Under the radar... This is a bad thing...

[santahog]

http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/31/house-to-consider-eliminating-senate-confirmation-for-presidential-appointees/

What the hell are they thinking?!


House passes bill eliminating Senate confirmation for presidential appointees
Published: 12:39 PM 07/31/2012
By Alex Pappas   

    Will You Boldly Proclaim"I am a Christian"? Sign the pledge now! billygraham.org/I-am-a-Christian

House passes bill eliminating Senate confirmation for presidential appointees

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/31/house-to-consider-eliminating-senate-confirmation-for-presidential-appointees/#ixzz22JawODIq


Members of the House of Representatives of the 111th Congress, accompanied by family members and guests, are sworn in in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

UPDATE: The House passed the legislation Tuesday night by a vote of 261-116. The bill now goes to President Obama’s desk for his signature.

The House of Representatives is set to consider legislation Tuesday that would exempt certain presidential appointees from having to be confirmed by the Senate.

But a number of conservative groups are arguing that the “Presidential Efficiency and Streamlining Act” amounts to Congress neutering itself and giving the executive branch unprecedented power.

Presidential appointees that would no longer require Senate confirmation under the legislation include the treasurer of the United States and the deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The United States Constitution does not bestow kingly powers on the President to appoint the senior officers of the government with no process,” wrote Thomas McClusky, the senior vice president for the Family Research Council’s legislative arm, in a Monday memo to lawmakers.

Sources told The Daily Caller that there is concern in the ranks among conservatives opposed to the legislation that House leaders will bring the legislation up for a voice vote to avoid putting members on the record.

“I can tell you that there will be members who want this vote on the record,” an aide to one conservative member told TheDC. “Whether or not they’ll get the chance is still in question.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s office didn’t comment on questions Tuesday from TheDC about the bill.

But the intent of the legislation is to help tackle the backlog of presidential appointees needing congressional confirmation. Critics like McClusky argue this is the result of a larger problem.

“If the Senate wants to streamline the process, it should eliminate some of the administration’s positions,” McClusky wrote.

The legislation, sponsored by New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, passed the Senate in June 2011, with 20 Republicans voting against it. The Senate bill has 17 co-sponsors, including both Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

McClusky of FRC Action estimated in his memo that “thousands of positions would be filled by the President without any Senate vetting.”

The legislation would affect appointments across the executive branch, including to the Defense, Homeland Security and Justice departments.

Referencing the Obama administration, McClusky wrote that, “In an administration that’s already circumvented Congress with dozens of controversial ‘czars’ this would mean even less accountability for the White House.”

In an April 2011 blog post, David S. Addington, a senior vice president and deputy chief operating officer of The Heritage Foundation, cited the “slow and detailed background investigations and mounds of duplicative paperwork.” He wrote that the bill sponsors have “identified a valid problem, but proposed the wrong solution.”

“The proper solution to the problem of a slow Senate is to speed up the Senate rather than to diminish the role of the Senate,” he wrote.”The Senate should look inward and streamline its internal procedures for considering all nominations.”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/31/house-to-consider-eliminating-senate-confirmation-for-presidential-appointees/#ixzz22JaGsr6w

[tombogan03884]

My Bullsh!t detector is going nuts on this.
I just can't see those pompous SOB's giving up power like that.
No way to check on it since they do not identify the bill, which is also suspicious.

[Timothy]

It's the real deal Tom!

Senate Bill S.679...

S.679
Latest Title: Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011
Sponsor: Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] (introduced 3/30/2011)      Cosponsors (17)
Latest Major Action: 7/31/2012 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 261 - 116 (Roll no. 537).
Latest Action: 7/31/2012 Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Senate Reports: 112-24SUMMARY AS OF:
6/29/2011--Passed Senate amended.    (There are 2 other summaries)

Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011 - (Sec. 2) Eliminates the requirement of Senate approval (advice and consent) of specified presidentially-appointed positions in federal agencies and departments, as follows:

    Department of Agriculture: (1) Assistant Secretary for Administration, (2) Administrator of the Rural Utilities Services, and (3) all members of the Board of Directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation;
    Department of Commerce: Chief Scientist, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA);
    Department of Defense (DOD): (1) all members of the National Security Education Board, and (2) Director of the Selective Service System;
    Department of Education: (1) Assistant Secretary for Management, and (2) Commissioner for Education Statistics;
    Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs;
    Department of Homeland Security (DHS): (1) Director of the Office for Domestic Preparedness, (2) Assistant Administrator for Grant Programs, Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), (3) Administrator of the U.S. Fire Administration, (4) Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement, (5) Chief Medical Officer, and (6) Assistant Secretaries for Health Affairs, Legislative Affairs, and Public Affairs;
    Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs;
    Department of Justice (DOJ): (1) Directors of the Bureaus of Justice Statistics and Justice Assistance, (2) Director of the National Institute of Justice, (3) Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and (4) Director of the Office for Victims of Crime;
    Department of Labor: (1) Assistant Secretaries for Administration and Management and for Public Affairs, and (2) Director of the Women's Bureau;
    Department of State: Assistant Secretaries for Public Affairs and for Administration;
    Department of Transportation (DOT): (1) Assistant Secretaries for Budget and Programs and for Administration, (2) Deputy Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and (3) Administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation;
    Department of the Treasury: (1) Assistant Secretaries for Public Affairs and for Management, and (2) Treasurer of the United States;
    Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): Assistant Secretaries for Management, for Human Resources and Administration, for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, and for Operations, Security, and Preparedness;
    Appalachian Regional Commission: Alternative Federal Co-Chairman;
    Council of Economic Advisers: all members, except the Chairperson;
    Corporation for National and Community Service: Managing Director;
    National Council on Disability: all members, including the Chairperson;
    National Museum and Library Services Boards: all members;
    National Science Foundation (NSF): all Board members;
    Office of National Drug Control Policy: Deputy Directors;
    Office of Navajo and Hopi Relocation: Commissioner;
    United States Agency for International Development (USAID): Assistant Administrator for Management;
    Community Development Financial Institution Fund: Administrator;
    Mississippi River Commission: all Commissioners;
    National Board for Education Sciences: all members;
    National Institute for Literacy Advisory Board: all members; and
    Board of Trustees of the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development: all members.

Eliminates the positions of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information and for Public Affairs.

Eliminates the requirement of Senate approval of all appointments to and promotions for the Commissioned Officer Corps in the Public Health Service and in NOAA.

Provides that removal of the requirement of Senate confirmation of any position in this Act shall not result in any such position being placed in the Senior Executive Service or alter compensation for such position.

Sec. 3) Expands the requirements for the appointment of a Director of the Census, including that such appointment be made without regard to political affiliation and that the appointee have a demonstrated ability in managing large organizations and experience in the collection, analysis, and use of statistical data. Limits the Director's term to five years, beginning on December 1, 2012, and prohibits a Director from serving more than two full terms. Authorizes the President to remove the Director from office after communicating in writing the reasons for removal to Congress not later than 60 days before the removal.

(Sec. 4) Establishes the Working Group on Streamlining Paperwork for Executive Nominations (Working Group) to study and report to the President and specified congressional committees on the streamlining of paperwork required for executive nominations and review the impact of background investigations requirements on the appointments process. Requires that the report of the Working Group include: (1) recommendations for the streamlining of paperwork required for executive nominations, and (2) a detailed plan for the creation and implementation of an electronic system for collecting and distributing background information from nominees for positions which require Senate approval. Requires such electronic system to provide for less of a burden on potential nominees for positions which require Senate approval, faster delivery of background information, fewer errors of omission, and a single, searchable form (Smart Form) that will be free to a nominee, will be easy to use, and will streamline the process of vetting a nominee and tracking information provided by a nominee.

(Sec. 5) Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study and report to Congress and the President on presidentially-appointed positions that do not require Senate approval.

(Sec. 6) Makes the provisions of this Act relating to Senate approval of presidential appointments effective 60 days after enactment and makes the other provisions effective upon enactment.

[tombogan03884]

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s679/text

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s679

It's beyond time to vote with rope and lead.

[Timothy]

A quick perusal of the bill shows that it's primarily for under secretaries and lower department heads, not cabinet secretaries or major appointments.  Not as bad as it looks at first glance.

[Sponsor]

[tombogan03884]

Sec 3 Head of the census

[Timothy]

Sec 3 Head of the census

Yea, I thought of Acorn when I saw that..

[Tyler Durden]

Didn't Obama already do an end run around this with all his czars?