 | 1992, 20 percent of the PAS positions were vacant, most filled by "acting" personnel, some, PASs-in-waiting anticipating their own confirmation, others, career deputies awaiting a new boss and acting as her or his surrogate in the meantime.
|
| 3.
Washington Post,
March 2, 1993.
|
| 4
. Baltimore Sun,
April 7, 1992.
|
| 5. Ibid.
|
| 6. "Cabinet government is dictatorship," as cabinet watchers are fond of saying. When a secretary leaves, the top political level is likely to go with her or him or be replaced by the next secretary who wants to bring in her or his own people. With the low tenure of secretaries an unfortunate given, secretary choice only increases political instability and mismanagement in the agencies.
|
| 7. See chapter 9 for additional discussion of hiring and firing PASs.
|
| 8.
Washington Post,
November 27, 1996.
|
| 9. See the reports of the Volcker Commission 1989; Twentieth Century Fund Task Force 1987; National Academy of Public Administration 1980, 1983, 1985, and 1988.
|
| 10. The history of the EOP has been one of continuous growth accompanied by calls to prune that growth, particularly since its misuse during Nixon's Watergate era. Even though the White House staff shrank by more than half between the Nixon administration and the end of the Carter administration and continued to decrease in the early 1980s, the recent upward trend has lingered. The White House staff numbered about 1866 in September 1992; political and career staff in the EOP have increased 20 percent since 1986, according to OPM. This, however, does not include the staff of OMB, CEA, or NSC. Taken altogether, they number close to five thousand, not counting detailees.
|
| There is also what is termed the "hidden White House budget" of nearly $720 million, in addition to the $280 million generally acknowledged. This comes from allocations in the budgets of the Defense Department, State Department, Coast Guard, FBI, Secret Service, National Archives, General Services Administration, and National Park Service. These agencies protect the president and vice president and their families, as well as international dignitaries; they manage diplomatic events, store presidential documents, and generally maintain the institution of the presidency.
Baltimore Sun,
December 19, 1992.
|
5
PAS Quality and Qualifications
|
| 1. See chapter 7 for comparable data on the Bush PASs.
|
| 2. The Council for Excellence in Government's
Prune Book
and
The 100 Toughest Technical and Scientific Jobs in Washington
do just that for a relatively small number of appointive positions.
|
|
