April 11, 2009 11:58 AM
Is There A Disfunctionality That Needs To Be Fixed?
An argument can be made that there are ways in which the Federal Government is organized or operates which don't make a lot of sense.Here is one of WW's favorite examples. On a trip out West your editor was standing at the head of a little valley. I was told that the forest on the hill on the right side of the valley was controlled by the Department of Interior, and the forest on the left side was controlled by the Department of Agriculture. To my untrained eye, the trees looked a lot alike.
Subsequently, I learned that, if the forest lands were seen as producing timber (a growing crop), they were under the control of the USDA. If the lands were seen as range or park lands (more tourism and less economic value of the land itself), they were under Interior.
In general, USDA's management has been perceived to be more production- and business-oriented, while Interior has been perceived as more conservation and environmentally focused, especially in land management issues.
In fact, it turns out that there are some timber lands under the management of Interior, and some park and tourism land under control of USDA.
Apparently, the whole thing caused an enormous feud between Harold Ickes and Henry Wallace in the 1930s.
Observing the campaign and now the new Administration, it is easy to come to the conclusion that President Obama likes to operate through a relatively small group of individuals who are close at hand.
Could this be an effort on his part to effectively "reorganize" parts of the Executive Branch without going through the endless process of changing organizational structures? Each of these structures has its own set of constituencies, Congressional and otherwise, who defend the current structures, whether or not they make overall sense.
Obama came to a White House that already had two czar/czarina-like positions on the staff, the National Security Advisor and the Director of the National Economic Council. Within the "coordinating" reach of the National Security Advisor (and staff) is the Defense Department, State Department, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and the Homeland Security Department.
Within the reach of the Director of the National Economic Council (and staff) is the Treasury Department, the Council of Economic Advisors, the Commerce Department, the US Trade Representative, and the Department of Labor. There is a secondary connection with other agencies on a case by case basis. In the current White House add to that a side-bar interest in energy and healthcare.
For some many years, the President has usually received a daily briefing from his National Security Advisor. Obama has added a similar daily briefing from the Director of the National Economic Council.
To those two, Obama has added czarinas for Energy/Environment/Climate and Healthcare, and an Urban czar.
The Energy czarina is likely to be able to reach into the Environmental Protection Agency, The Council on Environmental Quality, Energy Department, Interior Department, Agriculture Department, Department of Transportation, and Commerce Department.
The Healthcare czarina has a span that likely includes at least HHS (Medicare, etc,), Tricare, Veterans Administration, FDA, and the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan.
The Urban Czar would seem to reach into the Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Education Department.
Will it work? Like anything this early in a new Administration, it is anyone's guess. The immediate response of many commentators is that there are bound to be a number of internecine conflicts. That may well be. But given the apparent disdain of the President and his close advisors for unnecessary drama, and his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's ability to cut through nonsense, my guess is that any such conflicts will be dealt with expeditiously.
If it works, the country will be well-served.
Centralizing power in the White House, beyond the traditional area of national security, is not new.
In early January, 1973, newly re-elected President Richard Nixon rolled out a expansion of the White House staff. He appointed at least three "czars".
Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of HEW, was named as a White House Counselor to run Human Resources. James Lynn, Secretary of HUD, was named as the Counselor for Community and Regional Development. And Earl Butz, Secretary of Agriculture, was named as Counselor for Natural Resources, in charge of resource use, lands and minerals, and environment.
Somewhat later, Nixon appointed William Simon, then serving as Deputy Secretary of Treasury, as the first energy czar. Formally, he headed the Federal Energy Office during the Arab oil embargo.
Of course, all of the folks that Nixon turned to for this role were Senate-confirmed political employees, subject to being called to testify before Congress.
And then in September, 2001, President Bush appointed Tom Ridge as the Homeland Security czar.
