GovernmentExecutive.com

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today approved, on a 7-2 vote, President Bush's nomination of Julie Myers to lead the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau.

While Democrats have repeatedly said Myers is not qualified for the position and vowed to oppose her nomination, only two Democrats -- Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii -- attended the markup.

The Senate Judiciary Committee now has 30 days to vote on the nominee. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she expects the Judiciary panel to hold a hearing to "probe on the immigration issues."

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff handpicked Myers for the post after working with her at the Justice Department when Chertoff led the criminal division there. If confirmed by the Senate, Myers would control an estimated $3 billion budget and more than 20,000 employees.

Lieberman said Myers lacked the relevant experience in management and immigration issues necessary to run an agency that has been plagued by mismanagement and budgetary problems.

"At this moment, with this particular agency, I want to be absolutely certain that we entrust the agency with someone that has clear management experience," Lieberman said.

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, also raised concerns about Myers' background during a hearing but said his worries were allayed after meeting recently with Myers and Chertoff.

"After spending a lot of time with Mike Chertoff, he strenuously argued and convinced me that she's got the gear to get the job done," Voinovich said.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who said last month he would block Myers' nomination until he receives a secret FBI memo about interrogation procedures, was on the Senate floor during today's meeting. Lieberman said Levin had yet to receive the memo, but he did not indicate if Levin would attempt to block the nomination during floor debate.

COMMENTS

• "Be part of the solution?" Just how do you propose that? By caving in and agreeing to the misguided decisions that led to the destruction of agencies which worked better than those we are now stuck with? DHS and ICE, and to a lesser extent, CBP, are in dire straits. The only real answer to resolving this mess is to acknowledge that the creation of these agencies was a mistake, and to try and correct this mistake as best as we can. That does not mean saying things are peachy-keen, and keeping our mouths shut when we see waste, incompetence and mismanagement all around us. If we don't speak out, how in blazes do you expect anything to change for the better? GovExec.com reader Posted November 28, 2005 2:45 PM
• All of your miserable complaining is so tiresome. We get it -- ICE is in shambles, you're all victims. It's amazing how much energy one can devote to being disgruntled. If you can't begin to be part of the solution, then please just get out of it altogether. GovExec.com reader Posted October 18, 2005 3:51 PM
• To both of you legacy Customs Boo-hooers: I don't disagree with the fact that DHS is a disgrace; that's an understatement. I do take issue with your pounding of legacy INS getting all the perks while driving this agency into disarray. From the start, the majority of the SAC, ASAC, and General Schedule slots went to legacy Customs, not INS. Albeit, Garcia and company were put in charge but, that being the case, why was all the paperwork, policy, and protocol smitten with legacy Customs? Why was Bonner put in charge of CBP? Granted, he was the Pappa Smurf of Customs but what did he know about Border Patrol or legacy INS Inspections? Bottom line: Legacy Customs management had more than its fair share in the undermining of ICE. By the way, there's a lot of educated and knowledgeable legacy U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Special Agents bailing out too. The Gunny GovExec.com reader Posted October 17, 2005 3:12 PM