Thompson,
Lieberman Introduce Bill to
Streamline Presidential Appointment Process
Legislation
Intends to Break the Logjam of Nominees
Wednesday, December 12,
2001
Washington, DC ‑ Senate Governmental Affairs Committee
Ranking Member Fred Thompson (R‑TN) and Committee
Chairman Joe Lieberman today introduced the Presidential
Appointments Improvement Act, legislation intended to correct
problems of the presidential appointment process that have
persistently posed barriers for individuals seeking public
service and administration officials trying
to fill high level Executive Branch appointments and
nominations as quickly and efficiently as possible.
"This legislation is intended to help break the logjam
caused by the often lengthy and burdensome appointment
process," said Senator Thompson.
"One of the keys to a successful administration is
getting the President’s people in place.
Democracy is ill‑served when the President's
ability to carry out this task is hampered by a reluctance on
the part of talented men and women to serve and by unnecessary
delays in confirming nominees. This legislation is an
important step in improving the appointment process."
"The legislation we're introducing today will reduce some
of the financial disclosure burdens placed on
high‑level, executive branch nominees, without reducing
the information necessary to determine potential conflicts of
interest, and without sacrificing the important principle of
the public's right to know," Lieberman said. "It is
our hope that passage of this legislation will encourage our
best and brightest to look more favorably upon government
service than they have in recent years and to lend their
knowledge and skills to what I have always thought was one of
the highest callings a person could follow."
The measure, intended to reduce the complexity of the forms
required of nominees, includes a number of recommendations
submitted by the Administration in a report by the Office of
Government Ethics. In addition to provisions to streamline the financial
disclosure form, the bill includes provisions to:
•
Require a comprehensive review of and report on
criminal conflict of interest statutes by the Office of
Government Ethics and the Department of Justice;
•
Require each department and agency to recommend a plan
for reducing the number and layers of political appointees
requiring confirmation;
•
Require the Executive Clerk of the White House to keep
an electronic database of Executive Branch‑appointed
positions and to deliver a copy of that database to the
Presidential candidates following the nominating conventions;
•
Improve tracking of nominees' agreements to take
action, such as selling certain securities, in order to avoid
conflicts of interest while in office; and
•
Improve public access to conflict of interest waivers.
Many of the bill’s provisions are based on recommendations
made to the Congress by various groups, boards, and
commissions that have studied the presidential appointment
process, including the Presidential Appointee Initiative, the
20th Century Fund's Task Force on the Presidential Appointment
Process, the White House 2001 project, and the Transition to
Governing project. The Hart‑Rudman Commission also
recommended improving the Presidential appointment process,
writing that "[t]he ordeal that Presidential nominees are
subjected to is now so great as to make it prohibitive for
many individuals of talent and experience to accept public
service."
The Governmental Affairs Committee has studied the
presidential appointment process for well over a year, holding
hearings on the subject this Spring.
Other initiatives underway to streamline the process
include reducing the complexity and duplication of forms
required by Senate Committees and
reducing the level of background investigation required
of certain nominees. |