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 WINTER CASEY
Stewart Baker, a Department of Homeland Security official until January, has re-joined the law firm Steptoe & Johnson. He will focus on technology and security issues for the firm, including cybersecurity, encryption and surveillance.
Baker became the first DHS assistant secretary for policy in 2005, and before that served as general counsel to the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, the committee charged with investigating the intelligence failure in Iraq. Prior to that, he was general counsel to the National Security Agency and deputy general counsel to the Department of Education. He has also clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens.
By AMY HARDER
At the United States Institute for Peace conference on media and diplomacy Tuesday, NationalJournal.com was able to speak for a few minutes with James Glassman, who succeeded Karen Hughes as undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs in the last year of the Bush administration. Glassman discussed the qualities his own yet-to-be-named successor should possess and how President Obama can use the media to improve relations with the Middle East. Edited excerpts follow:
NJ: What can the Obama administration do to enhance public diplomacy through new media and the Internet?
Glassman: Let me tell you the most important thing it should do. The administration needs to appoint a successor to me... who has an orientation toward national security, not an orientation toward public relations. That's an imperative. What I dread, what I'm really worried about, is appointing somebody who essentially sees his or her job as an image-maker. That would be a huge mistake.
NJ: Does this relate to the notion put forth in the [USIP] panel discussion that, when it comes to public diplomacy, action speaks louder than words?
Glassman: It's more than that. It's really a conception of the job as -- not as necessarily making everyone love us, but a conception of the job that is to try to achieve foreign policy goals of the United States in a sophisticated way, especially involving other parts of government, and that's what we tried to do. When I came to the job, or before I came to the job, I didn't understand it in that way.I am worried that the administration, for all its talk about the importance of public diplomacy in a broader sense, will see it in a narrow sense as being brand-building, image-building. So the person who gets appointed undersecretary of state of public diplomacy, whoever that is, that person's background and outlook -- that's going to tell you a lot about how truly serious this administration is. So far, we haven't seen much, and I think that's a mistake, too. They should have appointed somebody quickly.
Continue reading Q&A: Outgoing State Dept. Official Offers Diplomatic Advice.
(Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
As former Federal Communications Commission chief Kevin Martin begins the next chapter in his career this week as a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, National Journal's Winter Casey spoke with him about what advice he would offer his FCC replacement and the key issues he anticipates the commission will be grappling with this year.
NJ: What advice would you like to give to whoever takes over as FCC commissioner?
Martin: I would tell them that they should make sure and look hard at the facts and the underlying arguments that are being made and -- while they will have whatever ideology they bring to the issues -- they should be prepared to actually examine the underlying facts and have it be more of a fact-based decision-making process as opposed to just an ideological one.
NJ: Is there anything in the telecommunications realm that needs to be changed that you think could move forward with bipartisan support this year?
Martin: I think that we need to make changes to our universal service mechanism to make sure that we move it from a voice-grade connections to broadband connections. We should make some more progress on cable rates -- cable rates have doubled over the last decade and I think consumers need relief in terms of additional choices and additional competition. And I think there needs to be a continued emphasis on how we make sure the regulatory environment provides an opportunity and incentive for people to invest in the infrastructure and at the same time maintain an open platform to any kinds of application or devices on the edge.
NJ: Will the new chief technology officer have any impact on what the FCC does?
Martin: I don't know. The FCC is at the bottom a creature of Congress and it's regulatory authority stems from Congress' authority. I am not sure that there can be an additional executive branch position that can have any direct impact on the commission because the commission is still an independent agency.
NJ: What issues do you think will be big ones in the next year for the FCC?
Martin: I think network neutrality will continue to end up being a big issue. I think media ownership will, and universal service.
NJ: Do you have a proudest achievement?
Martin: Finding that balance of making sure that you have incentives for people to invest in the network and have it open. But specifically... ushering in a wireless broadband world in which we had the two most successful auctions of wireless spectrum ever and at the same time we transformed the wireless industry so that it's more open to applications and devices.
By THERESA POULSON
Those preparing to depart from the Executive Office of the President may be packing up their picture frames and coffee mugs, but, because of a district court ruling [PDF] made today, they'll have to turn over their memory sticks, CDs and DVDs before they walk out the door.
United States District Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. granted an emergency motion from the National Security Archive that requires the EOP to search all of its computer workstations. All EOP employees must surrender any media that may contain e-mails from March 2003 to October 2005.
The archive and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics have an ongoing suit against the EOP and the National Archives and Records Administration, seeking to preserve as many as 5 million White House e-mails that were declared missing during the Scooter Libby trial. The archive is hoping to find out more about how the e-mails were lost by looking at the EOP media.
All of the physical records from the White House will be carted away to NARA on the morning of Jan. 20. National Security Archive counsel Meredith Fuchs told National Journal that there is a hearing today to address whether additional steps need to be taken during the physical transfer of e-mail backup tapes.
Fuchs spoke with National Journal in November about the need for a stringent e-mail archiving system in the executive branch.
President Bush will "defend his record" in a primetime farewell address to the nation Thursday evening from the East Room, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino announced today.
No time has been set for the address. Perino said it would last 10 to 15 minutes and be delivered before a live audience, including "courageous people" the president has met with during his eight years in office.
"This is not going to be a swan song," said Perino, and the speech is not something where he is "looking to refight old battles."
In an e-mail, the White House said, "He will reflect on his time in office and the ways our country has changed these past eight years. He will also uphold the tradition of presidents using farewell addresses to look forward -- by sharing his thoughts on greatest challenges facing the country, and on what it will take to meet them."
-- White House Pool Report
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
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
In his final White House press conference, President Bush joked with reporters, commended President-elect Barack Obama and gave explicit -- and notably rare -- acknowledgments of mistakes he made in office.
Putting a "Mission Accomplished" banner on an aircraft carrier for his May 2003 speech declaring victory in Iraq "was a mistake," the president said. He also conceded that his botched attempt at Social Security reform "was a mistake."
But Bush refused to say the same of other controversies, such as the 2004 Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. These were "significant disappointments," he conceded, but "I don't know if you want to call those mistakes or not."
The press conference was marked by a diverse mixture of humor, grave warnings for the incoming administration and nostalgia, with the outgoing president reflecting back upon everything from Iraq to Hurricane Katrina to his feelings upon taking office back in 2001. He joked with nearly every reporter who asked him a question, dubbing this press conference "the ultimate exit interview."
When asked what would be the most urgent threat facing Obama, Bush said, without hesitation: "Attack on our homeland." After pausing for a couple moments, he continued: "I wish I could report that that's not the case, but there's still an enemy out there that wants to inflict harm onto Americans." Bush also expressed his fears about nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran.
Continue reading Bush's 'Exit Interview:' Conceding Mistakes, Commending Obama.
By KATHERINE MCINTIRE PETERS, Government Executive
With the Bush administration planning to publish a slew of new energy and environmental regulations by year's end, congressional Democrats already are looking ahead to how the Obama administration might undo them.
On Thursday, the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming is planning a hearing to investigate proposed late-term regulatory rule changes that touch on a range of issues from fuel economy standards to endangered species.
A Democratic staff report [PDF] outlines a number of areas the committee is likely to explore. The most contentious proposed agency actions include:
Continue reading Bush WH Poised To Publish New Environment Rules.
By HUMBERTO SANCHEZ, CongressDaily
Aid to the Big Three automakers should come from an existing $25 billion industry loan program, the White House said today, but officials declined to comment on the long-term viability plans the manufacturers unveiled Tuesday, which seek up to $34 billion in loans and credit.
Noting that administration officials were reviewing the proposals, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said it is too early to assess the submissions. Officials at the Treasury and Commerce departments are evaluating the proposals. "Let us have a chance to look at their plans... and let's see what support it can get on Capitol Hill," she said.
Perino's comments came ahead of hearings scheduled for Thursday and Friday, when executives of Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC will make their case for the aid. The CEOs' meeting with lawmakers will be their second attempt at getting federal aid. After hearings two weeks ago, when the executives were taken to task for bad business decisions, lawmakers told the CEOs to develop viability plans by Tuesday.
President-elect Obama took a wait-and-see approach to the automakers' plans. "There will be hearings over the next two days, and I want to wait and see specifically what is said during those hearings," Obama said in Chicago after announcing that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was his choice for Commerce secretary. "It appears... this time out the executives from these automakers are putting forward a more serious set of plans."
Obama added that it's important for any government aid to be "based on realistic assessments of what the auto market is going to be and a realistic plan for how we are going to make these companies viable over the long term." Obama said it was premature to discuss where the funding should come from.
