHOOP, NextGov
President Obama named Martha Johnson, a former chief of staff of the General Services Administration, to serve as administrator of the agency late Friday.
Johnson is currently the vice president of culture at Computer Sciences Corp., a position she has held since 2007. Prior to that, she was a vice president at SRA International, where she provided consulting services to such agencies as the Labor and Homeland Security departments.
Johnson served as chief of staff at GSA from 1996 to 2001, under then-administrator David Barram. Before that, she was assistant deputy secretary of the Commerce Department from 1993 to 1996. In the early months of the Clinton administration, Johnson served in the Office of Presidential Personnel.
Earlier this year, Johnson was a co-chair of the Obama transition team that assessed GSA operations after the election. Since then, she has been rumored to be a leading candidate for the administrator's job.
Paul Prouty, a 38-year GSA veteran, has been serving as acting administrator of the agency since late January.
Johnson's nomination must be approved by the Senate.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced today a series of staff appointments, led by Julianna Smoot, a national finance director of the Obama presidential campaign and co-chairwoman of the inaugural committee, as his chief of staff.
Other appointments include Peter Cowhey of the University of California at San Diego as his senior counselor; Tim Reif, chief international trade counsel at the House Ways and Means Committee, as general counsel; Lisa Garcia, who worked for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as assistant trade representative for intergovernmental affairs and public liaison and manager of the U.S. trade advisory system; Daniel Sepulveda, an aide to President Obama when he was senator, as assistant trade representative for congressional affairs; and Luis Jimenez, a legislative and trade adviser to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel when he was in the House, as deputy assistant trade representative for congressional affairs.
Kirk also named Carol Guthrie, the communications director for Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., as assistant trade representative for public and media affairs.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Citing concerns over the upcoming competition for the lucrative contract to build aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force, Alabama's two Republican senators are blocking the confirmation of Ashton Carter, the Obama administration's nominee to be the Pentagon's top weapons buyer.
A team led by Northrop Grumman and EADS, the European consortium behind Airbus, won the contract last year and planned to build the tankers in Alabama. But GAO upheld a protest filed by Boeing Co., the losing bidder, forcing the Pentagon to announce another competition for aircraft.
"It is of the utmost importance that the new tanker competition be conducted in an open and transparent manner based on a best value process," Sen. Richard Shelby said in a statement today. "Before the new request for proposals is issued, we should have every assurance from Dr. Carter that the Department of Defense will proceed fairly to ensure our warfighters receive the most capable tanker possible."
Sen. Jeff Sessions also issued a statement saying he has "unanswered questions" about Carter's commitment to holding a fair and open competition. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., whose panel voted Wednesday to back Carter's confirmation, postponed plans to have the Senate vote late Thursday after Shelby told him he wanted to speak with Carter about his concerns.
"He has made a commitment that he will do so as quickly as he possibly can after the recess so we can hopefully get to this nomination very promptly," Levin said of Shelby.
Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., has introduced legislation that would make President Obama's proposed "chief technology officer" a permanent executive branch position. National Journal's Tech Daily Dose has more on this story.
Despite months of speculation about potential candidates -- and about what the job would entail -- the post remains unfilled for now. In recent months, Lost In Transition has discussed the CTO position with Microsoft's Carolyn Brubaker, Web guru Vinton Cerf, and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
The Senate Finance Committee is not likely to consider the nomination of Kansas Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be HHS secretary before for the two-week spring recess.
The committee typically does not take a vote on a nominee until questions senators submit in writing are answered.
Given that Sebelius went before the committee Thursday, it is unlikely she will answer all those questions by today, according to a Republican committee aide. Finance ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, alone submitted 79 questions.
Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mt., had hoped to send her nomination to the full Senate for a vote before senators left town.
President Obama's first choice for HHS secretary, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., took himself out of the running in February amid tax problems. Sebelius has tax troubles as well, albeit on a much smaller scale, and they do not seem to be affecting her nomination.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
President Obama is tapping Robert Groves, a University of Michigan professor who has pushed the use of statistical sampling, to be the next Census Bureau director, the Associated Press reported. A Commerce Department official said the White House will make the announcement today.
Groves is an expert in survey methodology and statistics who served as an associate director of the Census Bureau from 1990-92. He and others recommended that the 1990 census be statistically adjusted to make up for an undercount, only to be overruled by then-Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher, a Republican.
By ANNA EDNEY, CongressDaily
Senate leaders are attempting to confirm Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas as Health and Human Services secretary this week. The task is no small feat given today's budget votes, but senators hope to get her installed in the post before they leave for the two-week spring recess.
"That's the whole reason we're having this hearing, to get her confirmed this week," Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said today as Sebelius faced questions from panel members. Former Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole, R-Kan., introduced Sebelius at the hearing and asked the committee to confirm her this week. Referring to HHS headquarters, he joked that Sebelius "can't even get in the building." It was her second hearing this week, following one Tuesday with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
By JERRY HAGSTROM, CongressDaily
Following a confirmation hearing Wednesday on President Obama's nominees for three key posts at USDA, Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said he will try to get the nominations through the Senate before Congress leaves this week for recess.
Harkin said he would ask the Senate to discharge the committee from voting on the nominations so he can take them straight to the Senate floor. He said Senate Agriculture ranking member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., has agreed to that approach.
The nominees are Kathleen Merrigan, a Tufts University professor and former aide to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to be deputy Agriculture secretary; James Miller, the chief of staff at the National Farmers Union and a former aide to Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., to be Agriculture undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services; and Joe Leonard Jr., an aide to Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, D-Mich., and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus, to be Agriculture assistant secretary for civil rights.
The hearing went smoothly for the nominees, but Chambliss told Merrigan, the author of many academic articles, that he was concerned that "in promoting your passion for organic production and sustainable agriculture, you tear down other types of agriculture with different points of view."
Merrigan, who helped write the USDA organic program when she worked for Leahy, responded that she recognizes organic agriculture is only a "small slice of the pie, 2 to 3 percent" of U.S. agriculture.
Of her writings, Merrigan said, "I've always been a provocateur. That's part of my personality." But she added that when she was administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service in the Clinton administration, she worked on many conventional USDA agriculture programs, including milk marketing orders, check-offs and commodity purchases for feeding programs.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
At a confirmation hearing boycotted by Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske made his pitch Wednesday to become the nation's drug czar, saying he would take a balanced, science-based approach to the job.
Kerlikowske pledged to help develop a strategy to address drug-related violence along the Mexican border.
President Obama last month nominated Kerlikowske, 59, as director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he favors tough enforcement of anti-drug laws, but added that "punishment alone will not solve the problems of drugs and violence."
The panel's Republicans did not weigh in on the issue, though. They followed Judiciary ranking member Arlen Specter, R-Pa., in boycotting the hearing to protest the "unreasonable pace" that Leahy is moving on President Obama's judicial nominations. The committee also considered the appointment of U.S. District Judge David Hamilton to the U.S. Court Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Senate Finance ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said today that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' $7,000 tax error should not disqualify her from serving as HHS chief, the Associated Press reported. Grassley told reporters in a conference call that he felt Sebelius made "a good-faith effort" to pay her taxes correctly in the first place, and errors discovered in a recent review should not count against her. However, Grassley said he is still reserving judgment on her until confirmation hearings.
By ANNA EDNEY, CongressDaily
Kansas Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius Tuesday became the latest Obama administration Cabinet nominee to have tax problems come to light.
The HHS secretary nominee informed the Senate Finance Committee that she and her husband paid $7,040 in back taxes and $878 in interest for 2005, 2006 and 2007 taxes after a review by a certified public accountant found the errors. Sebelius characterized the discrepancies as "unintentional."
Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., stood behind Sebelius and called for quick action on her nomination.
"Congress is going to need a strong partner at the Department of Health and Human Services to achieve comprehensive health reform this year, and we have that partner in Gov. Sebelius," Baucus said in a statement. "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Gov. Sebelius has the political experience, determination, and bipartisan work ethic to get the job done with Congress this year."
Sebelius is set to appear before the Finance panel Thursday.
Finance ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, is waiting to make a decision on Sebelius, a spokeswoman said.
Continue reading Sebelius Discloses Tax Troubles Of Her Own.
