Government Executive - Authors - Michaela May

Convicted former procurement chief requests new trial

Michaela May — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0400

"[T]he e-mails remain hearsay since the truth or credibility of the matter asserted must be weighed by the jury," Safavian attorney Barbara Van Gelder wrote in papers filed Monday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Safavian, the former administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, was found guilty last month of three counts of making false statements to investigators and one count of obstruction of justice surrounding a golf trip to Scotland he and others, including Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, took with Abramoff in 2002.

In Safavian's trial, District Judge Paul Friedman allowed as evidence more than 200 e-mails between Abramoff and Safavian -- largely on the grounds that the documents either showed Abramoff's lobbying work, provided context for Safavian's statements, showed Safavian's state of mind or were evidence of a conspiracy.

"Lobbying is conducted through words," Friedman wrote in May to an earlier response to Safavian's request to exclude the e-mails as hearsay. "Whether the lobbyist is seeking favors for his client through oral or written communication, it is necessarily communication that constitutes the work -- unlike, say, carpentry work which could involve the physical swinging of a hammer, or drug dealing work which involves the physical exchange of drugs for money."

Friedman instructed jurors to view certain e-mails only in light of what they showed about Safavian's state of mind or motives to make false statements or obstruct investigations.

In her motion filed Monday, Van Gelder objected to the "work" exemption. She wrote federal evidence rules do not exempt "work" from hearsay rules because a juror cannot determine whether an e-mail constitutes "work" -- rather than "leisure" or "friendship" -- without evaluating the truth of statements made.

Jurors, she argued, would have been unable to consider e-mails within the narrow constraints Friedman had ordered.

Van Gelder also labeled "hearsay within hearsay" an advisory opinion issued by a General Services Administration ethics officer clearing the way for Safavian, then GSA's chief of staff, for the golf trip based on Safavian's statements that Abramoff was not seeking to do business with GSA. The e-mails showed, among other things, that Abramoff sought Safavian's assistance in obtaining government-owned property for a school.

Also Monday, Van Gelder submitted a request to dismiss the jury's guilty verdict, arguing federal prosecutors had failed to prove their case.

Justice Department officials have until July 31 to respond to the motions.

A hearing is planned for Aug. 24. Sentencing is set for October.

]]>

Industry seeks to avoid patchwork of chemical security standards

Michaela May — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0400

"We need to make sure that we don't have a patchwork of standards at the state level," Marty Durbin, director of federal affairs for the American Chemistry Council, told a House Homeland Security subcommittee.

Durbin suggested the legislation be amended to use pre-emption language in the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, where state laws are pre-empted unless they are "substantively the same as" federal law.

The bill, introduced by Homeland Security Economic Security Subcommittee Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., would pre-empt only laws that "frustrate" federal regulation and allows those that do not conflict with federal law to remain in place.

Although it was not discussed at Thursday's hearing, legislation introduced by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, also would leave state laws intact if they do not conflict with federal law, without addressing those that might "frustrate" federal regulation.

Lungren introduced his bill Wednesday. It would give the Homeland Security Department oversight of the nation's estimated 15,000 chemical plants, with the authority to rank and assess those plants based on risk.

But while Durbin argued for greater federal pre-emption of state laws, Philip Crowley, senior fellow and director of national defense and homeland security at the Center for American Progress, warned against it. "Federal action should strengthen security floors, not create ceilings," he said.

Lungren's bill appeared to have the support of committee Democrats, including Homeland Security ranking member Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Economic Security Subcommittee Chairwoman Loretta Sanchez of California. "Frankly, I think this legislation is long overdue," said Sanchez.

Neither Collins' nor Lungren's bills mandate the use of "inherently safer technologies" -- an omission that previously drew the ire of Senate Democrats.

The chemical industry has lobbied heavily against the mandatory use of such alternatives, which could include transporting chlorine in liquid bleach form, rather than gas.

Scott Berger, director of the Center for Chemical Process Safety, told lawmakers his group "generally support[s] this measure as written" but also expressed reservations about mandating safer technologies. Those tools, he said, "remain relatively primitive."

"The business of chemistry has long embraced inherently safe approaches," Durbin said, but added that requiring them could stifle innovation.

He added that the industry is already taking steps to improve security, and warned that a too-stringent federal approach could hamper those efforts.

Instead of mandating safer technologies, the Lungren and Collins bills would allow those plants that adopt such approaches to be labeled a lower risk by the Homeland Security Department.

Crowley warned that the Lungren bill leaves it unclear whether the Homeland Security Department would regulate the transportation of potentially hazardous chemicals. "We must take into account the entire system, not just its components," he said.

Crowley told lawmakers that chemicals shipped by rail through and near major cities, including Washington, represent a prime target for terrorists. "Why should we give al Qaida another opportunity?" he said.

New York state Sen. Michael Balboni -- a Republican who authored chemical legislation in his state that he said mirrors Lungren's bill -- said federal legislation would give New York's law "teeth."

Balboni applauded Lungren's bill for including penalties for noncompliance -- an approach he advocated in the state legislature but that ultimately failed. The House and Senate bills include similar penalties.

Whistleblower protections also are included in the House and Senate bills. "Sometimes your best eyes and ears are in the facility itself," Balboni said.

He also warned that "the specter of a Bhopal-like incident" looms, referring to the accidental release of 40 tons of a pesticide from a Union Carbide plant in India that killed thousands of individuals and injured hundreds of thousands more.

"You can't have a patchwork of laws; you need to have the consistency and continuity," Balboni said.

]]>

Winners in 2005 base closing round celebrate gains

Michaela May — Fri, 27 May 2005 00:00:00 -0400

Maryland stands to add more jobs than any other state, but unlike other potentially large beneficiaries, those gains are mostly civilian and contractor, rather than military, jobs. The state stands to lose 1,570 military jobs, while adding 9,012 civilian and 1,851 contractor jobs.

Fort Meade, located in the district of Democratic Rep. C.A. (Dutch) Ruppersberger, accounts for more than half of Maryland's potential job gains from this BRAC round. Ruppersberger, along with Democratic Rep. Benjamin Cardin, whose district is home to many Fort Meade employees, met with business leaders from Anne Arundel County soon after the recommendations were announced.

Business leaders expressed concern about the added stress on area infrastructure, especially roads, and said that planning for the influx is key, a spokeswoman for Ruppersberger said.

President Bush's home state of Texas also expects large gains. There, Fort Bliss, located in the district of Democratic Rep. Silvestre Reyes, stands to gain 11,501 jobs -- more than any other base, with the exception of Virginia's Fort Belvoir.

Fort Belvoir is located in the districts of Democratic Rep. James Moran and House Government Reform Chairman Davis, and is slated to gain 11,858 jobs.

In all, 22 states stand to gain from this BRAC round. Nationwide, the recommendations would cut more than 18,000 civilian jobs and nearly 11,000 military jobs, while adding nearly 3,000 contractor positions.

Since contractors shoulder the burden of their employees' benefits, adding those jobs rather than hiring civilians can save the military money.

]]>

Transportation agency chiefs support homeland consolidation

Michaela May — Tue, 09 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

John Magaw, head of the Transportation Security Administration, said he fully supports the plan under H.R. 5005 and called the initiative "a logical consolidation of government resources" and said the new homeland secretary must have the authority to relocate resources as needed.

"The reorganization will bring unity of effort, unity of command," Adm. Thomas Collins, Coast Guard commandant, told the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Although expected to attend, Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joseph Allbaugh was not present at the oversight hearing.

Representatives expressed concern for the health of non-security functions within agencies, and asked whether they would wane under the homeland-security umbrella. Witnesses, however, were uneasy about separating functions, arguing that security concerns are endemic to customs as well as border control.

Trade and security are "interlinked," said Customs Service Commissioner Robert Bonner, who added that homeland security must not cripple trade. "It would be unwise to try to separate these two functions," Bonner said. "If you want maximum security, just shut [the borders] down."

Rep. Mark Green, R-Wisc., asked Collins whether the Coast Guard's responsibility for port safety would be compromised if the agency is included in the new department. Collins told the lawmaker that attention to maritime security would relieve local stations, and new and maintained equipment would enhance the agency's resources, improving interoperability.

Representatives also raised concerns over the Secret Service's non-security functions, including control over white-collar crime. Identity theft, counterfeiting and cybersecurity are among the agency's diverse concerns, said Brian Stafford, Secret Service director. Stafford said that in the 1990s, the agency realized that "technology-based crime was [characterizing] everything we did."

"It is clear the Department of Homeland Security will be built on the pillars of protection and prevention," said Stafford, adding that homeland security is his agency's "mantra."

Bonner discussed agreements with other countries, including Singapore, that allow cargo to be pre-screened before arriving in the United States, and said he foresees expanding such relations. "Our physical border is the last line of defense," Bonner said.

Magaw said the new Homeland Security Department would have to examine its information technology (IT) needs and structure. For effective communication between agencies within the department, Magaw said the right technology is needed to link up databases, and added that Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has emphasized the need for evaluation of the new department's IT capabilities. "I think it will be carried forth in a very robust way," Magaw said.

Witnesses all promoted their departments' security initiatives instituted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"The president is taking the next logical step, the necessary change," Collins said.

]]>