Federal Agencies Running on Fumes

[Joanne98]

A slew of senior job openings at federal agencies will force some regulatory offices to delay work. It's largely the result of a standoff between President Bush and the Democratic Senate, and it's likely to keep several agencies limping along dysfunctionally until a new president fills gaps in the senior ranks of the bureaucracy.

Fully 200 vacancies exist in the upper echelons of the federal government, including at Cabinet departments, regulatory agencies, boards and commissions. That's about one-third of all jobs subject to Senate confirmation. Some 20 regulatory agencies and boards -- many of which are not household names -- lack quorums or are barely operational, which affects their ability to act on a host of issues crowding their agendas.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), for example, has not issued any decisions since September. The delay affects disposition of pending cases and litigants' complaints in the chemical, textile and steel industries. And the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) may be slower to act on complaints of unsafe working conditions in timber yards and poultry processing plants without a full complement of board members.

The Bush administration doesn't seem particularly unhappy with the situation. Bush has long been cool to aggressive federal regulatory action and oversight affecting business and commerce. Many of his nominees are unacceptable to Democrats, but he won't offer replacement candidates, and the topic is low on his to-do list in his final year in office.

Agencies hit hardest in addition to the NLRB and OSHA: The Federal Trade Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Election Commission and the National Transportation Safety Board. Even the Federal Reserve Board of Governors has two vacancies, a problem for decisions requiring a supermajority. So, too, does the Council of Economic Advisers, which helps develop economic policy for the White House.

Other notable vacancies are at the Federal Communications Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, the Federal Maritime Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The later in the year it gets, the harder it will be for nominees to win confirmation, and many potential candidates may reject overtures if it means running the congressional gauntlet for a job that will last only a few months before the next administration takes office. As a final brake on the process, Democrats are using procedural mechanisms to prevent Bush from making recess appointments when Congress is out of session.

Most of the vacancies, including chairmen, commissioners and under secretaries, will remain unfilled not only for the rest of this year, but probably also well into next year, until the next president appoints his or her own people and they win confirmation.

http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/forecast/archive/federal_agencies_running_on_fumes_080318.html

When we take over the government completely in 2009, we need to run every single bush loyalist out of the agencies. Run them out like rats and cock roaches. Spray the Raid and sweep out the dead bodies.

[marmar]

1. A Greek tragedy of epic proportions.....It's sad to watch BushCo dismantle this country.

I hope we can recover.

[Divernan]

2. Fed agencies ARE running on fumes: Bush has gutted their budgets

and his hack political appointees have driven out the best and the brightest of the experienced civil servants. It's not the unfilled political appointee jobs at the very top which are crippling these agencies. Bush's political appointees have stifled whistle blowers, put in place regulations designed to destroy what the agencies were meant to protect, deflected budget allocations, refused to fill the civil service job openings which are vital for these agencies to function, etc.

It is a very good thing to block the last crop of Bush's political appointees. The fewer of these around, the better the agencies will function.

[leftofthedial]

3. every agancy except those used by the cabal to spy on Americans

has been dysfunctional since day one of the junta seizing power

[Warpy]

4. All new hires during the past 8 years need to reapply for their jobs

so that the bible school fanatics and unqualified party loyalists can be weeded out.

That's how bad this administration has been. Agencies have been gutted by hiring do nothings who collect a paycheck while refusing to do their jobs.

[upi402]

5. Immigration is run by Homeland Security now and is also on vapors

They are TRYING to make government not work... and SUCCEEDING.