On March 2, 2011, Partnership President and CEO Max Stier testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on streamlining the nominations process. In his testimony, Stier praised the Senate and its bipartisan working group for taking steps to reduce the number of political appointees requiring Senate confirmation. Beyond that, Stier encouraged the Senate to set goals for the incoming administration to get nominees’ paperwork in to the relevant committees so the Senate can vote on top administration officials at the beginning of the Congressional session. Stier also advocated for converting select political appointments to career positions and capping the number of political appointees at each agency instead of just across government.
This memorandum, sent to President Bush’s White House Counsel Fred Fielding, details four major problems that limit the efficiency of the appointments process and recommendations to address those problems. It was authored, written by the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers on behalf of the Partnership for Public Service.
The General Accountability Office (GAO) obtained information on the periods of service for persons appointed by the president to federal executive schedule positions with the advice and consent of the Senate during a recent 10-year period.