On the recordFebruary 17, 2011
We've seen over the last 2 years under President Obama a very disturbing proliferation of czars, these unappointed, unaccountable people who are literally running a shadow government, heading up these little fiefdoms that nobody can really seem to identify where they are, what they are doing. But we do know that they're wielding vast amounts of power, many of them making six-figure salaries, and yet you can't find out exactly what they're doing. Yet you have got the separate Cabinet that's actually appointed, goes through the scrutiny of Senate confirmation, which is the process that is supposed to be followed for the people who make these kinds of high-level decisions. In fact, I support the ability of the President to organize his administration; and, of course, if you look at article II, section 2 of the Constitution, it lays out the process for having these types of appointments, and it requires Senate confirmation. Yet you've got this shadow government that literally, completely avoided the transparency and the accountability of that Senate scrutiny.
