Top Scientist Rails Against Hirings, Bush Appointees Land Career Jobs Without Technical Backgrounds

[DogPoundPup]

Source: Washington Post

The president of the nation's largest general science organization yesterday sharply criticized recent cases of Bush administration political appointees gaining permanent federal jobs with responsibility for making or administering scientific policies, saying the result would be "to leave wreckage behind."

"It's ludicrous to have people who do not have a scientific background, who are not trained and skilled in the ways of science, make decisions that involve resources, that involve facilities in the scientific infrastructure," said James McCarthy, a Harvard University oceanographer who is president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "You'd just like to think people have more respect for the institution of government than to leave wreckage behind with these appointments."

His comments came as several new examples surfaced of political appointees gaining coveted, high-level civil service positions as the administration winds down. The White House has said repeatedly that all gained their new posts in an open, competitive process, but congressional Democrats and others questioned why political appointees had won out over qualified federal career employees.

In one recent example, Todd Harding -- a 30-year-old political appointee at the Energy Department -- applied for and won a post this month at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There, he told colleagues in a Nov. 12 e-mail, he will work on "space-based science using satellites for geostationary and meteorological data." Harding earned a bachelor's degree in government from Kentucky's Centre College, where he also chaired the Kentucky Federation of College Republicans.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/21/AR2008112103359.html?nav=rss_politics/administration

[midnight]

1. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Should not ..........

"leave wreckage behind with these appointments."

[opihimoimoi]

2. TRICKLE DOWN CRONIES...a BUSH LEGACY

repeat it after me....lol

[Stellabella]

3. President Obama's team needs to look into ALL staffing

and get rid of the underqualified Bush and Cheney cronies. ASAP.

[Cobalt-60]

34. Hand them a broom.

Or send them to New Orleans with a shovel.
We might be stuck paying them for a while.
But their hands can be removed from the controls immediately.

[The Wielding Truth]

47. If they are permanent positions, can they fire them?

[The Wielding Truth]

48. Okay.I found the answer in post #13.

[The Wizard]

49. Surely the new Administration

can find positions for them in Leavenworth.

[KakistocracyHater]

4. well college neocons did so well in Iraq

they're burrowing in to sabotage those areas, the pattern for the last 8 years is clear enough-loyal Bushies not qualified put into powerful positions, they'll do a heck of a job. Unless all those 'ticks' get pulled....

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. As a scientist, I've found the last 8 years profoundly depressing as the flat earth administration

did its deeds. I am so hopeful that Obama and his administration can pull the weeds out that the seeds of Bush sowed. If we can't back on to an intellectual tract in this country, I hate to think of what will happen.

[tclambert]

11. It's part of Bush's War on Science,

which is a part of his larger War on Reality.

[jpak]

23. NSF funding for oceanography and polar science evaporated under Bush.

>90% of the proposals do NOT get funded.

I know people that received all "excellents" on their panel reviews - and were told to "revise and resubmit".

WTF

[Dr.Phool]

6. Sounds like the Coalition Provisional Authority is alive and well.

In Washington DC.

[young_at_heart]

7. Bush is such a good Christian and really loves his country

That is the argument we've heard for years----this is just one more nail in the coffin of that stupid statement!

[Doctor_J]

8. The guy in charge of NASA when Challenger blew up was a Reagan crony

who had never worked in aerospace before. Repukes don't even care if people die as long as party hacks get plums.

[Gator_Matt]

9. And I thought being fresh off a PhD would have been ludicrous enough for getting these jobs...

I just wrapped up my PhD, and I've been coveting these jobs. I figured law school would be ideal to give me a realistic chance of landing one. To see woefully unqualified dilettantes getting these jobs is disgraceful. Surely there is something Obama and/or Congress can do to flush them out.

[vademocrat]

30. "...where he also chaired the Kentucky Federation of College Republicans"

Guess you joined the wrong clubs...

Those crooks talked about "the American people, Country First" etc, etc, when all they've done is reward their friends and spy on their enemies...

I can't wait for January 20, 2009!

[madrchsod]

10. there is no such thing as a permanent federal job.....

well you may have a desk or maybe an office but you will have nothing to do. of course your dept might be eliminated or consolidated...nothing is "permanent" in washington dc

an example
friend of mine team worked on a project for the federal government. they went to work everyday ,received their paycheck each week but they had nothing to do because no one ordered any equipment to do their assignment. the field/project they were working in may not have been "politically correct"

[fujiyama]

12. Ah Bush's lasting legacy

The festering stink lives on long after he's gone.

Is there a way to clean house all over government? This is sickening. I heard about this politicizing with NASA. I'm not surprised it's all throughout.

Plenty of Monica Goodings getting their degrees with theocratic institutions like Bob Jones, Liberty University, etc.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. As Civil Service, they have a 1 year probation

where they can be fired for whatever reason. Obama needs staff in these critical Departments and agencies to weed these folks out before the year is up. And even then, the 1st 3 years under Civil Service is "Career Conditional" (meaning 1st to go if there are RIFs).

[Metta]

18. Comforting to know. Happy karma, George.

Hard to keep the Buddha in mind when he acts outs.

[mrs_p]

14. as a scientist myself,

and one married to a wildlife biologist, this pisses me so off. there are many qualified scientists out there who can't get a job b/c no one seems to be hiring. and the worse part is, this asshole will be able to keep his job no matter how much he sucks (and if he is trying to work ArcView programs with no experience, suck he will!!!)

[D-Lee]

15. This link gives the APPLICABLE LAW and RULES, plus the REVIEW STRUCTURE

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34722.pdf

It's a report from the official Congressional Research Service and the comments start on page 24 through page 28 (using the page navigation at the top of the screen).

At page 28 are listed some of the actions Congress could take in relation to "burrowing in."

A GAO audit for this type of switch in status from 2001-2005 (page 27) found about 25% of the appointments to civil service facially flawed. It could be projected that a higher rate of defects would be found when appointees are threatened with actual loss of employment.

After all, these folks helped create such a terrific employment market! (sarcasm)

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. Oh, Damn! I should have read the replies before posting.

Thanks.

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. Here are some quotes:

Some individuals, who are serving in appointed (noncareer) positions in the
executive branch, convert to career positions in the competitive service, the Senior
Executive Service (SES), or the excepted service.78 This practice, commonly referred
to as “burrowing in,” is permissible when laws and regulations governing career
appointments are followed. While such conversions may occur at any time,
frequently they do so during the transition period when one Administration is
preparing to leave office and another Administration is preparing to assume office.

There may be a loophole in this footnote:

78 Appointments to career competitive service positions include requirements for approved
qualification standards, public announcement of job vacancies, rating of applicants, and
completion of a probationary period and three years of continuous service; career SES
positions include review by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and certification
of a candidate’s ability by a Qualifications Review Board; and career excepted service
positions allow agencies to establish their own hiring procedures, but require those systems
to conform to merit system principles and veterans preference.

More:

Generally, these appointees were selected noncompetitively...Career employees, on the other
hand, are to be selected on the basis of merit and without political influence
following a process that is to be fair and open in evaluating their knowledge, skills,
and experience against that of other applicants. The tenure of noncareer and career
employees also differs....

This encapsulates the concerns:

Beyond the fundamental concern that the conversion of an individual from an
appointed (noncareer) position to a career position may not have followed the legal
and regulatory requirements, “burrowing in” raises other concerns. When the
practice occurs, there may be these perceptions (whether valid or not): that an
appointee converting to a career position may limit the opportunity for other
employees (who were competitively selected for their career positions, following
examination of their knowledge, skills, and experience) to be promoted into another
career position with greater responsibility and pay; or that the individual who is
converted to a career position may seek to undermine the work of the new
Administration whose policies may be at odds with those that he or she espoused
when serving in the appointed capacity. Both perceptions may increase the tension
between noncareer and career staff, thereby hindering the effective operation of
government at a time when the desirability of creating “common ground”

That's a start.

[The Backlash Cometh]

16. Time to get our heads together.

Who has the rules regarding Civil Servants? Can you print them here? We need to start looking for loopholes.

[Alcibiades]

24. It's not even a loophole

They can be fired. Even if, for some reason, the Obama folks choose not to fire them, they can be reassigned.

[HopeHoops]

19. Hey, Bush became president with absolutely no relevant experience for the job.

Well, unless you consider "Beer Bong Champion" a relevant title.

[all.of.me]

20. That is downright frightening.

I loved the comment above about trickle down cronyism. lol Perfect wording!

[Robb]

21. Transition team on top of it:

"I believe it's unethical to do this. Clearly the people voted for change," Boxer said. She said she had discussed the issue with members of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, adding: "They are on top of it."

[Overseas]

41. Glad to hear it. I hope those unqualified people are dismissed.

So happy the Transition Team is on top of it.

I also hope the petition to deny Bush the power to pardon criminals from his own administration succeeds.

[Turbineguy]

25. The cost is not their salaries

the cost is what damage they do. Pay them their salaries and keep them out of the process. It's just baggage left over from the Bush Administration. It's peanuts compared to what Bush has already cost and will continue to cost in interest payments.

[GinaMaria]

37. Could their salaries be cut in the interest of budget

in the new year making it not worth thier while to accept pay that is below a living wage? That's one way to get these hateful bastards out.

[Turbineguy]

42. I don't know.

Salaries are pretty much set based on rank and time in service. Of course the cost of benefits go in too.

[Gman]

26. No doubt his purpose there is to reestablish geocentric science

He no doubt aims to discredit Galileo and Copernicus.

[fascisthunter]

27. It Shows Their Contempt for this Government and This Country

and it exposes how corrupt, and ideological fanatical they have been. Very dangerous and very similar to other totalitarian leaders and governments.

The very assholes that tout "Freedom", "Liberty" are the ones who are willing to crush it for all others except for their ideological cult memebers.

That's you Freeper...

[Phred42]

28. Obama MUST fumigate all level of Government

Sorry - no such thing as lifetime appointments (except for the Supremes)

[formercia]

29. The right-wing think tanks must be short on funding

since their corporate masters have been going belly-up in droves. Soon, there will be no place for them to hide.

[Doremus]

31. These crooks have been burrowing into our agencies for years.

They are even creating civil service positions for these partisan hacks. It will take a concerted effort to find them all. Many will be virtually untouchable but they can be marginalized. All of this will take time and effort that could have been focused on more productive activities. Spit.

[Uncle Joe]

32. I'm sure those Brownies will do a heckuva job. n/t

[Lionel Mandrake]

33. That quote reveals Todd Harding's ignorance.

He said he will work on "space-based science using satellites for geostationary and meteorological data."

But "geostationary" is a type of orbit, not a type of data.

Todd Harding is an ignoramus.

[valerief]

39. But, but he's got a bachelor's degree. Just like Sarah Palin. nt

[Career Prole]

35. Time to call Roto-Rooter. n/t

[GinaMaria]

36. Their contempt for the American people and the

American way of life is sickening. Their goal was to cripple us financially, through corrupt and inept government, by appointments that would undermine the very areas they are supposed to serve and support. Does this sound like treason to anyone else? This isn't just a matter of electing someone too stupid to do the job. These are deliberate actions meant to take down our government. They have cut us off at the knees and still are not satisfied. When will we be free of these parasites?

[valerief]

38. President Obama, Please fire the morons. Yours Truly, A Citizen. nt

[Loki]

40. It's time to shun them

make them so friendless and miserable in their jobs, they resign.

[GentryDixon]

43. Don't all Civil Service hires need to pass

The 90 day probationary period before being considered career employees?

[Plutonium]

51. One year probation for all hires

That's the standard for all federal hires. You can be fired for any reason whatsoever. In fact, I believe that supervisors must sign off at the 1 year mark to keep you on the books. Where I work, I've only heard of one person not being kept on beyond 1 year and only two others actually fired. (It took about a year to fire one and 6 months for the other. For the latter, he stayed home for something like 4 months with pay before he was finally terminated. And that was because he didn't even bother fighting the dismissal.) This is out of a group of roughly 400 people (which is only a minor subset of the agency employee total).

[MrScorpio]

44. Obama needs to trim government fat

Last hired, first fired

[tabasco]

45. Bush has packed every corner of our government and military with "heckuva job" idiots.

Every one of them should be eliminated.

[diva77]

46. The wreckage includes elections officials at county and state level around the US

even tho' they weren't appointed by Bush -- they carry out the agenda; beware of upcoming elections!! And while I'm at it, I hope that the Dept. of Homeland Security gets a thorough and unadulterated audit. Maybe some of their funding has been going toward controlling branches of gov't such as county elections and SOS that carry out the Bush-Cheney-Rove agenda.

[benld74]

50. NO MORE POLITICAL APPOINTEES!!!!

I have expressed my opinion on this subject time and time again whenever it rears its ugly head. THIS HAS TO STOP, NO MATTER THE ADMINISTRATION!!
NO MORE POITICAL APPOINTEES.
ALL they do is get in the way in order to get the current administrations objectives worked on. NO MATTER that the agency they are in is woefully understaffed and overworked.
The LEAST Congress can do is to STOP the burrowing in positions that could be filled with a qualified individual!

[Plutonium]

52. Todd Harding is just one of many

At this agency (DOE), Todd ended up with an enviable vita because of the boss he worked for (an Under Secretary). You could do nothing more than keep the boss's coffee cup full and have an entry for your resume that would top that of just about any other job seeker. In federal employment, it's not just what you do but also who you work for that matters. Imagine doing nothing more than taking notes for your high-level boss. You'd be introduced to so many other high level folks that you could put down "interacted with all of the federal agency heads on a routine basis, attending major meetings and maintained follow up communications relevant to significant agency mission matters." Sounds good, eh? Then all you have to do is work on a campaign, end up getting assigned a routine schedule C job as your reward, guard the door to your boss from any other high level career managers, and you control the area (and our boss). You become the god that everyone has to bow down to in order for them to get their own work down. It is no longer a matter of what's right for the country -- it becomes what's going to work right for you. Going from a hack bachelor's degree to a snazzy NOAA job with no scientific training -- what better proof of what I just said? I can't help but think his boss asked for (and got) the help of some high level political at NOAA to get the job. But then again: his resume has got to look great after 8 years of working for someone who is like number 4 or 5 at a major agency.