The two Senators, usually closely in synch, clash on cyber coordinator, DHS management
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has a reputation, earned or not, for being a more conservative member of the Democratic Party caucus in the US Senate. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has a reputation for being a more liberal member of the Republican Party.
It is perhaps not so surprising then that their tenure as the leadership of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has been marked with extraordinary bipartisanship as the two have shepherded major legislation such as the Weapons of Mass Destruction Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2009 (S. 1649) and the Implementing the Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act (Public Law 110-53) through their committee. (Collins chaired the committee from 2005-2007 and Lieberman since that time.)
So their sharp disagreements over the past week on homeland security issues--themselves usually a source of bipartisan consensus--does come as something of a surprise.
Most recently, Lieberman made a cybersecurity policy speech on Oct. 30 at the US Chamber of Commerce, where he endorsed the creation of a cyber coordinator in the White House.
"I believe we need to establish a cyber security coordinator within the Executive Office of the President," Lieberman declared during the speech.
"This would be a Senate-confirmed official, accountable to Congress who would coordinate cyber security activities across all federal agencies, provide strategic leadership, and guidance to the President and have necessary authority and resources to make change as needed," he continued. "This individual would develop a true national cyber security strategy and ensure that each agency's operational activities are in line with that vision."
Lieberman explained that a cyber coordinator is particularly necessary to digest the classified work carried out by the US Department of Defense and intelligence agencies are applied to the work of other federal domestic agencies. The White House is the only place where a single authority could coordinate this kind of work across the breadth of the federal government, Lieberman asserted.
But Collins opposes the appointment of a cyber coordinated, arguing that it amounts to a policy "czar" who generally do not go through Senate confirmation, carry vaguely defined authorities, do not air their plans in public, possess undefined relationships with Cabinet officials, and how rarely testify before Congress.
Collins protested an excess of czars in the Obama administration Oct. 23, releasing a list of 18 czars named or awaiting in policy areas ranging from border security to cybersecurity.
"The proliferation of 'czars' diminishes the ability of Congress to conduct its oversight responsibilities and to hold officials accountable for their actions," Collins lamented. "These 'czars' can create confusion about which officials are responsible for various policy decisions. They can duplicate or dilute the statutory authority and responsibilities that Congress has conferred on Cabinet officers and other senior executive branch officials.
"And, they can circumvent the constitutionally mandated process of 'advice and consent.' Czars can exercise considerable power and influence over major policy issues, and yet, they are not required to clear the rigorous Senate confirmation process. Czars bypass this important Constitutional protection through a unilateral grant of authority from the President," she concluded.
Lieberman emphasized that his upcoming cybersecurity legislation would require the cyber coordinator to receive Senate confirmation and that he hoped to address Collins' other concerns prior to introducing his bill.
Management concerns
The two clashed yet again on Oct. 28, when their committee voted to confirm the nomination of Rafael Borras to become undersecretary of Homeland Security for Management.
The nomination passed the committee, 7-3, with Lieberman supporting the nomination and Collins opposing it.
"Mr. Borras has 27 years of public and private sector management experience and has held positions with responsibilities similar to those held by the DHS undersecretary for Management," Lieberman said in a statement after the vote. "I fully support his nomination and urge my colleagues to do the same when he comes before the full Senate."
But Collins strongly disagreed with Lieberman, saying that Borras held positions nothing at all like the undersecretary for Management.
A new Management undersecretary must oversee policies for more than 200,000 employees at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in addition to a budget of $50 billion annually (for the total department), Collins asserted. DHS faces unparelled management challenges in its fight against terrorism, she said.
So tremendous are DHS responsibilities and so precarious are its grasp on them that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) placed DHS transformation on its "high-risk list," Collins stated.
"For all those reasons, the Under Secretary must have extensive executive leadership abilities and a track record of management successes," she protested in an Oct. 28 statement. "That is precisely why two years ago our committee worked to elevate the undersecretary for Management, the person responsible for integrating the management functions at DHS, to the level of deputy secretary. The undersecretary now serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary on the management of the Department and is responsible for continuing to integrate the organization."
Borras lacks the significant leadership experience required by law to serve as the undersecretary for Management under these conditions, Collins argued.
As a vice president of the URS Corp., headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., Borras manages only about 100 people, Collins noted. Borras lacks the significant government experience of managing complex organizations of his would-be predecessors in the DHS undersectary position, she added.
Collins also condemned repeated significant tax errors on Borras' 2005 and 2006 income tax returns that demonstrate "a lack of attention of detail and a pattern of carelessness."
URS is a DHS contractor in a number of disciplines, including training and exercises, asset management, technical assistance in disaster response, and weapons of mass destruction mitigation, as well as other areas.
Although these disagreements are unlikely to become the beginning of the end of the close working relationship between Lieberman and Collins, they do demonstrate differences in opinion on the leadership DHS should show in specific areas under its responsibility.
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