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As President Bush prepares for a second term, his Republican allies on the House Government Reform Committee are considering legislation bolstering executive powers.

Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., wants to expedite the process for confirming presidential appointees and reinstate executive reorganization authority, which was granted intermittently to presidents between 1932 and 1984. That would allow the president to propose changes in the structure of government agencies, then submit them to Congress for approval on an up-or-down vote. The authority would minimize the turf wars that inevitably crop up when new agencies such as the Homeland Security Department are created, a Davis spokesman said.

Although Congress has not granted the power in two decades, presidents have used it to implement sweeping organizational changes, including creating OMB and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Government Reform ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., opposes the plan. A Waxman spokeswoman said handing over the authority would be a serious abdication of congressional powers.

The executive branch long has complained about the ordeal appointees face in seeking Senate confirmation, a process that has become slower over the years, Davis' spokesman said. Some of Bush's nearly 500 nominees waited 14 months before Senate confirmation.

Davis would like to reduce the number of jobs needing Senate approval and simplify financial disclosure forms. Waxman's spokeswoman said he has concerns about overhauling the process and worries that the proposal may include provisions similar to those in a recent bill making it more difficult for Congress to discern how much money a nominee has invested and where. She said Waxman is skeptical that the forms are the main reason for the cumbersome confirmation process and would like to find other ways to streamline it.

Other legislation on the chairman's wish list is more likely to win bipartisan support. Davis wants to boost salaries of Border Patrol and other agents in areas such as New York and California, where federal law enforcement officers often leave to take higher paying jobs with local and state departments.

He also would like to make the process federal agencies use to order supplies more efficient, a proposal which his spokesman said "should be a slam dunk."

In its oversight capacity, the committee plans to hold a hearing on the flu vaccine shortage next week and to examine the FDA's process for approving Vioxx and other drugs now found to be potentially harmful.

COMMENTS

• Rick, A democracy is just about the messiest, most inefficient form of government this side of Chaos and Anarchy. Would any of us really trade this messiness for the efficiency of a military dictatorship? GovExec.com reader Posted November 23, 2004 10:52 AM
• The spiffy three piece suit is government efficiency but the dirty underwear is the erosion of checks and balances. Rick Posted November 17, 2004 10:53 AM
• This administration is not wasting a minute to accrete its power over the legislative branch of government-- and once the administration puts its friendly, more conservative judges on the bench it will be a trifecta win. The only authority that can defend the separation of powers and congressional power is Congress itself. If Congressional Reps wish to divest themselves and strengthen the Executive at its expense, and of course at our expense as well, so be it. The Roman Senate also divested itself of its power to the Julian family and their successors for hundreds of years-- this may very well be the life cycle of a Republic-- to eventually become a military dictatorship and/or monarchy. :-) There is a reason that the Constitition is crafted to keep the Executive in check because without those checks-- Executives will always try and accrete power at the expense of the system put into place to check them. Pax Romana- Pax Americana- If we don't know our history we will be doomed to repeat it. I fully expect over the next few years to see an Executive put into place legislation which will more power to itself than has ever been wielded by a President before. President Caligula- has a nice ring to it. :-)))) GovExec.com reader Posted November 15, 2004 9:10 AM