Department Of The Interior, Environmental, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010--Continued

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010--Continued -- (Senate - September 22, 2009)

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AMENDMENT NO. 2498

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 2498 and ask for its immediate consideration.

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to call up an amendment to ensure that the so-called czars appointed by this administration can be held accountable to Congress and to the American people.

The effective functioning of our democracy is predicated on open government, on providing a transparent process for the people we serve. It cannot instill trust and confidence in its citizenry unless government fosters accountability. It is against that backdrop I raise my concerns regarding the administration's appointment of at least 18 new czars to manage some of the most complex issues facing our country.

I am not talking about traditional offices within the office of the President. I am not talking about, for example, the position of his Chief of Staff or the position of his press secretary. Similarly, I am not talking about officials who have responsibility to coordinate policy across agency lines that are specifically established in law. A good example of that is the Director of National Intelligence. That is a position that was established by Congress and whose head is nominated by the President and confirmed by Congress. So I am not talking about those officials either.

What I am talking about are new positions not created in law that have been established and which have significant policy responsibilities, or so it seems. Part of the problem here is we don't know exactly what the responsibilities are. As I, along with several of my colleagues, including the ranking member of this subcommittee, Senator Alexander, recently expressed in a letter to the President, I am deeply troubled because these czars fail to provide the accountability, transparency, and oversight necessary for our constitutional democracy.

The creation of czars within the Executive Office of the President and elsewhere in the executive branch circumvents the constitutionally mandated advise and consent role our Founding Fathers assigned to the Senate. They greatly diminish the ability of Congress to conduct meaningful oversight to hold officials accountable for their actions, and it creates confusion about which officials are responsible for the government's policy decisions.

For example, Nancy-Ann DeParle, an individual for whom I have great respect, is the health policy czar within the White House. Kathleen Sebelius is the Secretary of Health and Human Services. So who is making policy when it comes to health care? Who do we hold accountable? Well, we know we can call the Secretary of Health and Human Services before us to testify in open session at public hearings, but most likely we cannot call Ms. DeParle before us to testify, even though she has been great about coming up for private meetings.

Senators Alexander, Bond, Crapo, Roberts, and Bennett joined me in writing to the President to raise these important issues. We have identified at least 18 czar positions where reported responsibilities may be undermining the constitutional oversight responsibilities of Congress or the express statutory assignments of responsibility to other executive branch officials.

Again, to be clear, I do not consider every position identified in various media reports to be problematic. Positions that are established by law or are subject to Senate confirmation, such as the Director of National Intelligence, the Homeland Security Advisor, and the Chairman of the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board do not raise the same concerns about accountability, transparency, and oversight.

Furthermore, we all recognize that Presidents are entitled to rely on experts to serve as senior advisers. But those czar positions within the Executive Office of the President and in some executive agencies are largely insulated from effective congressional oversight. Many of the czars appointed by this administration seem either to duplicate or dilute the statutory authority and responsibilities that Congress already has conferred upon Cabinet level officers and other senior executive branch officials.

Indeed, many of these new czars appear to occupy positions of greater responsibility and authority than some of the officials who come before us for Senate confirmation. Whether in the White House or elsewhere, these czar appointments are not subject to the Senate's constitutional advise and consent role. Little information is available concerning their responsibilities and authority. There is no careful Senate examination of their character and qualifications. We are speaking here of some of the most senior important positions within our government.

The appointment of so many czars has muddied the waters, causing confusion and risking miscommunication going forward. We need to know, with clarity: Who is responsible for what? Who is in charge--the czar or the Cabinet official? Who can the Congress and the American people hold accountable for government policies that affect their lives?

For these reasons, I offer an amendment that would prevent any more Federal funds from being made available for the administrative expenses of czars until two key conditions are met. I don't think these conditions are unreasonable. I don't think they are difficult for the President to meet, but they would make a real difference.

First, the amendment I am proposing would require the President to certify to Congress that every one of these positions will respond to reasonable requests to testify before or provide information to any congressional committee with jurisdiction over the matters the President has assigned to that individual.

Second, our amendment would require every czar to issue a public written report twice a year to these same congressional committees. This report would include a description of the activities of the official and the office, any rule, regulation, or policy that the official participated in the development of, or any rule, regulation, or policy that the official directed be developed by the department or agency with statutory responsibility for the matter.

This amendment would represent a significant step toward establishing an oversight regime for these positions that would provide the transparency and accountability our Nation expects from its leaders.

Beyond the specific requirements of this amendment, in the letter we sent to the President we implored the President to consult carefully with Congress prior to establishing any additional czars or filling any existing vacancies for these positions.

We stand ready to work with the President to address the challenges facing our Nation and to provide our country's senior leaders with the authority, accountability, and legitimacy necessary to do their jobs. If there are problems, then the administration should come to us. We can work on revamping organizational structures to help eliminate those problems, but we must eliminate the serious problems with oversight, accountability, transparency, and vetting that are associated with the proliferation of these czars.

I urge my colleagues to support what I think is a very reasonable approach to this difficult issue.

Mr. President, I thank the Chair.

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