Political Quotes

“Let me conclude by saying these three Assistant Secretaries should remain Senate-confirmed, Presidential appointees. I ask my colleagues to support my amendment to ensure they remain Senate confirmable and subject to robust and much needed congressional oversight. Exhibit 1 DOD Feedback on Schumer-Alexander Bill (S. 679) (From DoD Comptroller Office) The Department of Defense believes that it would be appropriate to reduce the number of government positions subject to Senate confirmation. We therefore agree in principle with Senate Bill 679, which makes such reductions. We disagree, however, with the provision of S. 679 which eliminates Senate confirmation for the Assistant Secretaries (Financial Management and Comptroller) in the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. By downgrading these financial management positions, we believe that S. 679 will erode civilian control of the military with regard to resources. Each of the military departments manages huge amounts of federal dollars, ranging from $166 billion to $216 billion in FY 2012. These sums far exceed the funding for any non-defense federal agency. In the military services, these dollars are managed by the most senior military officers, and the Service Secretaries need to have a Senate-confirmed political appointee to provide appropriate civilian control. This legislation would be a significant step back from the landmark Goldwater-Nichols legislation, which sought to increase civilian control of the military.…”