Government Executive - Authors - Michael Posner

Veterans push for fixes to health care overhaul

Michael Posner — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Organizations representing the nation's military veterans are keeping up pressure on Congress to prevent the landmark healthcare law from shortchanging veterans and other military personnel.

The lobbying comes despite assurances from the Obama administration and key lawmakers that the law protects military personnel and veterans. But the Veterans of Foreign Wars is refusing to accept the claims at face value.

"We don't want assurances," VFW national spokesman Joe Davis said. "We want it written into law."

The concerns stem from imprecise language in the health law signed by President Obama on March 23. Under that law Americans must buy private health insurance by 2014 or pay a financial penalty. However, citizens don't have to purchase health insurance if they have "minimum essential coverage," such as employer-sponsored plans.

But missing from the law's language on "minimum essential coverage" is the military's TRICARE plan that covers nearly 10 million service people, retirees and dependents. Some Veterans Affairs programs, including those covering dependents with birth defects are also missing.

The VFW is taking an aggressive role among veterans groups demanding that Congress complete legislation that nails down those assurances into law. Davis said assurances do not carry the force of law and would not have much effect on future Congresses with different priorities. The American Legion and the Disabled American Veterans said they are working with Congress to protect active and former service members.

Steve Robertson, legislative director for the American Legion, said the group would continue to track regulations that would impact veterans' health care. "We'll be there every step of the way," he said.

As a result of mounting concern, two bills are moving in Congress and could become law, clarifying the healthcare situation for the military and veterans.

The protests from military advocates and Republican opponents of the health bill, spurred the administration to issue assurances that the law covers those affiliated with the military.

"Fears that veterans' health care and TRICARE will be undermined by the health reform legislation are unfounded," VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said prior to the House vote on the bill.

Similar assurances were issued by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

And in a March 21 letter to House Rules Chairwoman Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., chairmen from the House Armed Services, Education and Labor, Veterans' Affairs, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means committees wrote that it was never the intent to undermine or change the military's healthcare plans and committed to looking "into this issue further to ensure that no unintended consequences may arise and to take any legislative action that might be necessary."

In the uproar's wake, House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., succeeded to win by a rare unanimous vote, 403-0, a bill to "fix" the healthcare law by assuring that the military programs qualify under the new law. But a companion bill by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., still needs Senate approval for the measure to become law. That is expected when Congress reconvenes.

Before the spring recess, Senate Veterans' Affairs Chairman Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, ushered through the Senate a bill clarifying that the health care that the VA provides Vietnam and Korean war veterans' children born with spina bifida or other certain birth defects meets the standard of minimum healthcare coverage.

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Census chief defends Super Bowl commercial

Michael Posner — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Census Bureau Director Robert Groves on Tuesday strongly defended a $2.5 million commercial aired during the Super Bowl this month that was criticized by Republicans and others who questioned its usefulness.

Groves told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Federal Financial Management Subcommittee that the ad will pay off if it prompts more people to answer next month's mailed questionnaire. The bureau plans to send census questionnaires to about 140 million households next month as part of the decennial head count.

Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-N.C., criticized the bureau for spending $2.5 million to air a 30-second commercial during the Feb. 7 football game.

Although advertising rates for the CBS broadcast dropped slightly from 2009, they were the most expensive on television, according to analysts. But the game set a TV ratings record, averaging an audience of 106.5 million people.

Groves said if the Super Bowl ad and others in the bureau's $338 million communications campaign prompts people to mail in answers to the 10 questions, "[the ad campaign] will pay for itself."

He said the census will save $85 million for every 1 percent increase in the mail-back response -- a figure corroborated by Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser.

The census is on track to cost $14.7 billion and could cost more.

Groves said the biggest risk is a lack of response to the questionnaires, which could run up spending. Senate Federal Financial Management Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del., noted that the $14.7 billion reflects an increase of $3.2 billion in just the last two years. To find as many people as possible, more than 600,000 census takers will personally knock on doors to try to track down nonresponders.

Zinser testified there are other serious issues in the way of a smooth count. Among these are computer problems that have plagued the census planning.

"And in recent weeks, Census has encountered major hardware and software issues affecting system performance that have prompted Census officials to call in executives and senior technical troubleshooters from the companies that provide hardware and software components," he said.

Similarly, Robert Goldenkoff, GAO's director of strategic issues, said the information technology systems "face performance problems and have not yet demonstrated the ability to function reliably under full operational loads."

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Momentum builds for Postal Service relief

Michael Posner — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Congress might be prepared to offer the U.S. Postal Service a partial bailout by giving the mail service a $2 billion infusion from a special health benefits fund set aside for future retirees.

Under a 2006 law, the Postal Service is required to pay at least $5.4 billion annually into a special fund. The service also pays about $2 billion from its operating funds for its share of premiums for current retirees.

The agency, which is supposed to be self-supporting, is on track to lose more than $7 billion in the fiscal year. Mail volume for fiscal 2008 declined by 9.5 billion pieces and had declined by double that amount for this year as of May. The GAO in July added the Postal Service to its list of at-risk areas that require congressional attention.

Both a House bill that cleared the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and a pending bill before the Senate will allow retirees to be paid out of that special fund, easing the financial burden by about $2 billion. But that relief is only temporary, covering three fiscal years.

Quick relief is a priority for lawmakers, before the Postal Service is due to put $5.4 billion into the special fund for future retirees on Oct. 1.

The measure should find smooth sailing through the House since the legislation sponsored by Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., has more than 390 co-sponsors. But it might not be that easy in the Senate.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved a similar bill on July 30, but it contains an amendment that could be an obstacle. The rider by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., requires that the service's financial stability be taken into account in negotiations for union contracts. Unions called the amendment "mean-spirited" and said they could not back the bill with that amendment.

"Although arbitrators routinely consider the financial health of the Postal Service, if the amended bill is passed into law, it would have a profound effect on negotiations. When we begin our next round of contract talks in September 2010, discussion will be overshadowed by this new requirement," said William Burrus, president of the American Postal Workers Union.

The fight over that amendment will be played out on the Senate floor -- as early as next month if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has his way -- or in a House-Senate conference.

In an effort to save money, the Postal Service has also proposed consolidating services and shuttering some of its 3,200 post offices across the country, recommendations that are pending review by the U.S. Postal Rate Commission. Postmaster General John Potter wants to cut mail service to five days a week, a proposal that would require Congress to change the law requiring six-day service.

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GAO: Costs of Coast Guard modernization to soar by $2 billion

Michael Posner — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The Government Accountability Office estimated Tuesday the cost of the long-delayed Coast Guard Deepwater ship and aircraft construction program would rise again, jumping $2.1 billion from the $24.2 billion forecast two years ago.

Stephen Caldwell, director of GAO's Homeland Security and Justice Issues department, told the Senate Commerce Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard Subcommittee there might be further "cost growth" beyond the new $26.3 billion estimate.

As a result, the higher costs might present the Coast Guard challenges involving potential tradeoffs in the program to upgrade its aging fleet, he said. But Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen told the subcommittee the service is analyzing each project. "I think it will change -- hopefully, it will go down," he said.

Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard Subcommittee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and ranking member Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said they were concerned about the rising costs.

Overall, the costs of the Deepwater program are not only going up, but the completion goal is moving from 2018 to 2027 for dozens of ships and planes, Cantwell said.

Allen also told Cantwell he endorsed a pending bill reauthorizing Coast Guard functions for fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2011, including its proposed overhauls, such as creation of a high-level chief acquisition officer to monitor performance of programs and projects.

"The Coast Guard continues to face several management challenges," Caldwell said. As an example, he said the Coast Guard's proposed newest ship, the National Security cutter, has encountered delays that he said will "result in the loss of thousands of operational days for conducting missions through 2017."

But he added that the Coast Guard is taking steps to implement past GAO recommendations for improving the management of the construction program. The full Senate Commerce Committee is expected to mark up and approve the authorization bill Wednesday.

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Senate panel clears $32.1B Interior bill

Michael Posner — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Working speedily, the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee approved on Tuesday a $32.1 billion fiscal 2010 spending bill for land, water and firefighting improvements that is 16 percent higher than this fiscal year's spending levels.

Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., pushed through the bill on a voice vote.

The bill is $4.5 billion above the fiscal 2009 enacted level and comes in $225 million, or 0.7 percent, below President Obama's request. The House Appropriations Committee has approved a $32.3 billion fiscal 2010 Interior-Environment appropriations bill.

Feinstein told panel members to submit proposed amendments to her and Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. Those amendments that can be cleared will be offered in a package as a manager's amendment when the full committee takes up the bill Thursday.

The biggest boost over fiscal 2009 comes in funding for the EPA, which was allocated $10.2 billion, an amount $2.5 billion, or 33 percent, above fiscal 2009. It includes $3.6 billion for water and sewer infrastructure improvements.

The subcommittee said in a statement that, together with economic stimulus funds, there would be "an unprecedented $11 billion provided to states to fund water infrastructure over a two-year period."

The bill includes $6 billion for operations of national parks, national forests, national wildlife refugees and Bureau of Land Management lands -- an increase of $350 million, or 6 percent, over fiscal 2009.

Feinstein and Alexander both singled out the inclusion of $3.5 billion for fighting wildfires and reducing fire risks by the Forest Service and Interior Department as possibly sufficient to avoid future emergency requests.

That amount is an increase of $576 million, or 19 percent, above fiscal 2009 non-emergency funding levels. Feinstein said that amount should hopefully be enough to get through fiscal 2010 without emergency supplemental money.

The Indian Health Service received $4 billion, which is $449 million over fiscal 2009. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was assigned $2.6 billion for education and police activities. The Land and Water Conservation Fund for preserving parks, forests and wildlife refuges was given $419 million, an increase of $127 million over fiscal 2009.

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Energy secretary is surprised by nuclear disclosure

Michael Posner — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Energy Secretary Steven Chu conceded on Wednesday he was caught off guard by the unauthorized dissemination of "highly confidential" documents showing the whereabouts of stockpiles of nuclear weapons and fuel.

At a House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Chu acknowledged that he learned about Monday's release of "highly confidential material" on a Web site devoted to federal secrecy issues from media reports.

Chu said the online publication of 266 pages of information was "of great concern," and he planned to step up security measures to prevent terrorists from gaining access to nuclear materials. Chu said that "someone made a mistake, probably at the Government Printing Office." The material has since been withdrawn from a GPO Web site. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Wednesday asked GAO to investigate the release.

During the hearing Chu tried to put to rest any idea that Yucca Mountain might still become a storage facility for nuclear waste. "Yucca Mountain as a long-term repository is off the table," Chu said, despite the lack of alternative sites and the billions spent in studies. But Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee ranking member Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., criticized shuttering Yucca "irresponsibly" without alternatives. Chu said he plans to appoint a blue-ribbon panel to find alternatives.

The department budget includes $197 million to implement President Obama's termination of Yucca Mountain as a waste site and find other geological repositories. Chu also told the panel he expects to have 50 percent of the department's $38.7 billion economic stimulus allotment dispensed by Labor Day. Frelinghuysen also questioned how the United States could continue nuclear nonproliferation efforts without additional funding for the Energy Department.

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Postmaster defends compensation, wants help on deficits

Michael Posner — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Postmaster General John Potter deflected criticism Wednesday over his compensation package at a time when the nation's mail service is running billion-dollar deficits.

At a House Oversight and Government Reform Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia Subcommittee hearing, Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., asked Potter to justify his salary rate. "I was not imploring people for a pay raise," said Potter, who by law has a basic salary limited to 2 percent above the vice president's salary.

But perks push the total much higher. Potter's base salary is $263,575, with a $381,496 deferred pension and a $135,041 incentive bonus. Potter said other perks come to $77,347, including $66,000 in security costs that the he argued should not be a part of the package.

When Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., asked what he was being protected against, Potter said that the security detail was assigned after the 2001 anthrax attacks that targeted the postal system. He defended the bonus, which he said was based on his performance as the chief executive, high employee satisfaction and reduced accident rate.

Potter also denied receiving a "sweetheart" mortgage deal from Countrywide Financial Corp., which was a leading subprime mortgage lender before its sale to Bank of America. The Postal Service has hired an outside investigator to look into allegations Potter received 1 point shaved off a $322,700 mortgage loan and waived fees.

"I believe the terms of my loan were from a good credit history," Potter said. "There was no linkage to official acts."

Potter told the panel that the Postal Service's financial situation is deteriorating. Following a nearly $3 billion deficit in fiscal 2008, he said he expects a deficit of $6 billion this year. The Government Accountability Office testified that its updated analysis of the postal operations will show a record $6.4 billion net loss.

Potter appealed for congressional help, in particular to waive a prohibition that prevents imposition of five-day mail delivery. He also sought approval of a bill by Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., to save $2 billion annually in pre-paid future retiree health benefits.

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Postmaster General to face Congress over compensation

Michael Posner — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400

With the U.S. Postal Service headed for its third year with a multibillion-dollar deficit, Postmaster General John Potter will face tough questioning on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to explain the red ink as well as his compensation package.

As last week's outrage over the American International Group executive bonus fiasco remains fresh in members' minds, House Oversight and Government Reform Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia Subcommittee Chairman Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., promised to grill Potter, saying "the huge increase in pay for Mr. Potter is incongruent with the post office's recent performance."

The Postal Service, which is a semigovernment agency that has not received an operational subsidy from Congress since 1982, faces another massive deficit that Potter estimates will reach $6 billion in fiscal 2009.

This follows deficits of $2.8 billion in fiscal 2008 and $5.1 billion in fiscal 2007. The service last turned a profit of $900 million in fiscal 2006. Potter's $857,459 package in includes base compensation for fiscal 2008 listed at $263,575, according to Postal Regulatory Commission records with a $135,041 performance incentive bonus, deferred until he leaves office. His other compensation includes $77,347 in perks, including parking, life insurance premiums, airline clubs, spousal travel and security, plus his $381,496 pension.

Also deferred until he leaves office is accrued annual leave totaling more than $245,000, as of September 2008, which he will receive in a lump sum. He has been in office since June 2001.

The salary for Potter and four lower-level postal executives was approved by the U.S. Postal Service's Board of Governors in May 2007, retroactive to January 2007. It first came to light in January under a Freedom of Information Act request by a trade publication. The board boosted Potter's salary from $186,600 to $258,840 for fiscal 2007, but with deferred compensation and performance incentive pay his compensation came to more than $850,000 that year and remained the same for fiscal 2008. The pay increases for Potter and other top postal executives are a result of a 2006 Postal Reorganization Act approved by Congress that allowed increases in salary for top officers. Board of Governors Chairman Carolyn Gallagher and Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Dan Blair are also scheduled to appear before the subcommittee on Wednesday to explain the pay structure.

Potter told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Federal Financial Management Subcommittee in January the financial situation of the mail service is "grave." To save money, he is proposing cutting back six-day mail delivery to five days -- which would require congressional approval to delete a rider on appropriations bills requiring six-day mail service. The price of a first-class stamp is due to go from 42 to 44 cents in May and commercial mail rates are also scheduled to rise. To help reduce the deficit Potter wants Congress to end a structural requirement that it pre-fund health benefits of future retirees that he says will save $2 billion in fiscal 2009. Although Potter and other top executives have received big pay boosts, he told the Senate panel he has frozen all their pay to 2008 levels.

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Energy Department revises cost estimate for Yucca Mountain project

Michael Posner — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The Energy Department Tuesday put the cost of a long-standing plan to build a controversial nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada at more than $90 billion.

The figure is the first official estimate of the controversial project since 2001 when the cost of storing nuclear waste on the site was estimated at $58 billion.

And it includes about $9 billion already spent and covers about 100 years of operation at the site.

Ward Sproat, the Energy Department official in charge of Yucca Mountain, disclosed the new figure after a House subcommittee hearing on the site.

Sproat expected the exact figure and cost breakdowns will be given to Congress in the next few weeks.

Sproat told the House Energy and Commerce Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee funding for Yucca Mountain was inadequate. Assuming Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval, "the (Energy) Department could be ready to begin accepting spent nuclear fuel by 2020, but only if adequate funding is provided," he said.

Sproat estimated between $1.2 billion and $1.9 billion is needed for construction and operation, far below present appropriations.

Sproat called for a reform of the Nuclear Waste Fund, which has a balance of about $21 billion generated over the years by fees on electricity rate payers. Of the $750 million that goes into the fund annually, most goes into the Treasury for other purposes. He said the fund should be dedicated strictly for nuclear waste, which is what Congress originally intended.

Sprout said substantial progress has been made in restructuring Yucca Mountain program management, and major milestones have been met. These include submission last month of the license application for design and construction to the NRC. The commission has 90 days to review the application to determine whether it meets regulatory requirements.

If it passes muster, the NRC has up to four years for its formal license review for safety, design and construction.

"Nevada families are overwhelmingly opposed to our home state becoming this nation's nuclear garbage dump," said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., a witness before the House Energy and Commerce Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee. "Over the past 25 years, we have been fighting Yucca Mountain, Republicans and Democrats alike, for one simple reason: It's not safe."

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Panel votes to crack down on veterans' grave vandals

Michael Posner — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Without discussion, the committee approved the House-passed bill (H.R. 3480) on a voice vote for Senate consideration. The House approved the bill on May 21.

Metal grave markers are being stolen from the grave sites of veterans either as an act of vandalism or to get the metal to sell to scrap yards.

Incidents have occurred in Texas, Washington state and Michigan.

The measure would make such acts that occur to a veteran's grave in a federal or private cemetery a federal crime.

It would require the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review its guidelines and increase penalties for those convicted of crimes associated with "desecration, theft, or trafficking in, a grave marker, headstone, monument, or other object, intended to permanently mark a veteran's grave." It also states penalties should be "appropriately severe."

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Senator accuses FBI of retaliation against whistleblowers

Michael Posner — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, went before the House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Wednesday and accused the FBI of retaliating against those who criticize the agency's actions.

"Underneath all of the good things the FBI does, unfortunately, there is a history of abuse, mismanagement and retaliation so strong that it has become part of its organizational culture," Grassley testified. "Unfortunately, it is this culture that causes the FBI to confuse dissent with disloyalty."

Grassley's complaint was supported by testimony from two long-time FBI agents who said they suffered retaliation by being transferred to lesser jobs or becoming the target of minor internal probes.

Bassem Youssef, a 20-year FBI veteran who now heads the agency's Communications Analysis Unit, said he was transferred to a lesser job that failed to use his fluency in Arabic after he complained that less-qualified people were put into counterterrorism posts.

Youssef also reported improper use of some warrentless subpoenas issued through so-called national security letters. In 2006, the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility confirmed that the FBI retaliated against Youssef.

After Youssef's complaints, Grassley recounted, "he quickly became like most whistleblowers -- about as welcome as a skunk at a Sunday afternoon picnic."

Another witness, Michael German, was a 14-year FBI agent who left the agency to take a policy position with the American Civil Liberties Union in 2006.

He allegedly was retaliated against after revealing an improper wiretap into an alleged alliance between a Florida neo-Nazi group and an Islamic terrorist group.

After complaining, there was an internal investigation of German for alleged improper travel and misspending $50, which the ex-agent said he considered "a retaliatory investigation." He was cleared in that case.

"Neither our security nor our civil liberties are protected when incompetent FBI managers can so easily suppress evidence, falsify FBI records to cover up their misconduct and retaliate against agents who dare report the abuse," said German.

While Youssef talked about his past experience, he raised new concerns charging that the FBI, eight years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has an understaffed counterterrorism operation and not enough agents trained in Arabic.

Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott, D-Va., promised to work with Grassley on legislation that has been passed in different versions by the House and Senate to include FBI agents and other national security agents under a whistleblower protection law. The current law excludes them.

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Private tax collectors under fire by House appropriators

Michael Posner — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The IRS program of using private debt companies to collect unpaid taxes, which has cost more than the collectors have brought in, drew fire Tuesday from the House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

"The program allows private companies to collect unpaid taxes and to pocket up to 24 percent of the tax revenue they help to collect," said House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jose Serrano, D-N.Y. "This program should not be continued."

Despite that appeal by Serrano and Financial Services Subcommittee ranking member Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, new IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman deferred giving his opinion on the private collection program.

Explaining he has been on the job for only three weeks, Shulman said he understood the congressional concerns but needs more time to understand the program.

Regula wondered why the IRS could not conduct the same collections, saying there is "no magic" to it.

National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley called for beefing up the IRS workforce, noting there has been a steady decline for a decade even though more tax returns are being filed.

At the end of fiscal 2007, staffing was down to 86,638 from 90,115 from a year earlier. Even though the Bush fiscal 2009 budget calls for $11.4 billion, up from $11 billion Congress appropriated this year, she called it "insufficient and unrealistic" to meet customer service and enforcement.

The private collectors brought in $32 million in gross revenue in fiscal 2007, as compared to projections of $65 million. After commissions, the net revenue of the private collections was $20 million, Kelley said.

"After spending $71 million in start-up and ongoing maintenance costs through the end of fiscal 2007, the IRS private tax collection program lost more than $50 million," she said, citing Nina Olson, IRS national taxpayers advocate. Although Congress voiced opposition to the private program previously, it has failed so far to stop the practice, which involves only three collection agencies. Legislation to halt the program is pending now and has failed in the past.

On another matter, Shulman promised a "nonpolitical, nonpartisan agency" and said he would take a look at any improper electioneering by nonprofit groups. Overall, based on tax returns already filed, Shulman said it "looks like we're having a successful tax filing season."

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Intelligence officers call al Qaeda nuclear threat real

Michael Posner — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Two high-level government intelligence experts testified Wednesday that al Qaeda is intent on attacking the United States with a nuclear weapon but has not developed a nuclear device.

In a hearing, Charles Allen, chief intelligence officer for the Homeland Security Department, said there is no doubt that al Qaeda wants a nuclear weapon. But, he told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, "I do not believe that any terrorist organization currently has developed a nuclear device." He said, however, that this capability "could change drastically" with the recruitment of people with knowledge of nuclear materials and design.

His testimony was buttressed by Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, director of the office of intelligence and counterintelligence of the Energy Department. Before Sept. 11, 2001, he said, many in the intelligence community believed it was too hard for terrorists to develop a nuclear bomb.

"We should not, however, assume that the technology of a nuclear weapon is beyond the capability of a terrorist group," Mowatt-Larssen said. "A terrorist group needs only to produce a nuclear yield once to change history."

Both experts plan to testify before the committee later Wednesday to discuss classified material. "We do not yet know when and where they intend to strike us next," Mowatt-Larssen testified, "but past experience strongly suggests that they are seeking an attack more spectacular than 9/11."

Mowatt-Larssen said a global effort must be undertaken to get nuclear materials off the black market and stop global trafficking in them. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., summed up the testimony of both men as sobering.

Matthew Bunn, a nuclear exert at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, said that nuclear stockpile security in Russia "has improved dramatically in the past 15 years" but called for more global nuclear security. He too warned of the threat from a terrorist group.

"This is a real danger," he said. Homeland Security Department's Allen said any terrorist nuclear bomb would lack the sophistication of one developed by a country and be of unknown yield. But, he warned, "A nuclear device of any yield could produce thousands of casualties, significant damage to the infrastructure and render large areas uninhabitable."

Similarly, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Susan Collins of Maine supported that assessment, saying that a 10-kiloton nuclear device in Manhattan's Times Square at noon would result immediately in the loss of half a million lives.

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Congress pushes to make more information public

Michael Posner — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, are pushing legislation to make Congress' activities more transparent after winning support last year to set a deadline for federal agencies to respond to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act.

The two lawmakers are asking their colleagues to change the practice of slipping language into bills that would preclude the release of information to the public under FOIA.

In proposing the legislation, they have highlighted the little-known practice of Congress keeping information secret by writing exclusions to what can be revealed to the public through FOIA.

Often the congressional-written exemptions are tucked into fine print in the middle of complex bill language. An example cited by the Senate Judiciary Committee staff is an exemption in a consumer protection bill banning lead in toys that allows keeping some product information confidential if a foreign government requests it.

"Any material obtained from a foreign government agency, if the foreign government agency has requested confidential treatment, or has precluded such disclosure under other use limitations, as a condition of providing the material," the measure reads. Leahy and Cornyn said their bill would require lawmakers to "explicitly and clearly" state their intentions when they write in exemptions to FOIA.

The FOIA, first enacted in 1966, includes overall nine exemptions to what may be made public including national defense, foreign policy matters, internal agency personnel rules, trade secrets and law enforcement investigatory records.

The exemption targeted by the bill is that specifically excluded under congressional statutes. Leahy and Cornyn expressed some confidence their legislation will pass Congress even though a similar bill that cleared the Senate in 2005 was not taken up in the House.

This time, said Meredith Fuchs, legal counsel to the National Security Archive, "It's got a real good shot at passing."

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Coast Guard is pressed to meet security demands, GAO says

Michael Posner — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen acknowledged at a hearing of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee his service has "significant challenges."

GAO noted the Coast Guard has mounting anti-terrorist demands for vessel escorts, security patrols of infrastructure and inspection of maritime facilities at home and abroad as well as non-homeland security requirements.

"In several cases, the Coast Guard has not been able to keep up with these security demands in that it is not meeting its own requirements for vessel escorts and other security activities at some ports," said John Hutton, director of GAO's acquisition and management section, and Stephen Caldwell, GAO's director of homeland security and justice, in a joint report. The ports were not identified.

Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman David Price, D-N.C., praised the fiscal 2009 budget's extra $65 million that Congress approved last year for increased port security, environmental protection and marine safety. But he said money is not the only problem facing the Coast Guard, problems that include "financial management inertia," contract management problems, and the age of the fleet.

The Coast Guard's Deepwater Program, a fleet and aircraft modernization initiative, remains behind schedule.

"Our readiness is continually challenged by our reliance on outdated, rapidly aging assets, systems and shore infrastructure," Allen said.

In particular, Allen said he did not have the manpower and ships for protection of tankers arriving to fill liquefied natural gas terminals at various ports. "No, we do not have the resources" to inspect those terminals, Allen told Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.

The GAO officials also said Coast Guard units will need to significantly expand workloads to meet LNG security. Allen called for a national discussion for protection from other hazardous products, not just LNG.

Members of both parties praised Allen for Coast Guard achievements last year that included saving 5,000 lives and intercepting nearly $5 billion in cocaine.

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Justice nominee may get special two-month appointment

Michael Posner — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Federal Judge Mark Filip, nominee for deputy attorney general, may get a special two-month appointment so he can quickly get on the job while the Senate is on recess, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced Wednesday. At the confirmation hearing for Filip, 41, to replace former Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, Leahy, joined by Judiciary ranking member Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said an effort will be made for a special accommodation to get Filip to work because of the importance of the No. 2 position.

The Senate plans to be only in pro-forma sessions into late January to prevent President Bush from making recess appointments, so a full Senate confirmation vote on Filip is unlikely. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, agreed that a temporary appointment should be made but preferred an actual Senate confirmation if that could be worked out. Details of an appointment were not explained by Leahy who planned to meet privately with Specter to work out details presumably with the White House.

During the hearing, Filip weathered questions whether he viewed the harsh interrogation technique of waterboarding terrorist suspects as torture. Filip gave a response similar to that of Attorney General Mukasey during his confirmation hearing.

"Torture is prohibited by the Constitution," Filip said. "And the president is bound by the Constitution." Under questioning by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who said waterboarding has long been branded as torture, Filip said, "I personally consider waterboarding repugnant" but noted Mukasey is reviewing the question.

"I can't get out front of him" since the review is underway, he added. But on the job and after review, he said, "If I had a different view, I would tell him."

Judiciary Committee members told Filip they view the department as lacking credibility and independence from the White House since the nearly yearlong probe of the firings of U.S. attorneys allegedly for partisan reasons. They have been perturbed over the lack of cooperation from the administration on several oversight investigations.

Filip tried to assure the committee he believed the oversight responsibilities of Congress are broad and that he would accommodate investigations as long as they do not jeopardize criminal prosecutions. The Justice Department has been criticized recently for not cooperating with Leahy and Specter's requests for information about the CIA destruction of interrogation tapes.

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Panel OKs pay hike for federal judges

Michael Posner — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to give federal judges a 31 percent pay increase, a move denounced by a senior Republican as failing "the smell test."

The bill cleared on a 28-5 vote and moves to the full House for consideration.

Advocated by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts, the legislation was backed by Democrats and Republicans as needed, they said, to avoid losing judges to higher paying legal positions outside government.

Supporters of the pay raise said a U.S. district court judge's current $165,200 annual salary is less than what a law associate fresh out of law school receives in the first year with a New York law firm.

But Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said "a 31 percent increase -- it does not pass the smell test. ... Public service is its own reward."

The legislation, a compromise worked out by Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Judiciary ranking member Lamar Smith, R-Texas, would set up an annual cost-of-living schedule for judges.

The bill severs the long-time link between congressional pay raises and that of the federal judiciary that gave pay hikes to active and senior federal judges only when Congress raised its pay.

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VA Secretary nominee gets favorable Senate hearing

Michael Posner — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Retired Lt. Gen. James Peake, President Bush's nominee for Veterans Affairs secretary, breezed through a Senate confirmation hearing today with bipartisan support. Members of the Veterans' Affairs Committee praised Peake, 63, a highly decorated veteran with 38 years of Army service including time in Vietnam and two years as its surgeon general. They also told him his task ahead would be difficult if confirmed.

"You have a tremendous challenge facing you," Veteran Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, told Peake. "Indeed it may be one of the most daunting tasks in or out of government."

Akaka and other senators said returning Iraq war veterans have problems different from other veterans, including mental health difficulties. A significant number of returning veterans suffer from traumatic brain injuries, other wounds and post traumatic stress disorders, Akaka said.

In testimony, Peake said veterans' mental health issues may be his biggest challenge in the job.

"I appreciate the universal concern that PTSD and traumatic brain injury may be less apparent than some of the horrendous physical wounds that we see fresh from the battlefields," he said, adding that "PTSDs are real wounds of war and ought to be treated." He said PTSD and traumatic brain injuries "are likely to become the signature injury of this conflict."

Peake pledged to work on getting veterans health care claims adjusted faster. "A veteran should not need a lawyer to figure out what benefit is due, or get that benefit," Peake said. He also vowed to address problems with the transition of veterans from active duty to veteran status.

"I don't think you could have better prepared for this job if you had planned it," commented Veterans Affairs ranking member Richard Burr, R-N.C.

But Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told him "a strong resume is not enough." She called on Peake to have "the fortitude, the backbone, and the courage to stand up to the administration, to be honest and upfront about our veterans' current and future course."

Akaka criticized former Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson for not advocating more funding for the VA, but Peake promised to work for adequate funding. The committee has not set a date for a confirmation vote.

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America already is in a cyber war, analyst says

Michael Posner — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

A technology expert said Tuesday that the United States is in the midst of an active cyber war and is now implementing still-secret security plans for protection.

Andrew Palowitch, a former CIA official who is now an industry consultant to the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, peeled back a gauzy layer over the secret national cyber-security initiative that will be a blueprint for protection.

"We are currently in a cyber war and war is going on today," Palowitch said in a talk at Georgetown University's Center for Peace and Security Studies. He credited Gen. James (Hoss) Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with that assessment but said he agrees with it.

"America is under widespread attack in cyberspace," Palowitch said in citing Cartwright's statistics that there were 37,000 reported breaches of government and private systems in fiscal 2007. There were nearly 13,000 direct assaults on federal agencies then, and 80,000 attempted computer network attacks on Defense Department systems, he added.

Some of those assaults "reduced the U.S., military operational capabilities," Palowitch said. He never discussed who the enemy might be.

Palowitch spoke only in non-classified, general terms about the cyber-security initiative, a program conceived to protect government and private networks from cyber attacks. The program is slowly being implemented, he said, but its specific details may remain secret.

Responsibility for the initiative will rest with the Defense and Homeland Security departments. As part of the initiative, a U.S. Air Force cyber command was established in September. On Nov. 6, Homeland Security's cyber division received $115 million in reallocated funds.

And this month the White House Office of Management and Budget directed all agencies to reduce their total external connections so there is no more than 50 "trusted" Internet connections. Currently there are 1,300 avenues in all federal agencies for possible cyber terrorists.

As the cyber war continues, Palowitch said, a whole range of issues will have to be addressed, including legal, civil rights, policy and liability.

Besides being a defense consultant, Palowitch is the chief technology officer for Science Applications International Corp., a major designer of devices to protect computers and networks from attack.

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SBA program skewered by Senators on fraud oversight

Michael Posner — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

A massive fraud in a Small Business Administration loan program sparked stinging criticism Tuesday from senators who charged that SBA was lax in oversight to prevent abuses. The criticism came as the Senate Small Business Committee scrutinized a scheme involving $76 million in SBA-guaranteed loans made by Business Loan Express, also called BLX, one of SBA's 10 largest lenders.

Patrick Harrington, a former BLX vice president in the Troy, Mich., office and 18 others were arrested in a federal law enforcement sweep in January. Harrington, facing up to 10 years in prison, has pleaded guilty and is expected to be sentenced in January to one conspiracy count and another of lying to a federal grand jury. The alleged fraud, which could be the biggest in SBA history, involved faking the creditworthiness of would-be recipients of SBA-backed loans.

Senate Small Business Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., said SBA officials "need to explain how no one noticed or reported a high number of bad SBA loans coming out of one branch." But there were no clear answers to his concerns during the hearing.

Kerry also criticized a recent SBA inspector general's report on BLX because it was heavily redacted, including most recommendations for improvements. "The agency needs to improve its lender oversight and have more transparency in the process," Kerry said. He also called SBA's budget requests "unreasonable and insufficient" for staffing and oversight.

The budget, Kerry noted, went from almost $1 billion in fiscal 2002 to $600 million in fiscal 2006 while the loan portfolio doubled from 51,000 to 100,000 business loans. Small Business ranking member Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said she feared "escalating losses" in loans unless oversight is strengthened.

"Not enough is being done," she said. Similarly, Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., told SBA Administrator Steven Preston that he is "not satisfied the agency has conducted oversight and outreach" to various communities. Preston told the panel that oversight is being improved and that progress has been made in recent years, adding that he takes the BLX case very seriously.

Some of the strongest criticism came from SBA Inspector General Eric Thorson, who testified that BLX had a history of defaulted loans that had to be honored by the federal government.

"Quite simply, SBA did not hold the lender accountable for its performance problems," Thorson said, and he added that SBA "has been slow to develop its lender oversight program."

On the redactions in his BLX report, Thorson said that "I'm still having a hard time" understanding why his recommendations were excised. He said the SBA general counsel recommended the cuts, stating that public release could harm the agency. The general counsel, Frank Borchert, was not at the hearing, but Thorson said that he had great respect for him and that he went along with the redactions. "Although we do not necessarily agree with the reasons for the redactions, the safest path was to accept, for now, those redactions and post the report."

So far, BLX has repaid SBA $18 million of the $76 million in fraudulent loans and in his testimony BLX Chairman Robert Tannenhauser promised "to make the SBA whole for any losses" from fraud by current or former employees.

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Panel votes to limit Justice-White House communications

Michael Posner — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The legislation (S. 1845) cleared the panel for the Senate floor on a 14-2 roll call.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said some 800 people in the executive branch have the ability to contact the Justice Department. Some 40 people in the Justice Department, he said, had permission to discuss matters with the White House.

"The greatest hazard to the independence of the Justice Department is the White House," said Whitehouse, a former U.S. attorney.

The bill would limit to four White House positions -- the president, vice president, counsel to the president and counselor to the president -- authorization for communication regarding an ongoing civil or criminal investigation. Those in the Justice Department allowed to discuss ongoing investigations with the White House would be limited to the attorney general, deputy attorney general and associate attorney general.

The bill would permit other communications between White House and Justice Department officials about non-investigative matters including policy, appointments, legislation, rulemaking, budgets, and intergovernmental relations.

The committee bill was a substitute by Whitehouse that requires semi-annual reports by the Justice Department and White House to the House and Senate Judiciary committees disclosing the names of those communicating about an ongoing investigation.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the Whitehouse bill was an important step toward repairing the damage that has been done to the Justice Department in recent years. He said that there had been a "dramatically expanded" number of persons permitted to communicate over investigations under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

"We do not have to merely imagine the threat to the independence of law enforcement arising from those communications," Leahy said. "Our investigation revealed instances in which the department had been reduced to a political arm of the White House."

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Federal disaster management plan running into criticism

Michael Posner — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The broad-scale attacks on the National Response Framework put together by the Homeland Security Department and Federal Emergency Management Agency came at a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Economic Development Subcommittee.

"It is not rocket science and it does not have to be 800 pages long," said Robert Bohlmann of the International Association of Emergency Managers. "The draft NRF that we have reviewed appears to be more like a public relations document rather than a response plan or framework," Bohlmann told the panel.

The draft plan is an outgrowth of legislation approved by Congress last year to deal with the confusing layers of bureaucracy and other problems that arose after the storm.

As an example of his complaint, Bohlmann said, "there is no discussion of the role and responsibility of the FEMA administrator with respect to the president of the United States as Congress clearly delineated."

Similarly, Paul Stockton, senior research scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, said a key responsibility of the draft framework is to clarify the role and responsibilities in the federal emergency management structure.

"Unless revised, the framework will create new confusion over roles at the very top of the system, not only within DHS but also amongst the departments that must partner with FEMA and DHS for disaster response, and with state and local leaders whom the federal government will assist," Stockton said.

Economic Development Subcommittee Chairwoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said she was "deeply troubled that the critiques of the plan we are receiving go to the congressional mandate in the Post Katrina Act itself."

She suggested the Homeland Security Department "just doesn't get it, or does not want to get it."

FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison and Roger Rufe, director of the Office of Operations Coordination for the Homeland Security Department, defended the document. Paulison said the critics had not seen the latest version of the draft, but Norton said it was very close to the one distributed to emergency responders earlier this summer.

Paulison resented the attacks "of a general nature" and said specific concerns will be addressed after a 30-day public review and comment period.

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Bill to improve processing of FOIA requests advancing

Michael Posner — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Senate legislation -- sponsored by Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and passed by voice vote just before the chamber left for recess -- includes provisions to allow anyone who provides information to the public to seek waivers from fees for their requests. Such a provision would expand the fee waiver request from professional news organizations to freelance journalists and bloggers.

The bill also tightens the deadlines for agencies to respond to requests within 20 days, but gives agency headquarters, for example, 10 days to pass on information to the agency branch office receiving an FOIA request before the 20-day clock starts ticking. Records held by outside contractors hired by an agency would also be covered by FOIA.

The legislation would create an FOIA hotline service and tracking system to follow requests. In addition, an ombudsman agency, an Office of Government Information Services Office within the National Archives, would be established to resolve information request disputes as an alternative to court action.

The measure has widespread support, as evidenced by the pairing of Cornyn and Leahy. In a column this month for National Review, Cornyn wrote: "Far too often when citizens seek records from our government, they are met with long delays, denials and difficulty. Federal agencies can routinely and repeatedly deny requests for information with near impunity. Making the situation worse, requesters have few alternatives to lawsuits to appeal an agency's decision."

After the Senate passed the legislation, Leahy hailed it as "a fitting tribute to our bipartisan partnership and to openness, transparency and accountability in our government."

The House passed its own bill March 14, on a 308-117 vote. The House and Senate bills are similar but not identical. The House bill states that, in determining a representative of the news media, "an agency may not deny that status solely on the basis of the absence of institutional associations of the requester, but shall consider the prior publication history of the requester."

The Senate bill states, in part, "the term 'a representative of the news media' means any person or entity that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience."

Patrice McDermott, director of OpenTheGovernment.Org., a key government transparency proponent, said, "I'm sure it will get through Congress," adding, "I hope the president signs it."

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House subcommittee cracks down on Iraq war profiteering

Michael Posner — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Without debate, the House Judiciary Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security Subcommittee approved the bill (H.R. 400) on a voice vote and sent it to the parent committee for action. The Justice Department opposes the bill in its present construction, fearing it could hinder some prosecutions.

The legislation would make it a crime to overcharge taxpayers on contracts during a war or reconstruction. The felony would carry penalties up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $1 million or twice the amount of illegal profits, whichever is higher.

For making false statements in connection with contracts, this crime would carry prison sentences up to 10 years and fines up to $1 million or twice the illegal gains, whichever is higher.

Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott, D-Va., said in a statement that the bill sends a clear message that contracting fraud, whether it occurs in Iraq or elsewhere overseas for exorbitant gain is not only "unacceptable and reprehensible, it is illegal."

A companion bill has been drafted by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

There are numerous anti-fraud laws, but none specifically prohibits war profiteering or allows prosecution of cases outside U.S. jurisdiction. It was noted at a hearing earlier this year that a contractor was found guilty of numerous counts of fraud and fined $10 million but the case was overturned because the fraud statute did not apply overseas.

Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., said efforts will be made to change parts of the bill when it gets to the full committee. The Justice Department, he said, questions whether the bill would have unintended consequences, including hindering the government's ability to prosecute cases.

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Panel to seek contempt charges against Bolten, Miers

Michael Posner — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The vote put Congress and the White House on a head-on collision over whether a president can extend executive privilege to bar production of documents and testimony to present and former White House officials. On a party line 22-17 vote, the panel recommended the full House seek contempt charges against Bolten for refusing to turn over documents to the committee, and against Miers for refusing to appear or produce documents as directed by congressional subpoenas.

Republicans charge the probe is a "fishing expedition" with no evidence of wrongdoing by the White House to support the rare action of bringing contempt proceedings. Angry Democrats said it was "audacious" for Miers and Bolten not to cooperate even though President Bush has invoked executive privilege and prevented their testimony and release of White House e-mails and documents.

If the House votes to cite them for contempt, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia would have to decide whether to indict. But the White House has said that the prosecutor as an agent of the administration's Justice Department will not bring charges. Contempt of Congress is a misdemeanor subject to prison terms up to one year and fines up to $100 but it is considered a serious constitutional charge.

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said he was not launching the contempt proceedings lightly. While he said the president has power to fire U.S. attorneys, the issue is "whether any administration can terminate or retain such individuals in order to influence pending criminal investigations or influence an election."

Judiciary ranking member Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said the committee was wasting its time that could be spent on crime-fighting and other legislation. "While Democrats continue to play political games critical issues facing the American people are being neglected," Smith said.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., proposed the panel hold off on the contempt move and ask the House clerk to file a civil lawsuit to settle the issue of executive privilege. He said he feared the contempt citation case could lose in court and jeopardize future congressional efforts to gather information.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow slammed Democrats for what he deemed a waste of time and political theater that distracted lawmakers from working on legislation such as the appropriations bills. "The question is, 'Why are they doing this rather than the people's business?' " he said.

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