Vice President Al Gore's selection of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., as his running mate Monday creates a presidential ticket whose members are well versed in the inner workings of the federal bureaucracy.
While Gore's Vice Presidential tenure has been marked by his reinventing government effort, Lieberman got his sea legs as ranking minority member on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.
This year, Lieberman, along with Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., and Republican Senators George Voinovich of Ohio, Sam Brownback of Kansas and William Roth of Delaware, sponsored the Government for the 21st Century Act (S. 2306), which would charge a nine-member commission with recommending ways to streamline government operations. The commission's goal would be to restructure agencies and programs to prevent duplication, improve management and demand accountability for results.
Lieberman has worked closely with Thompson to jump-start the government's entry into cyberspace, most recently with the joint announcement of their experimental "eGovernment Project." The project's Web site solicits electronic responses from citizens on a host of government reform issues before the committee, from Lieberman's proposal to create a new federal chief information officer to a debate on the merits of public-private partnerships.
The duo also collaborated on S. 1993, the Government Information Security Act. The bill's provisions, which were included in the Senate's fiscal year 2001 Defense Appropriations Act, strengthen oversight and planning requirements for the protection of agency data and communication.
Recently, Lieberman joined Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in supporting federal employee unions in their attempt to block Office of Management and Budget regulations that would eliminate restrictions on per diem and relocation expenses for private contractors to the federal government.
"At a time when we are looking for ways to make employment with the federal government more attractive to enable agencies to recruit and retain the best employees in a competitive job market, adopting this proposal seems a step in the wrong direction," Lieberman and Durbin wrote to Dr. Kenneth Oscar, acting head of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
Though a booster of government service, as most readily demonstrated by his well-received book, In Praise of Public Life (Simon and Schuster, 2000), Lieberman has also supported strict federal accountability.
Gore's choice was received warmly by the National Treasury Employees Union, which noted Lieberman's accomplishments in advancing the Hatch Act, which governs federal employees' political involvement, and his opposition to the contracting out of federal jobs.
"The record of Joe Lieberman on issues important to federal employees is a strong one. Moreover, he has demonstrated a thorough understanding of our issues. He genuinely appreciates the work done by federal workers. And most of all, he respects public service and respects the men and women who work on behalf of our nation," said NTEU president Colleen M. Kelley.
Lieberman on Federal Issues
| Issue |
Comments from Lieberman |
|
Clinger-Cohen Act on IT management |
"I look forward to learning for the first time how the Clinger-Cohen Act is really working. Since Congress passed legislation four years ago to address some serious shortcomings, we need to follow-up to ensure those reforms are being implemented." |
|
Cybercrime |
"If government is going to be plugged into the networked world as an active, permanent presence, we will first have to protect the confidentiality, the integrity and, of course, the availability of the information contained on government computers. In today's Wild West electronic environment, every precaution must be taken." Click here for full story. |
|
E-Government |
"E-government means e-quality. In the wired world, universal access to information and services levels the playing field. I hope our web site and any future legislation will encourage more citizens to take an interest in their government, indeed, to collaborate with us, from the convenience of their homes, offices and libraries." Click here for full story. |
|
Federal CIO |
The federal government needs a CIO because efforts to put government services online are hamstrung by "a loose mix of ideas, projects and alliances without coordination." Click here for full story. |
|
Performance Reports |
"Unfortunately, some agencies are not meeting the expectations of the law. A major concern is the validity of the data some agencies are relying upon in their initial reports, and we will need to ensure that improvements are made." Click here for full story |
|
Procurement |
"What we are doing with this amendment is continuing to bring our procurement process into the 21st century by applying tried and true private sector practices to the government's purchase of goods and services. The ultimate goal is to stretch precious taxpayer dollars by demanding high performance and innovative solutions from the procurement process." Click here for more information. |
|
Results Act |
"We must also continue to implement reforms previously passed by Congress, such as those required by the Government Performance and Results Act, that will help convert agencies into high-performing organizations with clearly defined missions and results-oriented management. These efforts will help agencies make better use of their resources and respond more capably to the issues they face." |
Source:Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Web site