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 KATHERINE MCINTIRE PETERS, Government Executive
Ever since the Federal Emergency Management Agency was absorbed into the Homeland Security Department after its creation in 2003, bureaucrats and elected officials have debated the merits of that decision. After weighing the arguments for and against making FEMA a stand-alone agency again, the department's inspector general found such a reorganization could have significant negative repercussions.
"Removing FEMA from DHS at this point would cause considerable upheaval, to both FEMA and the department," IG Richard Skinner wrote in a report [PDF] released Tuesday.
FEMA benefits from the wealth of resources and capabilities inherent in Homeland Security, such as search and rescue, communications, law enforcement, intelligence, infrastructure protection, and the ability to surge personnel from other DHS agencies during emergencies, the report concluded.
FEMA's response to hurricanes Gustav and Ike last fall illustrated the point: Customs and Border Protection provided security and aerial surveys of the damaged regions; the Transportation Security Administration supported 20 commodity distribution locations with 366 employees; and the Coast Guard performed search-and-rescue missions.
The IG noted in the three years before the department was established, FEMA and the Coast Guard conducted joint exercises 13 times; in the three years after DHS was created, the agencies held 59 such exercises.
On the heels of the outgoing president's last White House press conference, which took place this morning, the White House has posted "fact sheets" [PDF] defending the policies President Bush has pursued during his tenure.
Topics addressed include protecting America during a "global war on terror," military transformation, defense against weapons of mass destruction and Bush's "freedom agenda." Domestic items include No Child Left Behind, global health initiatives, faith-based and community initiatives and judicial appointments.
Notably missing on the domestic side is a fact sheet on the economy. The current economic crisis is relegated to two paragraphs at the bottom of the "Tax Relief" page, in which Congress is blamed for ignoring Bush's early calls to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
By AMY HARDER
NationalJournal.com has obtained a copy of the legislation -- introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Tuesday on the Senate floor -- that would make it a misdemeanor to scalp inauguration tickets.
The bill, which was originally introduced in December, has been revised to allow official presidential inaugural committees to raise money funds for the ceremony itself. In her remarks on the floor Tuesday, Feinstein distinguished between the practice of selling the yet-to-be-released free tickets for inordinately high prices online and the raffle-like practices that presidential inaugural committees, including Barack Obama's, have engaged in for some time.
"Unlike unscrupulous Web sites and ticket scalpers, there is no 'profit' made by presidential inaugural committees in giving these tickets to people in return for inaugural donations," Feinstein said. "This exemption will allow both parties to raise the needed funds to put on presidential inaugurals in the future."
See the text of the revised bill here [PDF] and the original version here [PDF].
By RICHARD COHEN
Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., officially announced his resignation from Congress today to become President-elect Obama's chief of staff, seeming to close the door on any chance of making a quick return to his old job, in case he has second thoughts.
Emanuel's office made the announcement in an e-mail that included the text of an automated call to his constituents on Chicago's North Side, and in a letter, dated Jan. 2, to embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D).
In his message to constituents, Emanuel said that in the interim, "both the Washington DC and Chicago offices will be open, and staff will be available to assist you with any casework issues." The statement also provided a telephone number in Chicago for constituents to contact with questions or concerns about legislation or dealings with federal agencies. Under House rules, the Clerk of the House routinely takes control of a House office once there is a vacancy.
The letter to Blagojevich routinely reviewed Emanuel's three terms in Congress and referred to his hopes for his new job: "As I go to work every day in the incoming Obama Administration, I will keep in mind the stories of the working families and senior citizens who I met during the past six years in grocery stores, schools and churches across the Fifth District." The letter appeared to make no reference to the governor's current legal problems, nor to Emanuel's much-discussed recent conversations with him.
Although Obama resigned from the Senate in mid-November, other members of his administration have retained their seats in Congress. Vice President-elect Joe Biden is expected to resign his Senate seat prior to the Jan. 20 inauguration, and Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner has appointed his temporary successor, Ted Kaufman. Other announced members of Obama's Cabinet from Capitol Hill are not expected to resign until the Senate confirms them to their new office. They are: Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton, Interior Secretary-designate Ken Salazar, and Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis.
As incoming chief of staff, Emanuel does not face Senate confirmation. And he has been working actively in his new job since Obama officially named him on Nov. 7. The announcement makes it unlikely that Emanuel will be sworn in as a member of the 111th Congress, which formally convenes next week. But by ambiguously describing the future operation of his congressional office, and by not explicitly stating that he will not join the 111th Congress, Emanuel may have left himself some wiggle room.
By ALEXIS SIMENDINGER and SHANE HARRIS
President Bush is helping clear the decks for President-elect Barack Obama by asking his political appointees to submit their resignations effective Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, according to a memo [PDF] dated Dec. 1 and obtained by National Journal. White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten instructed Cabinet secretaries and heads of departments to collect resignation letters from political appointees, with the goal of providing the incoming president "maximum flexibility in assembling his administration."
Bolten said Bush's directions are "consistent with past practice," which is correct: Then-Chief of Staff John Podesta, acting on behalf of President Clinton, sent a similar memo to government leaders in November 2000, and previous presidents have taken similar steps.
The exceptions to Bush's order are federal inspectors general and "those individuals who hold termed positions," Bolten said. "Non-career Senior Executive Service and Schedule C appointees at independent and regulatory agencies headed by termed appointees" are also exceptions to the resignation order.
Should there be any confusion, Bolten helpfully includes a sample letter of two simple lines:
Dear Mr. President:I hereby tender my resignation as (title). I anticipate that my last day of service will be January 20,2009, and I understand that you will act on this offer no later than noon, January 20, 2009.
Sincerely,
Name and title
By AMY HARDER
Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Homeland Security nominee Janet Napolitano will be briefed this afternoon on a new report released today that projects a nuclear or biological attack will occur somewhere around the world by 2013.
The report, conducted by the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism, aims to serve as road map for President-elect Barack Obama's administration to prevent biological and nuclear terrorism. In its findings, the report focuses on the "poorly governed parts of Pakistan" where the commission concluded the risks to the U.S. are increasing.
Former Sens. Bob Graham, D-Fla., and Jim Talent, R-Mo., have led the commission's efforts, which built upon findings by the 9/11 Commission, another congressionally mandated study. The group has conducted more than 200 interviews with national security experts, held eight major commission meetings and took several trips to regions deemed risks, such as Russia, since May.
The timing of the report's release, in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist attacks last weekend, further drives home the risk of all types of terrorism. "If those people had access to a biological or nuclear weapon they would have multiplied by orders of magnitude the deaths they could have inflicted," Graham told an AP reporter.
The report predicts that terrorists will more likely attack with biological, rather than nuclear, weapons because nuclear facilities are more closely guarded. "The commission believes that the U.S. government needs to move more aggressively to limit the proliferation of biological weapons and reduce the prospect of a bioterror attack," the report states.
By ALEXIS SIMENDINGER
The National Archives and Records Administration sent agency officials who safeguard classified material a reminder Nov. 17 that government secrets should not slip away from government protection because the Bush administration is on its way out. "The responsibility to protect classified information, including information stored in one's memory, does not end with an individual's departure from government service," NARA wrote.
Read the memo [PDF].
By AMY HARDER
Legislation that would make it a misdemeanor to scalp inauguration tickets was not taken up in the Senate on Thursday night. With time tight leading up to Jan. 20, sponsor Dianne Feinstein's office hopes the Senate will consider the California Democrat's bill again when it reconvenes in December.
NationalJournal.com has obtained a copy of the bill's text [PDF], which spells out fines up to $100,000 and one year in jail. Gil Duran, communications director for Feinstein, said there has been interest on both sides of the aisle to pass this legislation. "People in general want to preserve the dignity of the inaugural ceremony," Duran said. "We want to avoid people being ripped off, which is what these scalpers do."
Internet sites like eBay, StubHub and craigslist have had postings selling Inauguration Day tickets, which are free, for thousands of dollars. The sites have stopped all such sales since meeting with Feinstein. The 240,000 tickets are not even available to members of Congress (who are the only ones who can distribute them) until a few days prior to the event. When asked about what may happen in the few days between the tickets' distribution and Jan. 20, Duran said that this law would make it harder for people to scalp them, even if they did have an actual ticket in hand, by making it a crime.
In her remarks to the Senate on Thursday, Feinstein said she finds it "unconscionable" that Inauguration Day tickets are being sold, especially online. "The chance to witness these solemn event should not be bought and sold similar to tickets to a football game," Feinstein said. "This is not a football game. This is a dignified and critical moment of transition in government, a moment of which Americans have always been proud."
Duran said that if Congress passes the bill, it would provide "ample time" to ensure the law is implemented in time for Inauguration Day.
By MARY GILBERT
The second installment in our series looking at the Center for American Progress and the New Democracy Project's "blueprint" for the incoming administration focuses on the Department of Education. In one chapter from CAP's "Change For America: A Progressive Blueprint For The 44th President," former DOE General Counsel and Deputy Undersecretary Judith A. Winston advises Barack Obama on how to ensure "that a high-quality, affordable, and accessible education is available to all at every level from preschool through college."
Winston's recommendations include the following:
Continue reading CAP's 'Blueprint' For Obama: Improving Education.
