The Hill News

This week, a bipartisan group of Senators unveiled a plan to reduce the number of Senate confirmed slots by 200, and to make an additional 250 slots subject to an expedited confirmation process. These reforms are badly needed, as the length of the process for filling these so-called PAS slots â€" presidentially-appointed, Senate confirmed officials â€"  has ballooned in recent years. The rule of thumb for White House staffers who handle these nominations is that the process for officials below the rank of secretary is about six months. For comparative purposes, the average time from announcement to swearing in during the Kennedy administration was two and a half months.

This lengthy process often leaves key posts empty for months or even years, and is an assault on both presidential effectiveness and orderly government. Furthermore, such vacancies can have serious consequences. When a swine-flu outbreak occurred in April of 2009, President Obama did not have! a single confirmed HHS appointee in place, from the secretary on down â€" a leadership vacuum that could have been devastating had the outbreak been more severe.

Read more...