LEADING IN THE NEW CONGRESS

 

[Published on Newmax]

The Republican Congress has a small window of opportunity to redefine the political landscape.

Will Republicans repeat history or make history?

Remember 2011?  Republicans won an historic number of seats in 2010 only to become disappointingly ineffective.  A thundering herd of elephants birthed mice.

Republicans will need to overcome several challenges. 

First, most media will declare the “end of days” and breathlessly report the coming “Republican apocalypse” in detail.  They will demonize every incoming Republican with cherry-picked “facts” and an endless array of fiction. 

Second, Republicans will not be unified.  They rarely are.  Conservatives should remember that just because Members of Congress are “R”s they are not necessarily “ours”.  There are moderate and liberal Republicans, along with swamp dwellers, timid souls, and special interest conflicted.

Republicans, even with a slim majority, can make a difference if they achieve four major goals: Expose; End; Equip; Endure.

EXPOSE

Congress has a fundamental duty to conduct oversight and hold those in power accountable. 

This begins with Congress itself.  Republican leaders must immediately demand that January 6, 2021, videos from all 1,800 Capitol Hill cameras are preserved.  Any cameras “not working on that day”, and “lost" or “damaged” videos, must be fully explained and documented.

On January 6, 2023, Congress embraces transparency by releasing all January 6 videos from all cameras unedited or redacted.  Let Americans see for themselves what happened.

To follow-up, Congress then identifies law enforcement shown on Capitol security and news videos helping protesters by unlocking and opening doors, removing security barriers, waving them to the Capitol, or standing-by passively.  Each law enforcement officer should be individually brought behind closed doors and asked, under oath, “who told you to do that?” 

Those who “were following orders’ will be asked, “whose orders?”  Their superiors are brought forward and asked the same questions.  Congressional Q&A continues until top law enforcement officials either assert they initiated rules of engagement themselves or identify orders from specifically named elected officials.  These communications would then be released to the public.

There are countless Biden abominations that deserve investigation.  Republicans must heed the lessons from their ineffectual pursuit of Obama scandals.  Subpoenas will be ignored, documents will be withheld, slow walked, or become “missing”, witnesses will refuse to testify, lie, or obfuscate.

The gold standard remains the 1973 Watergate Committee.  They began with the lowest level people and worked their way up to the top.  Questions were asked and Members waited for answers instead of launching into finger waving monologues.  Public hearings are theatrical events. Republicans need to manage the plot, characters, and answers beforehand and build a narrative.  The truth is out there but is nearly impossible to uncover in a timely enough manner to matter.

Nonpartisan oversight should also occur, using hundreds of reports published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the 72 Department and Agency Inspectors General.  Americans need to repeatedly hear about the mindboggling expanse of waste, fraud, and abuse that is endemic in the Federal Government.  This validates the next Republican President’s reform agenda.

END

Republicans will end new Biden initiatives and reduce his ability for mischief. They can defund programs, positions, and people.  They can turn campaign promises into reality by introducing legislation addressing voter priorities.

Justification through hearings and legislation will reveal and debunk the underlying dogma that is driving the Biden agendas for climate change and wokism.  Deindustrializing America is foundational to Biden’s assault on energy independence.  Showcasing silenced experts on these matters is vital.

Biden will veto everything Republicans do, and they will not have the votes to override. Republicans can counter by thinking well ahead of these predictable moves. Biden vetoes will become opportunities to contrast Republican voter-endorsed solutions with how Biden’s policies destroy America. This builds the case for change in 2024.

EQUIP

Republicans used the last two years of President Jimmy Carter to pave the way for the Reagan Revolution.  The next two years can equip the next Republican President with ideas and actions that will define the political landscape for 2024 and beyond. Through hearings, legislation, and floor speeches, they can build a mandate for the next Republican President to “hit the ground running”.   This change agenda will generate Leftist attacks, providing insights for Republican counter measures when they are reintroduced in 2025. 

ENDURE

The Washington, DC swamp is far deeper and extensive than anyone ever realized.  Republicans who cannot be bought-off or scared-off will be relentlessly savaged.  Democrats are known for locking arms and never breaking ranks.  Republicans shoot their wounded, even ones with minor injuries.  Time to think strategically and prepare for future battles 

To save America we must think past one election, one hearing, or one piece of legislation. 

It took years for the Left to gain the upper hand.  

It will take years to end their reign.

Scot Faulkner served as Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives and helped lead Speaker Newt Gingrich's Congressional Transition in 1994. He was Director of Personnel for the 1980 Reagan Campaign and served on the Presidential Transition team.  He currently advises corporations on implementing strategic change.

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.]

Rules of Engagement

by Scot Faulkner and Jonathan Riehl

IRS, Associated Press, Benghazi - It has been a sad month for America. The Nixonian turn of the Obama Administration has threatened basic liberties and trust, while the turn down the rabbit hole of the Congressional Republicans has undermined basic roles and responsibilities of the Legislative Branch.

Holding power accountable is a vital and fundamental part of America’s civic culture. The First Amendment’s protections for free speech, and Article I of the Constitution outlining Congress’s powers and responsibility to protect the use of public funds, are pillars that hold our government and society together. Recent actions by both the Executive and Legislative Branches raise alarm.

As President Truman famously declared, “the buck stops here” at the President’s desk. No matter how much President Obama declares his innocence; no matter how much the President asserts he only learned about every problem from watching the news; he is responsible for the actions of the Executive Branch. Intimidation of citizens and the media, violations of privacy, violations of law, and covering-up facts are ultimately the fault of the person who sets the tone, and governs, the Executive Branch. If subordinates were “rogue”, then find out who and find out why. No second or third level functionary wakes-up one morning and decides to create national policy without receiving orders or telling others. To maintain otherwise insults the intelligence of all Americans. The alternative is an admission of gross negligence and incompetence emanating from the Oval Office.

The role of Congress is to use its oversight powers and responsibilities to expose and address illegal, unethical, and unseemly acts of federal officials. This oversight role has been an integral part of Congress since President George Washington. It is the key element of balancing powers among the three branches of the federal government.

Oversight is about truth seeking. When Congress uses this power to create fantasy instead of fact it disserves the institution and the public. The egregious performances by Executive Branch officials have unfortunately been equaled by over-the-top rhetoric and drama by Members of Congress. There is a fundamental problem with the rhetorical strategy of the GOP, and it is evident in these recent hearings. When there are failures in the functioning of government, it is up to Congress to investigate and call them to account. In these recent matters at State, Justice, and the IRS, the duty is obvious. It’s how the House majority has gone about it that is so problematic.

This is especially disappointing because Republicans have a strong record on oversight. In recent history, nothing stands out more than the Watergate hearings, to which many allusions have been made.

In 1973, the wrongdoings of the Nixon administration were brought to light by responsible, bipartisan hearings in which we heard memorable lines from the likes of GOP Senator Howard Baker, asking calmly, “What did the President know, and when did he know it?” The stakes were high. The modesty of the questioning allowed for the public to come to its own conclusions. The facts drove the investigation. Chairing the hearings was Democratic Senator Sam Ervin, of North Carolina. While there was certainly shrill demonizing of Nixon and the Republicans by liberals, this rancor was shut-out of the Ervin Hearings.

Republican leaders in Congress have their hands full. When Chairman Issa, and other “adults”, hold sway, the tone of the hearings hearken to the Ervin hearings. However, less seasoned Republicans on these committees, and those speaking on the House Floor, drown out the search for truth with “truther” style rhetoric. No matter how much some Republicans hate Obama, their best strategy is to let the petulance of Executive Branch witnesses drill holes in the Administration’s boat. When Republicans use their interrogation time to spout conspiracy theories instead of fact finding they divert attention from Obama onto themselves. They also waste precious time. They should be asking questions designed to peel back the “onion layers” to expose the rot. There will be plenty of time to assail the Obama Administration, once the facts, or the lies, are in hand.

The poor performance of both interrogators and interrogatees continue Washington, DC’s downward spiral into hyper-partisanship and perpetual campaigning. Every utterance seems aimed at producing the next soundbite for partisan pundits or campaign ads. Congressional hearings should enlighten and build trust, not become a fodder for comedians where the Members are mouthing their own punch lines.

Scot Faulkner served in the Reagan White House and as Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives. Jonathan Riehl, J.D., Ph.D., is a communications consultant for political campaigns and national nonprofit organizations, a former speechwriter for Luntz Research, and an instructor in Communications Studies.

9,528 Opportunities Ignored

America should be having a serious discussion on the size and cost of our Federal Government, and what to do about a debt burden that has already sailed our nation off the fiscal cliff. Instead, disinformation has buried what little integrity is left among the participants.

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) recently spoke on the Senate floor: "I am not going to keep cutting the discretionary budget, which by the way is not out of control, despite what you hear on Fox News."

There are many reasons why Senator Landrieu is wrong. In fact, there are 9,528 reasons. That is the approximate number of audits and investigations conducted by career employees during 2012 on federal programs, projects, agencies, and contracts. The General Accountability Office (GAO) issued 768 reports, which contained 1,807 recommendations for operational improvement. One can also glean from public documents approximately 8,760 audits and investigations conducted by the 73 Inspector General Offices among the cabinet departments and independent agencies of the Executive Branch.

Every one of these 9,528 efforts found waste, fraud, and abuse. Every one of these reports identified opportunities for improving operations and made specific recommendations. The Department of Labor’s Inspector General’s Office conducted 66 audits that identified $2.4 billion in waste. The office also opened 585 investigative cases, obtaining 633 indictments and 433 convictions. They also recovered $398 million that had been criminally diverted. There is similar documentation of mismanagement, inefficiency, and ineffectiveness within every report issued by the GAO and the 73 Inspectors Generals. In 2012, these reports documented over $650 billion in waste. That translates into at least $6.5 trillion in possible spending cuts, over the next ten years, without harming one legitimate beneficiary of government services.

It is time for every politician and pundit to admit that there is definitely “room for improvement” in the way the federal government manages our tax dollars. Tragically for America, very few of these 9,528 reports receive any public airing in Congress. Liberals do not want to admit there is “room for improvement” because that will pull the rug out from under their argument for more taxes. Conservatives do not want to admit there is “room for improvement” because that will pull the rug out from under their argument for ideological cuts. Conservatives would also have to admit that there is more than $100 billion wasted annually in the Defense Department. This waste has nothing to do with keeping America safe, in fact, it degrades our safety.

Everyone should be upset that even one penny of tax dollars is misspent. That goes for whether you love a program/project or hate it. Unfortunately, no politician or pundit is willing to rise above their partisan mud-wrestling to think about our country. In rare situations the level of corruption and dysfunction created a bipartisan mandate for strategic change. This happened at the General Services Administration in the early 1980s when years of multi-million dollar criminal activity, and 48 convictions, allowed for a top to bottom rethinking of the agency. The result reduced staff by 20,000 and saved $3 billion. This also happened in the House of Representatives in the mid-1990s when high profile scandals, and the first change in party control in forty years, allowed for a fundamental reinventing of Congressional operations. The result cut support staff by 48%, established financial integrity, and saved $148 million.

Times have become too partisan to start with strategically rethinking Executive functions and management. It would be horrendous to wait for epic scandal or corruption to trigger another brief moment of bipartisan cooperation. What we are left with is cajoling everyone to admit there is “room for improvement”. Senators and Congressmen have 9,528 reports, generated by objective, nonpolitical, professionals to guide where and how to cut waste. Once the recommendations are implemented, and the management improvements are in place, they can debate whether to reallocate the savings. In the meantime, America’s debt bomb will be partially defused without harming programs, services, or recipients.

Can we all agree that this would be a great way for Congress to spend the next two years?

Conservative Chaos Theory

This was published in Politico

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/a-vacuum-of-conservative-leadership-85961.html?hp=r19

By Scot Faulkner & Jonathan Riehl

The continuing crisis in Washington illustrates many things: A dysfunctional, wholly unproductive Congress, a total lack of long-term thinking or leadership from either party, and nonstop partisan bickering. Aside from these systemic problems the past few weeks also illustrate the complete and utter breakdown of conservatism as a force in politics. Republicans may complain of an intransigent President. But President Obama, at least, has an agenda. The Republicans have none. There is no conservative vision, no conservative agenda, no conservative movement.

Others have argued that an emerging problem on the right is the lack of any conservative identity aside from disliking, disparaging, or despising the President and his agenda. Years of opposing instead of proposing has put more nails in the coffin of responsible conservatism. The strategic defeats of 2012 laid bare the vacuum of conservative leadership. The Christmas crisis draws that vacuum into stark relief.

Some may agree, along with the Senate Majority Leader, that the only job of current Republican legislators is to stop anything Obama wants to do. Earlier conservative Congresses have seen it as their primary task to throw sands in the gears of liberal administrations. The problem is that this Republican Congress is not backed by any intellectual or policy foundation that would replace that which they oppose. These Republicans, unlike earlier movement conservatives, are, to borrow a phrase, full of sound and fury but signifying nothing.

A favorite film of ours, David Lean’s masterpiece “Lawrence of Arabia,” offers some valuable lessons, providing a cautionary tale on the difference between warfare and governing. In the movie, T.E. Lawrence and his Bedouin army become experts at blowing up trains, but fall into utter chaos when they try to govern Damascus. Current conservatives hone their demolition skills, while avoiding governing skills. Recently, Sean Hannity admonished Republicans on his radio show to, “forget about governing – focus on fighting”. Worse yet, Republicans are now taking a two week recess instead of building their public case for an alternative approach to budgeting and governing. Instead of oversight hearing exposing government waste and proposing management reforms, they are waiting to pounce on the President’s inaugural address, State of the Union speech, and official budget submission. The Republican game book of defensive guerilla tactics is a recipe for marginalization.

Conservatives love to heap praise on Ronald Reagan, though their mythologizing often masks the hard fought political battles and compromise which led to his election. Movement conservatives devoted years preparing for that election, preparation that included a conservative cohort in Congress wrecking President Carter’s trains and tearing-up his rail lines on a daily basis. Our parliamentary warfare was designed for a purpose – every bill defeated was one less law we would have to reverse once Reagan was President.

The difference between 1978-1980 and the current warfare is that that earlier generation had a core understanding of what was to come. Reagan and the conservative movement that propelled him had a clear vision of what was needed to revive America, defeat communism, and reform government. Reagan was able to articulate that vision in a way that resonated with a majority of the nation not because he had a handful of focus-grouped magic phrases, but because his rhetoric conveyed an actual political and cultural vision grounded in a concrete conservative philosophy.

The current Republican “leadership” offers no vision, because it is no longer grounded in the conservative tradition. Their only vision is further disruption. There is nothing conservative about this. In fact, it smacks more of leftist anarchy. Great conservative thinkers like Friedrich A. Hayek, for example, were championed by Reagan and Thatcher precisely because they sought to create order out of chaos.

The current Republican leaders have indeed become experts at blowing up trains. Both sides display skill at stopping things and ratcheting up the rhetoric in their favored media echo chambers. But the real problem is that both sides have lost the ability to govern. These Republicans (we hesitate to even refer to them as conservatives) have no plan or vision for bringing order out of the chaos they continue to foment. Common ground has vanished. Worse, it is viewed as the domain of the weak.

Wreaking havoc with your opponents is necessary when you are preparing the way for political victory and a fundamental change. However, what if there is no plan after battlefield victory? Republicans have forgotten the lessons of their own conservative movement’s history, which waged tactical political warfare only in the service of a positive political vision, not for warfare’s sake alone, and not for the vilification of an enemy.


Breaking Bad – Avoiding the Fiscal Cliff

A shorter verison of this column appeared in the Washington Examiner

http://washingtonexaminer.com/breaking-bad-avoiding-the-fiscal-cliff/article/2512227

The impending “fiscal cliff” is the most thoroughly predicted disaster since the end of the Mayan Calendar. The problem is no one is willing to design and implement a real solution that has any chance of bipartisan support.

The cycle of dysfunction has existed for decades. The Federal Budget Act of 1974 created what was supposed to be a rational process for planning, approving, and implementing government spending. It quickly became an empty paper exercise as appropriations ignored the Budget Resolutions. When the difference became embarrassingly stark, the Senate simply gave up on passing one at all. Additional budget reform legislation was passed and immediately ignored. Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, Budget Reconciliation, and the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), all gather dust. Annual budget deals, and continuing resolutions, put off the day of reckoning. Reagan’s 1982 budget deal resulted in more revenue and no spending cuts.

Administrations annually create a new budget. Hidden inside the hundreds of pages is the “Current Services Budget”, or “Baseline”. This outlines how much it costs to maintain existing services at current levels. It factors in various cost drivers - cost of living increases, escalation clauses in contracts, etc. Budget battles are fought over the increase above current service levels. When officials propose budget cuts they are talking about cutting the increase, not cutting current service funding levels. Therefore, there is a built in “ratchet effect” to expanding government spending.

The latest looming cliff is supposed to wrench the Washington policy players out of denial and avoidance, forcing them to actually do something real. This will not happen unless certain things change.

Start with the basics – Use the “Current Service Analysis” levels as the budget framework. Administration and opposing budgets can be aspirations compared against the true baseline. That will level the playing field and keep everyone honest about what is really an increase and what is really a reduction.

Rise above ideology - Both Democrats and Republicans contributed to the cliff. Both sides spend like there is no tomorrow. Both sides embrace “sacred cows”. Both sides live in a world where their people are angels and their opponents are demons. A good first step is to admit that each side has some good ideas and each side has looney ones.

Democrats need to understand that even their most cherished domestic assistance programs are riddled with waste and inefficiency. Republicans need to realize that the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security are just as bloated and dysfunctional as the liberal programs they assail.

Make Inspector Generals and the GAO “rock stars” – The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has 3,100 employees. There are also 73 Inspector General Offices embedded in Cabinet Departments and major agencies. All these offices are filled with highly trained, dedicated, objective civil servants who document waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiency as well as recommend actions to eradicate and prevent future squandering of public resources. They document over $650 billion in waste annually. That is $6.5 trillion in cost avoidance and direct spending reductions over the ten years everyone uses to discuss the fiscal cliff. Except for a rare instance, these reports, and their detailed recommendations, are universally ignored.

The next Congress will be as grid locked as the last few. Partisan votes in the House will die in a Senate unable to muster sixty votes to move legislation. Then there are possible White House vetoes.

Therefore, why not check ideology at the door and embrace stewarding public funds? One hopes overwhelming numbers of Members from both parties, as well as the White House, would agree that waste is waste. Pass budget bills that specifically mandate GAO and IG recommendations are implemented and corresponding amounts of documented waste, fraud, and abuse are cut from programs and agencies. Resurrecting effective Congressional Oversight is long over due.

Having everyone discover that they can all agree on something will shift from the culture of confrontation to a culture of collaboration. Beginning swimmers start in the shallow end of a pool and then move into deeper waters as their skills and confidence improve. Congress and the White House could move into more complex and contentious waters as their ability to respectfully and constructively disagree improves.

Allow for public input - “Crowd sourcing” is being successfully used in several European countries to harness collective wisdom for public policy. Using either an ongoing “crowd sourcing” process, or an annual referendum tied to tax returns (like the Presidential Campaign fund check-off), citizens could either identify what to cut or what to fund. Their input would initially be advisory and mature into binding guidance as seriousness and sincerity are displayed by all involved.

If Congress, the White House, the agencies, and the media, do not explore these ideas, America faces a crisis that will dwarf the chaos in Greece.

[Scot Faulkner was Chief Administrative Officer for the U.S. House of Representatives. http://citizenoversight.blogspot.com/]



FEDERAL BUDGET INFERNO

"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate"[Abandon all hope, ye who enter here]

- Dante’s Inferno

The battle of the budget is underway, made all the more intense by upcoming Presidential & Congressional Elections.

As usual, everyone is throwing around “scare figures” to protect turf, power, and special interests. Even President Obama is making sweeping assumptions about how Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget would, “if equally distributed” close parks, end student loans, and harm veterans.

The budget debate, played-out in endless the campaign debates, surround what programs should be saved or cut. Republicans always get tongue-tied on this topic. They make bold sweeping statements about government waste and inefficiency and then someone asks them to be specific. This is usually followed by silence or mumbled assertions about abolishing the EPA.

It is truly sad that, except for a few voices in this wilderness, no one takes the time to collect the facts that are already out there. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the 73 Inspector General offices embedded in Cabinet Departments and agencies, issue reports detailing waste fraud and abuse down to specific programs and accounts and with specific dollars attached. The Government Executive Magazine and watch dog groups regularly publish these findings. Why doesn’t anyone read this stuff?

One of my ongoing efforts at public awareness is to post some of the more salient items on my FACEBOOK page. Over just the last six months, the reports I posted totaled $487,687,000,000 of ANNUAL SAVINGS. This $487 billion in annual savings is just a sampling of the reports.

Congress and the White House have been at loggerheads since the summer of 2011 over how to cut less than this amount over TEN YEARS. Yet, fully documented by objective and government funded Inspector Generals and auditors, the path to cutting well over a half a trillion a year from the budget, without any negative impact on services, is there for anyone to see and use. The only requirement is a commitment to financial integrity, efficiency, and accountability.

Below are links from my FACEBOOK posts since October 2011.

GOVERNMENT-WIDE OPPORTUNITIES

· Government curbs improper payments -- but not enough http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2012/03/government-curbs-improper-payments-not-enough/41616/
· Baby steps for government bookkeeping http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2012/03/governments-bookkeeping-improving-only-slowly-panel-told/41355/
· Telework Takes Hold - Wired Workplace http://wiredworkplace.nextgov.com/2012/01/telework_takes_hold.php
· GOP senator's latest report on government waste pokes Congress http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2011/12/gop-senators-latest-report-on-government-waste-pokes-congress/35680/
· GAO coaches lawmakers on maximizing cross-agency performance http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2011/12/gao-coaches-lawmakers-on-maximizing-cross-agency-performance/35609/
· Expanded data transparency bill clears House panel http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20111103_6907.php?oref=rss%3Fzone%3DNGtoday
· Here is an effort to reduce the federal workforce by 10%, but this can be far more aggressive via targeting positions of retirees. At GSA we reduced the agency from 36,000 to under 20,000 (44%) in three years through a comprehensive attrition program. I reduced my CAO staff from 1,200 to 620 (48%) in one year via reorganization, abolishing functions, and outsourcing. Panel considers bill to shrink federal workforce through attrition http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2011/11/panel-considers-bill-to-shrink-federal-workforce-through-attrition/35314/
· IG council honors star performers http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2011/10/ig-council-honors-star-performers/35187/
· FEATURES: Excellence in Government http://www.govexec.com/magazine/features/2011/10/excellence-in-government/35060/
· http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110514/ADOP06/105140304/

Department of Defense· Senators go after waste in wartime contracting http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2012/03/senators-go-after-waste-wartime-contracting/41358/
· It is too bad BRAC is not being used to deal with our 900+ overseas bases. At least 400 of them are useless and expensive. Those overseas bases are generating non-American jobs - bring those jobs home! Administration to request new round of base closures http://www.govexec.com/defense/2012/01/administration-request-new-round-base-closures/40979/
· http://www.govexec.com/defense/2011/06/grassley-gives-failing-marks-to-pentagon-inspector-general/34115/
· http://public.cq.com/docs/weeklyreport/weeklyreport-000004022899.html
· http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/slash-federal-spending-gao-details-waste-inefficiency-duplication-again

Department of Energy· Energy Dept. offers prize to create mobile apps that already exist http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/05/energy-dept-offers-prize-to-create-mobile-apps-that-already-exist/

Department of Homeland Security· IG: Customs shelling out millions in workers’ comp http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2012/04/ig-customs-shelling-out-millions-workers-comp/41745/
· Cannot believe that Homeland Security is going to throw away more taxpayer money on a failed "virtual border fence". Isn't $1 billion down the rat hole a sufficient learning experience?? DHS details contract for second try at Southwest virtual fence http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20111209_5650.php?oref=rss%3Fzone%3DNGtoday
· USCIS mismanaged immigration processing project, auditors report http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20111122_1400.php?oref=rss%3Fzone%3DNGtoday
· Auditors blast DHS' $1.5 billion border plan http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20111107_7253.php?oref=rss%3Fzone%3DNGpopular
· TSA mum on missing deadline for 100 percent cargo screening http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20111102_1709.php?oref=rss%3Fzone%3DNGtoday
· FEMA urged to increase accountability http://www.govexec.com/defense/2011/10/fema-urged-to-increase-accountability/35216/
Department of Justice
· GAO upends Justice's identity card project http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20120316_6484.php?oref=rss

Environmental Protection Agency· EPA plagued with poor budgetary and workforce organization, GAO reports http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2011/10/epa-plagued-with-poor-budgetary-and-workforce-organization-gao-reports/35156/
· www.gao.gov/new.items/d11347.pdf

General Services Administration· GSA employee rewards program now also under scrutiny http://www.govexec.com/oversight/2012/04/gsa-employee-rewards-program-now-also-under-scrutiny/41690/
· http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2871348/posts
· http://www.govexec.com/management/2012/04/lavish-conference-costs-top-gsa-officials-their-jobs/41651/

US Postal Service· Post Office aspires to provide private sector salaries without [private sector competence. Postal Service defends executive salaries as lawmaker looks to cap pay http://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2012/03/postal-service-defends-executive-salaries-lawmaker-looks-cap-pay/41442/

Get a Life - Redux

Many people responded to my April 2 posting. Several of my former colleagues pointed out that I was wrong to castigate all of Congress regarding webcasting hearings.

They were right. I stand corrected and chastened.

Congress has, in fact, moved into the 21st Century. This move is not universal, but it seems that the Democrats have been more aggressive than the Republicans in making their hearings and meetings accessible on the web.

That said; the results are still a mixed bag.

For once the Senate is ahead of the House on moving with the times. All but four committees have both live webcasts and archived webcasts. The stragglers are:

Armed Services – no webcasting
Energy & Natural Resource – live webcasts, no archive
Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs – live webcasts, no archive
Small Business & Entrepreneurship – live webcast and archive of only most recent hearing

The House is a really mixed bag. Most Committees offer both live and archived webcasts. Here are the stragglers:

Appropriations – many subcommittees still offer no webcasts
Education and Labor – no webcasts, just the use of “e-hearings” for remote witnesses
Financial Services – live webcasts, no archive
Homeland Security – live webcasts, only audio archive
Natural Resources – live webcasts, no archive
Oversight & Government Reform – none
Rules – none
Small Business – highlights posted on “You Tube”
Ways & Means – live webcasts, no archive

It is surprising that, of all committees, Oversight would still be in the dark ages. Given Chairman Waxman’s zeal for oversight, you would think he would want his efforts showcased through every possible technology.

It is my sincere hope that this trend to the web continues and that the stragglers catch-up.

The true final frontier for webcasting is the Executive Branch. Every day each agency and department holds hundreds of hearings, briefings, meetings, and judicial proceedings (before administrative law judges). Except for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, webcasting or even adequate public notice and access to these activities is fairly rare. Maybe the public will start demanding that all of our public officials open their doors and let us in.

Political Hams & Hotdogs

The following was published in The Washington Times

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/aug/8/political-hams-and-hot-dogs/

The latest polls show Americans' confidence in Congress at an all-time low. Gallup's 14 percent rating is 4 points below the 18 percent that ended the Democratic Party's 40-year hold on Congress in 1994, and 5 points below the 19 percent that drove the GOP from power in 2006.

These indicate starkly that both parties disappoint Americans. This new low transcends specific issues, like the Iraq war. Gallup began tracking confidence in Congress in May 1973. That means Congress weathered the Vietnam War, Watergate, recessions and gas lines while maintaining higher voter confidence. The new low underscores major institutional weaknesses in how Congress conducts itself in the 21st century.

It has long been said that, "No man should see how laws or sausages are made." In my years of performance consulting I have, in fact, seen sausages made. At the world's leading hot dog factories, you see prime cuts of meat being processed in a clean and efficient environment operated by dedicated professionals devoted to quality assurance. I devour hot dogs knowing the integrity of these producers' brands is at stake with every bite.

It is, therefore, dismaying that Congress does not share the same concern about brand integrity as hot dog producers. Instead of a sausage factory, the House projects the image of a huge freshman dorm on a college campus. Everyone is adjusting to living away from home for the first time. Just like college freshmen, they mess around all term and then pull all-nighters to get the minimal work done. Occasionally, they even seek extensions. Look at the end of any congressional session. After many recesses House members will stay in round the clock to complete their work, and then pass a continuing resolution to avoid approving a real budget.

Just like a freshman dorm, the House is a mix: party animals, druggies, slackers, social climbers, jocks, idealists, activists and scholars. During my years as a House staffer and as its chief administrative officer, I encountered nearly half of members and staff displaying some form of addictive behavior including ego, power, greed, sex, drugs and alcohol.

In particular, freshman members and almost all staff can get away with anything, and do. The national media have no interest in the addictions of these small fry. They, therefore, develop an air of invincibility and unaccountability that carries them through their careers. Their lifestyle choices may only catch up with them if they aspire to a major policy position.

This dysfunction was borne out by the dozens of members attending the drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs I managed, and the documents I signed each week relating to legal actions against them. These documents, as many as 50 a week, included bankruptcies, garnishment of wages and court orders relating to not paying alimony and child support.

Recently, the House of Representatives passed its legislative branch appropriations. House members spent an hour discussing the naming of the overblown Capitol Visitor's Center, debating whether culinary school students should practice in the Members' Dining Room and bickering over turf with the House Administration Committee. There was also much posturing over how "green" to make the House's operations.

There was no mention of finding ways to open Congress to the public. Official House Web sites reveal virtually no movement toward new technologies to expand citizen engagement. Where are the podcasts of hearings? Where are the blogs for oversight? It is impossible to e-mail some committee staffs. Many members block e-mails from outside their districts. How is a concerned citizen to gain the attention of a national advocate on their particular issue?

The answer to these questions is the same since the Continental Congress. You can write a letter to a member or work through a lobbyist. I once wrote a member about preserving a Civil War battlefield and got inundated with letters on veterans' benefits.

Members are not listening or paying attention to what is happening. Congress has not learned a thing from the voter rebellions of 1994 and 2006. It is not just time for new blood and third parties but to rethink how we make representative government work in the 21st century.