A liberal Democratic senator questioned the roles of Obama administration policy "czars" Tuesday, but the White House denied it is using these officials to evade congressional scrutiny.Somebody needs to take a good hard look at the whole czar thing. Either bring them under the confirmation and accountability process of the Senate, or end them. It seems clear that Obama has these guys making policy behind the scenes while the Senate-confirmed cabinet secretaries are the front men for the cameras and the congressional hearings.
Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., said Congress needs to know whether some of the czars make policy but have no obligation to submit to congressional questioning.
While the Obama administration is hardly the first to name high-level advisers to handle issues like health care and climate change, Feingold said, "It's not good enough to simply say, 'Well, George Bush did it too.'"
Prior to a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing that featured academic experts, Feingold released a letter from White House counsel Gregory Craig that defended the officials.
Craig said some presidents have used such special advisers, or czars, to undermine Congress, but "that is simply not the case in the current administration."
Feingold also was critical of the administration for declining to send a witness to the hearing.
"The White House decided not to accept my invitation ... to explain its position on the constitutional issues we will address today," Feingold said, referring to the Senate's role in confirming top officials.
"That's unfortunate. It's also a bit ironic since one of the concerns that has been raised about these officials is that they will thwart congressional oversight of the executive branch."
Given the loony nature of so many of Obama's czars, some of whom couldn't even pass a background check to take a tour of the White House let alone work there, this is a system that needs to change.
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2 comments:
It should not be necessary to end the presidential adviser role. In this day and age, the president needs inputs on a wide variety of topics. The president has specific powers to implement presidential actions, pardons, etc. and should have solid advice. The problem with the current crew was spelled out...that most could not pass security checks. That their views may not be in line with the people's wishes is not the issue...the president was elected to lead/run the country. Electing a more suitable president would return the czar issue to twilight status.
I would have to agree with "Robert Ranning" when he says: "Electing a more SUITABLE President would return the czar issue to twilight status". The present president is completly off his rocker.
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