HAMILTON - AMERICA's FIRST CAPITALIST

[Part of Constituting America’s 90 Day Study - Days that Shaped America]

Alexander Hamilton was America’s first Chief Operations Officer (COO).

Along with James Madison, Hamilton crafted the best operating system ever devised in human history.  The U.S. Constitution provided a framework for sharing power and resolving differences.  Madison and Hamilton provided details for operationalizing the Constitution with their Federal Papers essays.  These Papers remain integral to interpreting the original intent for court cases to this day.

America was blessed with George Washington, the most indispensable person in our nation’s history. However, Washington needed to augment his phenomenal leadership skills with Hamilton’s management acumen.  During the American Revolution, Hamilton translated Washington’s military strategy into clear and concise orders to his commanders.  Now as President, Washington needed Hamilton to translate the Founders’ vision, and his policies, into reality.

With Jefferson still conducting diplomacy in Europe, Hamilton became not just the first Treasury Secretary, but effectively functioned as Washington’s “prime minister”.  Decisions and documents, down to minute detail, flowed from Hamilton’s pen, creating the Executive Branch. 

Hamilton’s love of administrative detail was matched by his devotion to commerce.

He was the only “modern man” among the Founders.  Hamilton grew-up outside the American colonies and had a full appreciation of how nations interacted.  As an accounting clerk for various trading companies in the West Indies, Hamilton developed a deep understanding for the inner workings of international trade and finance.  His was America’s first “capitalist”.  The systems and institutions he put in place laid the foundation for America becoming the greatest economic power in the world.

Hamilton greatest achievement was managing the onerous debts arising from the Revolutionary War.  Each state incurred debt as their individual state militias needed to be paid for back wages.  Both national and state level soldiers were paid in bonds or “IOUs”.  After the war many cash-strapped soldiers sold these bonds/“IOUs” to speculators for a fraction of their worth.  Countless suppliers of their armed forces sued for nonpayment.  The paper currency issued during the war was “not worth a Continental” and legions of war veterans, farmers, merchants, and craftsman (like blacksmiths, barrel makers, and carpenters) demanded payment, declaring Continental script were “IOUs”.

The total debt was $79 million: $54 million owed by the national government and $25 million owed by the states.  Hamilton saw repayment of this debt as a strategic and moral imperative: “States, like individuals, who observe their engagements are respected and trusted, while the reverse is the fate of those who pursue an opposite conduct.”

Without a debt repayment strategy, the IOUs and lawsuits would continue to cripple America’s economy with unbridled speculation and uncertainty. Trust in the Federal government’s ability to meet its obligations had to be restored.  Something had to be done.  Hamilton declared, “In nothing are appearances of greater moment than in whatever regards credit.”

Repayment of debts would allow America to enter into international agreements and borrow funds for investing in business ventures and stimulate economic growth.  Hamilton observed that the American economy was stagnating from a limited money supply, deflation of land values, and no liquid capital. He also was concerned that if America was seen as financially broke and politically fragmented, foreign governments may lure individual states with separate debt financing arrangements. 

The solution was to consolidate all public debt and set aside some of the steady federal revenue to service interest and payoff the principal.  These were revolutionary and futuristic concepts in 1790.

It was his conviction that, “an assumption of the debts of particular states by the union and a like provision for them as for those of the union will be a measure of sound policy and substantial justice.”

Hamilton determined that consolidating all the Revolutionary War debt would accomplish several things.  [1] It would bring order from chaos with one large debt instead of thousands of smaller ones.  [2] It would simplify the management and repayment of the debt. [3] It would establish loyalty among the creditors and bond/IOU holders who would promote the stability and success of the federal government to assure their claims were paid. 

Another aspect of Hamilton’s solution was that the U.S. Constitution gave the federal government the exclusive right to collect import duties.  The Federal Government assuming state debt would prevent states from trying to return to the Article of Confederation when states levied duties on interstate commerce.  Hamilton wanted to unify America and forge a national economy.

The critical element in assuming all debt was to have a unified America attract foreign investment through issuing federal government bonds.  Such bonded debt would create investment partners who would forge trade relationships that allowed the U.S. Government to raise the necessary revenue to meet its debt obligations.  Hamilton sought to create a web of economic loyalties and relationships that bound everyone to supporting everyone’s economic wellbeing.  In doing so, Hamilton would establish America as a major player in the modern international financial system.

Hamilton’s vision and how to implement it, was at the core of his fifty-one-page “Report on Public Credit” to the Congress.  It was his hope that Congress would pass the necessary legislation to authorize implementation of this integrated plan.  Any editions or subtractions would ruin his delicate balance between the various economic interests.  Hamilton worried, “Credit is the entire thing. Every part of it has the nicest sympathy with every other part.  Wound one limb and the whole tree shrinks and decays.”

Many in Congress rejected the plan as confusing and overly complex.  Some saw it as too much like the way England financed its wars.  Other declared it a bailout for speculators.  Even Madison refuted it.  As the assumption plan related to spending, its first test was in the House of Representatives.

The House debate was a sensation.  Packed galleries watched Madison rail against the plan as a “betrayal of the American Revolution”.  Hamilton, a member of the Executive Branch, mustered his votes behind the scenes. On April 12, 1790, the House defeated the debt assumption plan: 29 ayes to 31 nays.

The death of debt assumption found resurrection in the future location of the nation’s capital.  Hamilton and northerners wanted the capital to remain in New York or return to Philadelphia.  Southerners wanted in in the South and located outside an existing urban area.  Jefferson saw this as a struggle between his vision of an agrarian nation versus the grime of industry.  Madison and Henry Lee had purchased land along the Potomac River in the hopes that Jefferson would prevail.

All sides wanted a final decision on the future of the Nation’s Capital, and symbolically the character of the nation.  To break the stalemate, the key players, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison, and several others gathered for dinner on June 20, 1790, at Jefferson’s townhouse in New York City. 

After much food, libations, and discussion a deal was struck.  The Nation’s Capital would be along the banks of the Potomac between Georgetown in Maryland and Alexandria in Virginia.  In exchange for Hamilton convincing northerners to support this location, Jefferson and Madison would support passage of Hamilton’s Debt Assumption plan.

On July 10, 1790 the House passed the Residence Act moving the temporary Capital back to Philadelphia and designating a ten-square mile area along the Potomac as the permanent Capital.  The House then passed the Assumption bill on July 26.  The Senate approved the plan on August 4, 1790.

Senator Daniel Webster placed Hamilton’s achievement into historical perspective. 

“The fabled birth of Minerva from the brain of Jove was hardly more sudden or perfect than the financial system of the United States as it burst forth from the conception of Alexander Hamilton.”

NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW

“CONSTITUTING AMERICA” SERIES ON CONGRESSIONAL HISTORY

Our U.S. Constitution (1787), and powers of the Legislative Branch, embody the distrust of concentrated power and establish mechanisms to hold that power in check. This concern for “sovereign over reach”, and the ways to prevent it, flow from the Charter or “Carta” signed on the field of Runnymeade in 1215.

On May 26, 1976, in a solemn ceremony at Westminster Hall in London, the leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate received a gold-embossed reproduction of the Magna Carta. On June 3, 1976, a second ceremony, in Washington, DC, installed the gold reproduction and the original Wyems copy of the Magna Carta in the Capitol Rotunda to celebrate America’s Bi-centennial.

While the original Magna Carta returned to England, the gold Magna Carta remains on permanent display in the Capitol. “Nothing could be more symbolically important to the people of the United States,” stated Speaker Carl Albert during the ceremony.

Why is the Magna Carta so firmly linked to America’s Legislative Branch? How are the underlying principles of the Magna Carta embodied in the operations of the Congress?

Winston Churchill, in his masterpiece, “A History of the English Speaking Peoples”, explained, “Throughout the document [Magna Carta] it is implied that here is a law which is above the King and which even he must not break. This reaffirmation of a supreme law and its expression in a general charter is the great work of Magna Carta; and this alone justifies the respect in which men have held it.”

England’s King John was humbled by barons at Runnymeade on June 15, 1215. The King had over reached as an aspiring despot. The barons had the military force, and the political will, to assert there were limits to even a King’s power. Magna Carta was the contract that re-established the rule of law and re-asserted certain rights for the ruling class. This included forbidding the King from compelling certain actions, and prevented him from imposing punishments and fines except through due process within narrowly defined cause.

England would expand upon these basic principles as Parliament gradually replaced the Monarchy in governing the nation. This process required a Civil War (1642-1647), the beheading of King Charles I (1649), and the deposing of King James II (1688).

America’s Revolution (1775-1781) and Declaration of Independence (1776) arose from a similar concern over King George III’s “sovereign over reach”. 

Magna Carta’s revolutionary concept of holding the King accountable for a breach of contract with England’s nobles was broadened in the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson established rights above Common Law and Medieval precedents with the famous phrase, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.”

The U.S. Constitution put this broader interpretation of Magna Carta into practice. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, writing in Federalist 84, explain:

“It has been several times truly remarked that bills of rights are, in their origin, stipulations between kings and their subjects, abridgements of prerogative in favor of privilege, reservations of rights not surrendered to the prince. Such was MAGNA CARTA, obtained by the barons, sword in hand, from King John...Here [in America], in strictness, the people surrender nothing; and as they retain everything they have no need of particular reservations. “WE, THE PEOPLE of the United States, to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Here is a better recognition of popular rights.”

The U.S. Constitution builds upon centuries of Parliamentary precedent by placing the power of legislation, and the funding of government operations, clearly in the hands of the Legislative Branch. This is why Article I begins, “All legislative Power herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States...”

It is not a coincidence that Article I, the Legislative Branch, is more than double the size of Article II, the Executive Branch, in defining power and authority (2,282 words to 1,023 words). The final section on the Executive Branch establishes Congress’ ultimate sanction against “sovereign over reach”:

Section. 4. The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

From the very first, the Legislative Branch asserted its role in limiting Executive Power. Senators quickly and effectively embraced the limitation of the President to appoint only with the “the Advice and Consent of the Senate” (Article II, Section 2).

The first test was rejecting President George Washington’s appointment of Benjamin Fishbourn to be a customs collector. On August 5, 1789, President Washington strode unannounced into Federal Hall in New York City, then the Capitol Building. Vice President John Adams allowed Washington to sit in the presiding officer’s chair. The President, according to Ron Chernow’s definitive biography on Washington, “proceeded to unbraid the twenty-two members of the Senate, demanding to know why they spurned his appointee.”

Senator Ralph Izard of South Carolina spoke for the institution asserting that “the Senate had no obligation to explain its reasoning to the President”. It was the last time Washington, or any other President, entered a Legislative Chamber without permission.

Battles over appointees, spending, and legislation have defined the balance of power between the Congress and the President. In each encounter, Congress has ultimately reaffirmed its power to limit “sovereign over reach”. This has included censuring President Andrew Jackson (1834) and impeaching Presidents Andrew Johnson (1868), Richard Nixon (1974), and Bill Clinton (1998-1999).

The “Lincolnia” original of the Magna Carta was displayed at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It remained safe in America during World War II, even being stored in the vault of Fort Knox after the Pearl Harbor attack. 

America kept the physical Magna Carta safe, and kept Magna Carta’s revolutionary legacy of holding power accountable.

[Scot Faulkner advises corporations and governments on how to save billions of dollars by achieving dramatic and sustainable cost reductions while improving operational and service excellence. He served as the Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also served on the White House Staff, and as an Executive Branch Appointee.]

UNCIVIL WAR

Published in NEWSMAX.  #TRUMPING   #RINOgator

Republicans are now in charge of everything, but control nothing.

The June 14 shooting of Republicans at their softball practice is a harbinger of worse things to come.  The “kill Trump”, “hunt Republicans” drumbeats emanating from the media and Hollywood created a hateful environment that triggered one warped mind to take violent action. Liberals, who were so quick to blame conservative rhetoric after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 2011 shooting of Representative Gabby Giffords, just as quickly dismiss their role in the current poisoning of civil discourse.

America is more divided now than at any time since the Vietnam War.  Back in the 1960s, the radical anti-American elements were considered fringe.  The war being waged against Trump, the Republican Party, and America has expanded into the mainstream.  On a daily basis, Americans experience fake news reports, witness obstruction to the point of sedition, and view mounting evidence of radical liberals waging an unrestricted war on our civic culture and institutions.

It is tragic that public discourse and the functions of government are sinking into uncivil war.  More tragically, Republicans, especially the “RINOgators” who defend Washington’s swamp, refuse to fight back.

Republicans prevail when they do fight, but this is only being done in isolated and fragmented ways.  Most remain clueless to the unrelenting foe, while others clearly want the other side to prevail.

Trump’s win shocked the Democrats, but they immediately recovered.  Democrats relentlessly assailed the credibility of the election, mounted concern over Russia (after spending the Cold War dismissing Russian threats), and obstructed everything from Trump’s appointments to even nonpartisan public forums.

Trump’s win also shocked most Republicans.  They have not recovered.  Republicans, especially in Congress, have been negligent in taking advantage of their November 2016 victory.  Instead of launching 24-7 investigations of the last eight years under Obama, Republicans immediately broke ranks on healthcare, taxes, immigration, and the budget.  They remain mostly silent about the border wall and needed infrastructure.

Congressional Republicans only met for eight days in April, twelve in May, and will vanish for five weeks of vacation at the end of July.  Major legislation continues to be pushed off deeper into the year.  Worse, Republican lethargy allowed the Democrats to regroup and control the news during most of 2017. 

Prior to the 2016 election, pro-Hillary forces ignored laws to dismiss charges.  Since the 2016 elections, anti-Trump forces have made-up laws to create charges.  Trump, and his team, are playing defense when they should be playing offense.

Republicans are only now looking into potential obstruction of justice by Loretta Lynch, Obama’s Attorney General.  They have remained inert on revisiting scandals at the FEC, IRS, EPA’s over reach, Fast & Furious, the Clinton Foundation, and countless other Democrat shenanigans. 

Congressional Republicans had seven years to prepare for repealing and replacing Obamacare. They did nothing and it shows.  Republicans rail against big government in fundraising letters, but are balking at Trump’s cuts, and are woefully behind on passing any spending bills.  Inevitably, a Continuing Resolution will be needed to fund the government after September, unleashing all sorts of mischief and brinksmanship.

Republicans’ main argument since 2009 is that if Americans gave them the House, then the Senate, and then the White House, everything would change.  It hasn’t.

President Trump has been ill-served at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Congressional Republicans defer to Senator Schumer like he is in control.  Until they fight, he is.  Trump’s own inner circle allowed a ridiculously slow transition, opening the door for Obama holdovers, Obama career loyalists, and the “deep state” resistors to rule the Executive Branch.  Leaks have diverted Trump’s attention.  Lack of appointees has crippled Trump’s ability to implement substantive change.  

Trump’s White House and Agency teams are only now sporadically clearing out the entrenched Obama networks.  Such house cleaning usually takes place within weeks of the Inaugural, not five months later.  Trump’s political takeover of the Executive Branch remains minimal as 70 percent of his policy positions remain unfilled.  Obama loyalists serve in acting capacities.  Even the White House Correspondence Office, a key interface with Americans, remains staffed by Obama holdovers and Democrat volunteers.

The slowest transition in modern times has created a “Trump-centric” Presidency.  Executive Orders are issued, speeches are given, briefings are held, but these are all from the White House.  When Trump appointees go on the road, Obama careerists still mind the store.  Trump has no “band width” to move forward when he is diverted by fake news or fratricidal Republicans.

Republican mistakes have caused substantive damage to their cause.  They need a real awakening to the threat, a real resolve to counter it, and a real strategy to defeat it.

Americans voted for a real revolution.  Their patience is wearing thin.

[Scot Faulkner helps private corporations and governments save billions of dollars by flattening organizations; achieving dramatic and sustainable cost reductions while improving operational and service excellence. He served as the Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives.  He also served on the White House Staff, and in Executive Appointments, during the Reagan Administration.]

TRUMPING GOVERNMENT

[Also published at http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/trump-federal-government-presidency/2016/11/24/id/760573/ ] #TRUMPING #DRAINTHESWAMP

President-Elect Trump can revolutionize governing as he revolutionized campaigning.

Trump is uniquely positioned as the first nonmilitary, nongovernment, person to ever be elected President.  His mandate for change will overwhelm those wanting an ever expanding and dysfunctional government to prevail. 

The Washington Establishment defends the status quo by asserting: “we have always done it this way”; “you can never run government like a business”; “we are unique”; “we have already cut what can be cut”, and “cutting anything will harm Americans”.

Trump is already doing things his way, breaking new ground as he goes.  The media and the Establishment were against Trump since he announced his candidacy and were consistently wrong about everything relating to Trump and the 2016 elections.  They are now foolishly attempting to second guess Trump, hold him to some arbitrary transition schedule, and giving him unsolicited advice.

These unrelenting, but always wrong, voices ignore that President-Elect Ronald Reagan named his core cabinet on or after December 10, 1980, thirty-six days past his landslide election.  They also refuse to mention that none of Trump’s appointments can be confirmed until the new 115^th Congress convenes on January 3, 2017. The first Senate confirmation hearings cannot take place until that first day of the new Congress.  Trump can take his time and get things right from the start.

Trump is crafting his own way of governing.  His only requirement is to seamlessly transition to power.  Think of a relay race where one runner is completing their segment while the other is beginning theirs.  Ideally, both runners achieve stride for stride coordination until one passes the baton to the other.  America’s civic culture is tested and proven strong every time this peaceful hand-off occurs between opposing parties.

Once the “baton is in hand” President Trump will end the Obama era.  Ronald Reagan took time, immediately after his Inaugural Address, to sign Executive Orders ending the Carter era. Trump should move this decisively.

Realigning and mobilizing the Executive Branch to achieve his top priorities will be the first test of Trump’s ability to lead. 

Trump must instill a “sense of urgency”. November 8 was a massive Taser blast to the heart of the Washington Establishment.  They remain stunned, dazed, and confused.  Trump must move swiftly to achieve his goals before the Establishment awakes. 

Revolution’s worst enemy is delay.  Trump is an intuitive thinker and doer. He must act aggressively on his instincts and not let over analysis paralyze his cause.

The federal government is ridiculously huge.  Its size and growth are unnecessary.  In its first 129 years, America became a world power, the leader in technology innovation, and an industrial juggernaut, with only six Cabinet Departments.  All Cabinet Departments, except Treasury, fit into the Old Executive Office Building until World War I.  The door knobs in the building still display the Departmental seals.

Rethinking the role of government can be Trump’s greatest contribution to America.  Private initiative makes America great, so government should only exist when an overwhelmingly compelling case can be made.  Even then, incentives and sanctions through regulation, taxes, or fees, should be exhausted before a new government program is created.  Except for Coolidge and Reagan to varying degrees, no incoming President has ever conducted such a fundamental review.

Much of what sent America over the fiscal cliff were the actions of President Lyndon Baines Johnson in the 1960s. LBJ cynically established the modern welfare state to entrap large swathes of the electorate in an ever expanding federal leviathan. LBJ’s “great society” programs drove millions into voting for Democrats and drove America trillions into debt.

Trump knows government growth can be reversed. Personnel and costs can be dramatically cut.  Agencies can be abolished, like the Civil Aeronautics Board.

Under President Reagan, the General Services Administration invoked a hiring freeze and radical reorganization that reduced employment from 34,000 to 12,000 in three years.  Costs plummeted while the quality and responsiveness of services skyrocketed.  Under Speaker Gingrich, all non-parliamentary and non-security operations were consolidated within a new Chief Administrative Officer. Aggressive outsourcing and business based operations cut employment in half.  Once again, costs plummeted while quality and responsiveness of services skyrocketed.

As President Trump reshapes the Federal Government he needs to take to heart the immortal words of two of America’s most successful Presidents.  Calvin Coolidge directed his appointees to “Trim wherever you can”.  Ronald Reagan had a sign on his desk that inspired his team, “It CAN be done".

TRUMPING THE TRANSITION

Transition planning, done correctly and used correctly, will assure that Trump’s Revolution happens fully and immediately.

Trump’s unconventional approach is perfectly matched for a process called “LEAP”.  LEAP is a four dimensional environment for acquiring immediate operational control of the Executive Branch and achieving operational excellence.

LOCK EVERYTHING DOWN.  Trump needs to insert “Occupation Teams”, professionals skilled and committed to making the new Administration an immediate operational reality, into all Cabinet Departments and major agencies to instantly end the Obama era.  This means full control of every key input box and out box.  Nothing should happen until signed off on by the Trump Occupation Teams. 

Locking everything down also means revoking all delegations of authority and forcing every action, communication, and policy into the hands of the Trump Occupation Teams immediately.  The Occupation Teams must literally patrol the corridors and rattle door knobs to make sure no one is extending the Obama era.  The first few days of Reagan’s Presidency found numerous examples of career employees refusing to yield.  In one case, a grant administrator had to be physically stopped from approving $350,000 of Carter era grants still sitting on his desk.

Forcing everything through the Occupation Teams lets them review everything.  Their discoveries will range far beyond the briefing books and guide change.  Delegations can be redirected or renewed as trust and discipline are built within the new Administration.

ELIOT NESSING is all about people.  Eliot Ness was a FBI agent best known for building his team with “untouchables” – colleagues who were honest, trustworthy, and immune from corruption.  Trump and his team must do the same thing throughout the Executive Branch.

Both Republican and Democrat political appointees complain that their career colleagues often hide, spin, or fake facts.  This is not partisan.  Careerists want to protect their power, turf, reputation, and pet projects.  This even happens within the Office of the President as this organization is filled with career employees. 

The transition planning process needs to start identifying trusted colleagues ASAP.  These may be whistleblowers who will embrace change, and confidential sources who have already proven themselves credible to Congress and media allies.  This first wave of trusted professionals identifies those they trust, and so on, until there is a critical mass to substantively shift policy and operational direction throughout the Executive Branch.

ASSESS.  Every part of the Executive Branch is a huge fire hydrant of information.  Trump and his team could be easily overwhelmed by the volume and velocity of information.  Turning this flood into actionable intelligence is not easy.   “Untouchables” can help sort what is true, false, or altered.   They will also align information with actions designed to tangibly achieve the critical outcomes of the new Administration.

The Occupation Teams, with their “untouchable allies”, need to be skilled in turning seemingly random data points and factoids in patterns and trends.  The 9,000+ annual audit and investigative reports from Inspectors Generals and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) are a great place to start.  Tallying these findings, to identify which offices and programs are most corrupt or dysfunctional, will guide personnel changes and reinventing processes.  During the Reagan era, “war rooms” were created with whole walls full of organization charts designed to graphically chart areas of excellence or decay.

Other evaluation steps include costing out waste.  Corruption and dysfunction can be a onetime flood or a “leaky faucet” dripping millions of dollars.  How much, how fast, helps determine urgency.  Assessing solutions is also a key activity.  How easy is the solution?  Is it about changing processes or procedures?  Is it about abolishing or outsourcing?  Can it be handled internally or is legislation required?  Are there impacts affecting other parts of government? Permanently solving a problem is always preferable.  However, sometimes limiting the problem’s scope or impact may be a necessary interim step pending strategic action.  It is like using a spare tire to get your car to a garage.

PRIORITIZE.  Verified and actionable information, matched to implementing critical outcomes, can be sorted by what is easy or hard to do.  Another sorting of initiatives is by the tangible return on the investment of resources and political capital.  Lower return initiatives should only be pursued if they are easy and fast.  Such smaller efforts season and inspire teams to seek bigger challenges.

Many strategic initiatives fail because the focus is on big things that may take years to achieve.  The zeal and momentum of a new Administration falters as weeks or months unfold without victory.  Better to amass numerous small victories to prove change can happen to build enthusiasm for the harder challenges ahead.  Alternatively, going after the bigger more difficult projects come into focus with the knowledge that the effort is truly worth the effort.

The Prioritization Grid © has been used to guide successful transformation in governments and corporations around the world.  Surprisingly, over half of the initiatives placed on this grid usually turn out to be easy to do with high returns on the effort.  This nonlinear holistic approach to revolutionary change drove the historic Congressional reforms of the mid-1990s.

Presidential Transitions gather information to assure the President and Presidential Appointees “hit the ground running”.  There is far more that should be done to support Trump’s unique leadership in these challenging times.

[Scot Faulkner was the National Director of Personnel for Reagan-Bush 1980.  He also served on the Transition Planning Team and as a Transition Administrator.  He subsequently served as Clearance Officer for Presidential Personnel on Reagan’s White House Staff.]

A Revolutionary Transition Plan for Trump

[Published in http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/convention-republican/2016/07/25/id/740303/]

Donald Trump is calling for a revolution in the way Washington operates. His Republican Convention speech declared ferreting out waste and cutting costs a major priority for his first hundred days. This will require thorough preparation, like a successful military campaign, before the first “shots” are fired.

A new American President faces the challenge of assuring both continuity and change.  The institution of the Executive Branch must remain intact. The direction and focus of the Executive Branch must quickly and thoroughly reflect the will of the electorate.

Trump can set the stage for “Making America Great Again” by making sure his Presidential Transition uses “CPR”.

This CPR is a form of management resuscitation.  It stands for CURATE, PREPARE, RECRUIT. These are co-equal activities that are critical for launching a dramatic new direction for the federal government and America.

CURATE means turning a mountain of information into action.  By collecting, sorting, analyzing, and prioritizing critical information Trump’s Presidential Transition can make sure they can govern from day one.

The federal government is vast. During every second policies, programs, personnel, contracts, grants, expenditures, treaties, and law are in motion.  These activities can range from first drafts of proposals yet to be considered, all the way through final implementation and codification.  They mostly happen in Washington, DC, but also occur in government field offices throughout America, and U.S. Missions around the globe. Much of this activity is not public. 

An incoming President must conduct a scavenger hunt of epic proportions to find everything that matters.  The outgoing Administration, and much of the remaining career structure, will do everything possible to make sure the scavenger hunt fails. This will include lying and misdirection. 

The only way a Transition can succeed is to gather outsiders who are relentless in their search for information.  They must also be able to determine what is real and when to probe deeper.  These outsiders must depend on insiders among career personnel who support the incoming Administration, as well as government professionals who will do the right thing out of loyalty to America and its institutions.

PREPARE is all about making sure the right people are in the right place to do the right thing the moment the new President is sworn-in.  This means halting everything found through the scavenger hunt.  Trump’s Administration will want to change course quickly and completely.  It is imperative to halt and roll back the legacy of the outgoing Administration in every way and everywhere possible - policies, programs, personnel, contracts, grants, expenditures, treaties, and law.

One key preparation is security clearances.  In 1980, Reagan’s team was fast tracked for clearances by FBI and Secret Service officials who loathed the Carter Administration. Many clearances were processed starting in September 1980.  Reagan’s transition planning team also combed the Legislative Branch and government contractors for people who already held appropriate clearances.  The result was legions of Reaganites able to access secure information starting within weeks of the election and legions more ready to take office the day after the Inaugural.

RECRUIT is the importance of finding the right people to do the right things.  People equal policy.  The first waves of political appointees invade the Executive Branch.  In some cases they will be greeted as liberators.  In other cases they will face bureaucratic combat on a room to room, program by program scale.  In all cases the new appointees must be competent and committed.  Only true believers committed, heart and soul, to implementing the new agenda need apply.

Curated information, prepared teams, top notch committed recruits form a seamless interdisciplinary capability for the new President to act quickly and decisively. 

 

Stopping Obama's Usurpation of Advice & Consent

This also appears at: http://www.constitutingamerica.org/blog/stopping-the-usurpation-of-advise-and-consent-guest-essayist-scot-faulkner/; https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/stopping-obamas-usurpation-advice-consent-scot-faulkner?trk=mp-reader-card


June 28, 2014 is an historic day in thwarting Presidential over-reach. On that day the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled President Obama’s recess appointments unconstitutional. NLRB versus Noel Canning, ET AL was a rare instance when the Judicial Branch acted as referee and reset the balance of power between the Executive and Legislative Branches.


The case centered on Noel Canning challenging a February 8, 2012 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision on the grounds that its quorum only existed with the presence of invalid recess appointments. Noel Canning’s attorney argued that Obama’s ap­pointments were invalid because the 3-day adjournment between Congressional sessions was not long enough to trigger the Recess Ap­pointments Clause.


On January 25, 2013, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck the first blow against President Obama’s over reach by unanimously agreeing with Canning and ruling that the three recess appointments to the NLRB on January 4, 2012 were unconstitutional.


The Appeals Court asserted that the circumstance that would allow a President to make “Recess Appointments” under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution did not exist, because the Congress was in Pro Forma Session, not in a formal recess.


The Constitutional Convention of 1787 established two coequal chambers within the Legislative Branch.  One aspect of this balance is that:
Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. [Article 1, Section 5, Clause 4]


The formal end of a Congress is when the Legislative Branch adjourns “Sine Die” (from the Latin “without day”) meaning “without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing”.  The Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution also sets a formal start and end time for each Congress.


The most complex consequence of Clause 4 relates to when Congress takes a recess and when it adjourns. A recess is a temporary halt to activity on the floor. Everything stops, and when the recess ends, the chamber resumes from where it left off. A recess might last 10 minutes or it might last weeks. The length of time does not matter. An adjournment is a formal end to business in the chamber, and upon return the chamber does not resume from where it left off. Just like a recess an adjournment can be for one minute or for three weeks.


Any formal break in Legislative Branch activity opens the door for a President to take certain actions. This includes making appointments which require Senate confirmation. Congressional leaders of both parties have devised ways to avoid inadvertently unleashing Presidential activism.


The Congress can take a break from legislative activity, and still avoid a formal recess or adjournment, by meeting in a “pro forma” session. Pro forma means “for the sake of formality”. In recent years pro forma sessions have prevented Presidents from making recess appointments, and in the case of President George W. Bush in 2008, deprived him calling a special session to reauthorize the Protect America Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.


As long as a Member convenes either the House or Senate to formally open and close a session there is no recess or adjournment. Members sometimes compete to see how fast they can conduct a pro forma session. The record is currently held by Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island who completed the task in 12 seconds.


Obama’s January 2012 appointments were designed to dramatically expand his appointment authority by asserting his recess-appointment power as a “safety valve” against Senatorial “intransigence.” [1]
The Supreme Court unanimously declared the President lacked the authority to make those appointments. [2]


Justice Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court and quoted from the Federal Papers,  ”the need to secure Senate approval provides “an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the President, and would tend greatly to preventing the appointment of unfit characters from State prejudice, from family connection, from personal attachment, or from a view to popularity.” [3]


Breyer further wrote, “If a Sen­ate recess is so short that it does not require the consent of the House, it is too short to trigger the Recess Appoint­ments Clause. See Art. I, §5, cl. 4. And a recess lasting less than 10 days is presumptively too short as well”. [4] He dismissed the counter arguments of Obama’s Solicitor General as not, “either legally or practically appropriate”. [5]


Justice Scalia wrote a Concurrence that went further in assailing Obama’s attempt to nullify the Senate’s role in the appointment process [6].  Scalia exposed Obama’s “untenably broad interpretation” of Presidential power. [7] He also defined the Senate’s role in advice and consent on Presidential appointments “as a critical protection against “‘despotism,’ Freytag, 501 U. S., at 883”. [8]


The Concurrent Opinion was unprecedented in raising serious concerns over President Obama’s “aggrandizing the Presidency beyond its constitutional bounds and undermining respect for the separation of powers”. [9] It also challenged Obama’s rationale, “I can conceive of no sane constitutional theory…requiring us to defer to the views of the Executive Branch”. [10]


Justices Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, and Alito stood firm against Obama’s power grab by embracing the founding principles of America, “the limitation upon the President’s appointment power is there not for the benefit of the Senate, but for the protection of the people”. [11]


Scot Faulkner served as Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a Member of the Reagan White House Staff.  He earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from American University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Government from Lawrence University


NOTES:
[1] Tr. of Oral Arg. 21; page 74. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-1281_mc8p.pdf
[2] NLRB versus Noel Canning, ET AL; No. 12–1281. Argued January 13, 2014—Decided June 26, 2014; 573 U. S. ____ (2014); 705 F. 3d 490, affirmed; Page 41.
[3] Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 76, p. 513 (J. Cooke ed. 1961).
[4] NLRB versus Noel Canning, ET AL; No. 12–1281. 573 U. S. ____ (2014); page 26.
[5] Ibid; page 43.
[6] Ibid; page 60. Scalia jointed by Justices Thomas, Roberts, and Alito.
[7] Ibid; page 61.
[8] Ibid; page 70.
[9] Ibid; page 108.
[10] Ibid; page 106.
[11] Ibid; page 107.

Fear & Loathing in Washington, DC

The Executive Branch refuses to acknowledge that it has broad latitude on how to implement the Sequester. This may be good politics, but it is a disservice to our country. Gaming the system will not solve America’s fiscal problems or promote collaboration over combat.

[1] Gaming the system - Level 1
Under the Budget Control Act, the Federal Government can ignore the Sequester, for now.

The Sequester only happens if, at the end of a fiscal year, spending exceeds designated levels under the Budget Control Act. Therefore, the Sequester does not happen on March 1, 2013 but later, when it is necessary to, “eliminate a budget-year breach”. There are six months to cut spending and avoid the Sequester.

[2] Gaming the system - Level 2
There is no immediate “day of reckoning”.

The impact of the Sequester will not be felt until July for most jurisdictions and late August when schools start their next academic year. Federal funds for teachers, police, and many grant programs are sent to the states annually or quarterly. State governments then disburse these funds, matched with state and county contributions, to these services. States, counties, municipalities, and school districts start their fiscal year on this coming July 1, 2013 not last October 1, 2012.

[3] Gaming the system - Level 3
The “day reckoning” can be avoided using normal OMB methods.

Agencies spend their funds unevenly as contracts, travel, and personnel actions occur sporadically during the fiscal year. If everything was evenly paced, 25% would be left unspent on July 1 (to cover the final three months of a fiscal year - July, August, September). Unevenly paced spending can leave as much as 40% unspent in some agencies on July 1.

OMB provides budget guidance in June telling each agency how much they have left to spend. Agencies accelerate their fourth quarter spending to spend everything they have. If they don’t do this the excess money is returned to the Treasury, and the agency may have trouble justifying future spending increases. Imagine if remaining balances exceeding 25% were returned to the Treasury on July 1 – Sequester solved!

[4] Gaming the system - Level 4
A budget sweep could prevent Sequester now and for the next six years.

OMB could at any time conduct a budget sweep to reclaim unexpended civilian balances among revolving funds and contingency funds. That would bring $687 billion back to the Treasury for the current fiscal year. That is over half the entire ten year Sequester or 13 times more than the current fiscal year Sequester. Sequester solved!

[5] Gaming the system - Level 5
OMB could enforce its own guide lines and avoid the Sequester completely.

OMB uses a Current Services Analysis for modeling what it costs to maintain exactly the same level and scope of services in the next year’s budget. For decades agencies have been funded well above their CSA levels. The budget battles are always over how much to increase spending. They are never about cutting or even maintaining CSA levels. In the current CSA the Sequester actually creates a net $110 billion increase in federal spending over the next ten years. Enforce CSA levels and Sequester solved!

[6] Gaming the system - Level 6
Freezing federal hiring would meet all budget limits and end the Sequester!

By properly managing personnel actions the Budget Control Act targets could be reached in three years instead of ten with no furloughs. Currently there are over 4,900 vacancies among domestic agencies and our government still operates. There is currently another 1,358 civilian vacancies in the Department of Defense and we are safe. Salaries and benefits for just these vacancies total approximately $62 billion/year for domestic agencies and $17.4 billion/year for Defense. In a typical year an additional 29,000 positions become vacant government-wide. This means that over $350 billion in personnel costs could be avoided if hiring was frozen. Some positions may be deemed critical and necessary for filling, but the vast majority of federal vacancies serve Americans better by remaining vacant.

As each hour passes, politicians and pundits are ratcheting up their rhetoric. They need to stop pointing fingers and wringing hands. It is time to make real decisions based on facts.

It is time to be statesmen, not showmen.

Scot Faulkner is a former chief administrative officer for the U.S. House of Representatives. His articles on government reform appear at citizenoversight.blogspot.com