Lawmaker says executive branch overhaul faces obstacles
Proposals would grant the president enhanced authority to reorganize agencies.
House Government Reform ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., says proposals that passed his panel and the House in the 108th Congress may have a tougher time in the new Congress.
Waxman said the popularity of the Homeland Security law gave momentum to proposals that granted the president enhanced authority to reorganize agencies and to overhaul financial disclosure forms for political appointees.
Both proposals were part of the House version of the Homeland Security bill but were removed in conference.
While both proposals were debated in the Government Reform Committee, Waxman said most House members were not aware of them. "Whatever's done ought to be done openly," Waxman said in an interview with CongressDaily. "We haven't really had a full debate."
Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., said the House vote last year gives the issues momentum this year.
"A majority of members clearly believe we need to improve the way we handle executive branch reorganizations, and address the fact that financial disclosure processes for appointees have become more about exposing a person's net worth than identifying potential conflicts of interest," Davis said.
Waxman said he had concerns about the proposals because they both give the executive branch more authority. "The trend of not doing oversight doesn't make sense to me," he said.
On another issue, Waxman commended Davis on his efforts to pass bipartisan legislation overhauling the Postal Service and criticized the administration for holding up the bill. He said the White House was not engaged in last year's debate on the bill despite efforts by both government oversight committees to keep it informed.
"They said they were just too busy," Waxman said.
He disputed the administration's contention that the bills do not sufficiently reduce labor costs.
"I don't see why it's important to single them out," Waxman said, referring to unionized postal workers. "We don't do that with UPS or FedEx or small mailers or anybody else."