Our lead story this week is from an interview with Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff, who talks about reorganizing the department, lessons learned from the Mumbai attacks, and the top challenges facing his likely successor, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. We’ve posted a few video excerpts from the interview — here’s Chertoff on reorganizing DHS: You can view more clips of the interview — which also included Coast Guard commandant Adm. Thad Allen — right here.
Monthly Archives: December, 2008
Exactly 75 years ago today, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which lifted the national prohibition on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption, was ratified.
Apparently the grape is the key to economic recovery for western New York. That’s according to a news release from the office of Sen. Charles Schumer, who has pledged to fight for federal funding for the Grape Heritage Discovery Center in Westfield, N.Y. The release states that the center would promote wine tourism in New York and showcase Chautauqua County’s grape and wine industry, creating jobs through increased tourism. It will be patterned after the Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center, which the release says attracts tens of thousands of visitors a year. Schumer, a Democrat, said he’ll push for funding through…
The president-elect hinted on Monday that he would keep FEMA inside the Homeland Security Department. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said yesterday that the alternative — pulling FEMA out as a separate agency — would be a mistake. Today, two prominent senators voiced their support for keeping FEMA where it is. In a letter to the New York Times, Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine — the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee — said FEMA needs to stay inside DHS. The agency still needs improvement, but our reforms are working: FEMA’s…
The Partnership for Public Service released a report this morning containing advice for the next president from chief human capital officers. The Partnership surveyed 54 CHCOs, and their deputies, and solicited opinions on several topics: pay scales, telework, and the effectiveness of their HR staffs, to name a few. (The complete report, in PDF form, is here.) Two of the most interesting conclusions: First, a clear majority of the respondents favored eliminating the General Schedule pay scale; just 14 percent thought it should be retained: Second, more than half of the respondents view their human resources staffers largely as “transaction…
We all know that the Capitol Visitor Center was three years behind schedule and nearly $400 million over budget. But for all that extra time and money, you would have thought someone would have made sure Congress got its facts straight. Engraved in the center’s walls is the saying “E Pluribus Unum,†Latin for “from many, one.†The carving is described as the national motto, but it’s not. A 1956 act of Congress made the nation’s official motto “In God We Trust.†Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has raised a ruckus over the failure to include the nation’s official motto and the Pledge…
Defense Secretary Robert Gates pledged to give more personal attention to procurement and acquisition challenges as he continues his work under the Obama administration. Here is what he had to say during a media briefing yesterday: I suppose it should go without saying, but I have no intention of being a caretaker secretary. Our challenges, from the budget to acquisition and procurement reform, war strategy, care of wounded warriors, meeting the needs of warfighters, decisions on important modernization and capitalization projects and more, all demand the personal attention of the secretary of Defense and they will get it. When asked…
Citizenship and Immigration Services has a new director for the third time this year. Jonathan Scharfen announced his resignation today; Scharfen has been the acting director since Emilio Gonzalez left the top job back in April. He’ll be replaced by Michael Aytes, a longtime career staffer who’s currently the acting deputy director. Aytes is also the staffer who was designated to lead the agency between Inauguration Day and the confirmation of a new director. In a memo to employees last week, Scharfen said he was leaving the agency for “new professional challenges in the private sector”; no word on where…
In a late-term executive order that has a major union crying foul, President Bush has excluded about 1,500 employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from collective bargaining. In the Dec. 1 order, Bush listed 37 agencies or offices, including ATF, that “have as a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative or national security work.” National security requirements mean employees at those agencies cannot have collective bargaining rights, Bush said. The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents ATF employees, called the order outrageous and unjustified, and promised to work to overturn Bush’s move. NTEU President Colleen Kelley said there is no…
Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff sat down with reporters from Federal Times this morning to share his thoughts on the transition, the department’s big programs, and its progress over the last six years. Chertoff gave high marks to the Obama administration’s secretary-designate, Janet Napolitano; he’s known Napolitano for more than a decade, and praised her management style. He also outlined what he saw as the most immediate priorities for the department under the new administration: Finish implementing the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which requires all travelers to show a passport when entering the United States, even citizens returning from countries…