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PANEL ON ENSURING THE BEST SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS
MARY L. GOOD (Chair), Dean,
Donaghey College of Information Science and University of Arkansas at Little Rock and
Managing Member,
Venture Capital Investors, Little Rock
D. ALLAN BROMLEY, Sterling Professor of the Sciences and Dean of Engineering,
W. Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
E. EDWARD DAVID, President,
EED, Inc., Bedminster, New Jersey
JOHN H. GIBBONS, Special Advisor,
US Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs, The Plains, Virginia
M.R.C. GREENWOOD, Chancellor,
University of California, Santa Cruz
ANITA K. JONES,
Lawrence R. Quarles Professor of Engineering and Applied Science,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
MARTHA A. KREBS, Senior Fellow,
Institute for Defense Analysis, Alexandria, Virginia
JOHN P. MCTAGUE, Vice President,
Technical Affairs, Ford Motor Company (retired), Montecino, California
JOHN H. MOXLEY III, Managing Director,
North American Health Care Division, Korn/Ferry International, Los Angeles, California
H. GUYFORD STEVER, Trustee and Advisor,
Gaithersburg, Maryland
JANET L. YELLEN,
Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business Administration,
University of California, Berkeley
PRINCIPAL PROJECT STAFF
DEBORAH D. STINE, Study Director
ALAN ANDERSON, Consultant Science Writer
COLLEEN PRESTON, Ethics Rules Consultant
WILLIAM G. WELLS, JR., Appointments Consultant
REBECCA BURKA, Administrative Associate
KEVIN ROWAN, Project Associate
DAVID BRUGGEMAN,
National Academies Christine Mirzayan Program Intern
CARLOS GONZALEZ,
National Academies Christine Mirzayan Program Intern
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND PUBLIC POLICY
As of June 30, 2000
MAXINE F. SINGER (Chair), President,
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC
BRUCE M. ALBERTS,* President,
National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC
ENRIQUETA C. BOND, President,
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
LEWIS M. BRANSCOMB, Professor Emeritus,
Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
PETER DIAMOND, Professor,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
GERALD P. DINNEEN,* Vice President,
Science and Technology, Honeywell, Inc. (retired), Edina, Minnesota
MILDRED S. DRESSELHAUS,†
Institute Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
JAMES J. DUDERSTADT,
President Emeritus and University Professor of Science and Engineering,
Millennium Project, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
MARYE ANNE FOX, Chancellor,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh
RALPH E. GOMORY, President,
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, New York, New York
RUBY P. HEARN, Senior Vice President,
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey
BRIGID L. M. HOGAN, Investigator,
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and
Hortense B. Ingram Professor,
Department of Cell Biology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
SAMUEL H. PRESTON, Dean,
University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences, Philadelphia
KENNETH I. SHINE,* President,
Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC
MORRIS TANENBAUM, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer,
AT&T (retired), Short Hills, New Jersey
IRVING L. WEISSMAN,
Karel and Avice Beekhuis Professor of Cancer Biology and Professor of Pathology,
Stanford University School of Medicine, California
SHEILA E. WIDNALL,
Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of Aeronautics,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
WILLIAM JULIUS WILSON,
Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
WILLIAM A. WULF,* (President,
National Academy of Engineering, Washington, DC
Staff
RICHARD E. BISSELL, Executive Director
DEBORAH D. STINE, Associate Director
MARION RAMSEY, Administrative Associate
* |
Ex Officio Members |
† |
Resigned August 2000 to become Director, Office of Science, Department of Enegy |
PREFACE
In recent years, there has been a substantial change in the number and breadth of issues coming before the US President that require science and technology (S&T) knowledge and judgement. S&T appointees can be crucial in assisting the next President in addressing the inevitable issues raised by the end of the Cold War and the evolution of the “new economy,” from new technical issues of missile defense to the changing role of regulation in telecommunications and biotechnology.
The federal government plays an increasingly important role in nurturing scientific and technological advancements and bringing their full benefits to society. At the same time, insights generated by research empower government decision-making in most major domains, from economic productivity and national security to public health, the environment, and agriculture by providing the data and analysis needed to make better decisions. The President needs the wise guidance of scientific and technical experts to achieve the nation's policy goals in these areas.
The United States stands virtually alone among the industrialized nations in filling a wide variety of federal S&T positions with appointees selected by the President. In most advanced countries, these positions are held by career government employees, and the election of new political leadership brings the replacement of only the heads of cabinet departments. The American system of government requires the selection of thousands of new appointees every few years. 1 At the highest levels, these appointees are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate (and are known as PAS appointees).
The Presidential appointment system brings both benefits and drawbacks. Among its benefits are the enhanced ability of a president to carry out his policy agenda and the introduction to Washington of fresh ideas and new energy. Among its drawbacks are the difficulty of persuading talented leaders outside Washington to set aside their careers for a term in government and the challenge of making effective use of the time of these appointees during their terms in office.
In 1992, a previous panel of the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP) wrote a report titled Science and Technology Leadership in American Government: Ensuring the Best Presidential Appointments. This report plus several other excellent reports (some focusing on science and technology, others concerning all presidential appointees) had findings virtually identical with those described below.
In its 1988 report Science & Technology and the President, the Carnegie Commission on Science and Technology recommended that, because of the significance and pervasiveness of S&T in presidential decision-making and the increased complexity of technological issues, “the S&T advisory function to the President not be fragmented and that there be a single senior staff assistant reporting to the President on S&T matters with the title of Assistant to the President for Science and Technology [APST].” That recommendation was followed, and later directors of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) also held the APST rank.
The Carnegie Commission also identified key presidential S&T appointments, as did COSEPUP in its 1992 analysis. But the key report in this regard was The Prune Book: The 60 Toughest Science and Technology Jobs in Washington, which provided descriptions of the positions and lists of the persons who held them.
General reports not focused on S&T were also issued. The most important was from the Twentieth Century Fund in 1996, Obstacle Course: The Report of the Twentieth Century Fund Task Force on the Presidential Appointment Process.
The most recent data on this issue have been generated for a joint project of the Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation, which interviewed appointees in the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations. The report, The Merit and Reputation of an Administration: Presidential Appointees on the Appointments Process , provides valuable insights into the recruitment of current and previous presidential appointees.
The authors of this report are scientists and engineers who have served in senior positions in the federal government in Washington, DC, and who have found their experience to be stimulating and satisfying. They encourage their colleagues in all sectors to make contributions in government service. To that end, this report seeks to make government service more accessible and fair for leading scientists and engineers and for appointees in other fields.
This panel's report is intentionally brief and does not attempt to repeat the documentation of the 1992 report or of the other reports noted above. The appendix is provided to supplement the printed version with additional examples and supportive evidence for the key findings. The appendix is organized around each finding and subfinding in the main report. The support for each comes from both the reports mentioned and new analyses conducted by the panel.
Mary Good
Panel Chair
1 |
According to the General Accounting Office (GAO), the President relies on about 3,000 political appointees to make policy decisions on his behalf and promote his policies among the civil service.The President also depends on about 8,000 career executives to provide the continuity, knowledge, and institutional memory needed to manage the agencies and departments. |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report is the product of many individuals. First, COSEPUP would like to thank its guidance group consisting of COSEPUP members Marye Anne Fox (Chair), Lewis M. Branscomb, Ruby P. Hearn, Maxine F. Singer, Irving L.Weissman, and Sheila E. Widnall who supervised the preparation of this guide.
Second, we would like to thank the following individuals who provided valuable information at our meeting:
D. James Baker, Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, U.S. Department of Commerce
Veronica de la Garza, Science & Technology Appointments, White House Office of Presidential Appointments
Scott Giles, Professional Staff Member, Senate Health and Education Committee
Maria Haley, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director, White House Office of Presidential Personnel
Paul Light, Vice President and Director of Governmental Studies and Founding Director of the Center for Public Service, Brookings Institution
Elizabeth Prostic, Professional Staff Member, Senate Commerce Committee
Next, we would like to thank the reviewers of this report. This guide has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
Betsy Ancker-Johnson, Vice President, General Motors (retired), Austin, Texas
Frederick M. Bernthal, President, Universities Research Association, Washington, DC
Donald Kennedy, President Emeritus and Bing Professor of Environmental Science, Stanford University, California
George A. Keyworth, Chairman, The Progress and Freedom Foundation, Washington, DC
John W. Lyons, Director, U.S. Army Research Laboratory (retired), Mt. Airy, Maryland
G. Calvin Mackenzie, Distinguished Presidential Professor of American Government, Colby College, Waterville, Maine
Judith A. Miller, Partner, Williams & Connolly, Washington, DC
Arati Prabhakar, Consultant, Atherton, California
John H. Sununu, President and Partner, JHS Associates, Washington, DC
Harold E. Varmus, President and CEO, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
R. James Woolsey, Jr., Partner, Shea & Gardner, Washington, DC
John A. Young, President and CEO, Hewlett-Packard (retired), Palo Alto, California
Finally, we would like to thank the staff for this project including Deborah Stine, Associate Director of COSEPUP and Study Director; Alan Anderson, Consultant Writer who worked with the panel to develop the text of the guide; Colleen Preston, who acted as pro bono consultant on appointment ethics issues; William G. Wells, Jr., who acted as pro bono consultant on the identification and issues surrounding S&T presidential appointments; Rebecca Burka, Administrative Associate, who provided project support for meetings and other activities; Kevin Rowan, Project Assistant; Carlos Gonzalez, Intern, who helped with identification of who held S&T appointments over the past 10 years; David Bruggeman, Intern, who conducted the research necessary to determine the previous position of past appointees; and Richard Bissell, Executive Director of COSEPUP.
CONTENTS
FIGURES AND TABLES
FIGURE 1: |
Science and technology appointees in the second year of the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations, by institutional background. |
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FIGURE 2: |
Time for nominees to complete the presidential appointment process, 1964-1984 and 1984-1999. |
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FIGURE A-1: |
Science and technology appointees in the second year of the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations, by institutional background. |
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TABLE A-1: |
Science and technology appointees in the second year of the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations, by background. |
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TABLE A-2: |
Compliance actions required of presidential appointees serving June 1979-December 1984. |
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FIGURE A-2: |
Time for nominees to complete the presidential appointment process, 1964-1984 and 1984-1999. |
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TABLE A-3: |
Number of weeks from receipt of nomination to confirmation by the Senate, 1964-1984. |
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FIGURE A-3: |
Average number of months from inauguration to confirmation for initial PAS appointees, by administration. |