Political Quotes

“I rise to support a bill offered by my good friend Senator Voinovich to treat the appointment of the chief Human Capital Officer, CHCO, at the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, the same as all other CHCO appointments. As part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Congress established CHCOs at Federal agencies to improve workforce planning so agencies could better meet their omissions. Agencies were given the discretion whether to designate the position as a political appointment or career civil servant. However, the act required the CHCO at DHS to be a political appointee nominated by the President. Where most agencies can select political or career positions without having to go through an external source, DHS has to go outside its walls to have the President select a person for this position. Throughout the Federal Government, the mix of political and career CHCOs is almost equal. The important factor is that each agency has the discretion to choose whether the CHCO position best fits into the framework of the agency and its human capital strategy as a political or civilian employee. DHS by statute does not have this flexibility. As such, we believe that DHS should be treated like all other Federal agencies and have the discretion whether to make the position a political or career civil service job. Our bill would make the requirements for the CHCO position uniform for all agencies. DHS has faced many management challenges and integration issues.”