Recommendations on Federal Appointments

[John Jacobus <crispy_bird@yahoo.com>]

We frequently discuss issues about regulators at the

NRC, EPA, etc., and about the need to have fair and

unbias leadership.  The following deals with

appointments to science and technology positions, like

NASA.  However, I think some of the ideas are

interesting.  Also, I think the Richard Meserve

mentioned below used to be with the Chairman of the

NRC.

-----------------

FYI

The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science

Policy News Number 11: January 26, 2004



Academy Report Makes Recommendations on Federal S&T

Appointments



The task of appointing new S&T agency officials at the

onset of the second Bush Administration is not nearly

as complicated as it was four years ago.   While some

top level positions need to be filled, such as those

of the NASA Administrator and NIST Director, many of

the key S&T officials remain in place.



Before the November election, a report was released by

the National Academies addressing the process of

making presidential appointments to top science and

technology positions and  federal S&T advisory

committees.  Entitled "Science and Technology in the

National Interest: Ensuring the Best Presidential and

Federal Advisory Committee Science and Technology

Appointments," the 205-page report is available at

http://books.nap.edu/catalog/11152.html.  John Porter,

a former Member of Congress, chaired the eleven member

committee that produced this report.



Two previous Academy reports have been issued on the

S&T appointment process, although they only examined

agency positions (see

http://www.aip.org/fyi/2000/fyi00.127.htm).  The

latest report also reviews appointments to federal S&T

advisory committees.  Since President Bush was

reelected and did not have to build an entirely new

administration, this FYI will center on the

committee's recommendations regarding advisory

committee appointments.



In releasing the report, Porter, Frank Press and

Richard Meserve discussed what the committee reviewed

and did not review.  Porter referred to charges made

by critics that the Bush Administration has

politicized the process of appointing S&T officials

and advisory committee members

(http://www.aip.org/fyi/2004/106.html).  Speaking

generally, Porter said it was "vital" that the members

of S&T advisory committee positions be seen as

impartial and independent, and that it was

"inappropriate to ask"  prospective committee members

about their party affiliation, election votes, or

policy positions.  Scientists should not be excluded

from advisory committees because of their personal

views, he said.   Meserve commented that there are

approximately 1,000 federal advisory committees, of

which one-half involve an S&T component.  Many

researchers are unaware of how the advisory committee

system works, Meserve stated, and feel shut-out of the

process.  Porter and Meserve stressed that the

committee made no investigation or assessment of the

current Administration's practices, Porter saying that

it was "not within our realm [to determine] if there

have been misjudgements or violations."



Porter made an important distinction between various

types of advisory committees.  If a president is

seeking policy advise, it is acceptable for a

prospective committee  member's policy or political

views to be considered.  If science and technology

expertise is sought - and not policy options - Porter

reiterated that it was "simply not appropriate" to ask

political questions in the recruiting process, and

under some circumstances it could be illegal.  The

report went into more detail; the following are three

of the report's seven recommendations on advisory

committees:



  "When a federal advisory committee requires

scientific or technical proficiency, persons nominated

to provide that expertise should be selected on the

basis of their scientific and technical knowledge and

credentials and their professional and personal

integrity. It is inappropriate to ask them to provide

nonrelevant information, such as voting record,

political-party affiliation, or position on particular

policies."



  "Presidential administrations should make the

process for nominating and appointing people to

advisory committees more explicit and visible and

should examine current federal advisory committee

appointment categories to see whether they are

sufficient to meet the nation's needs."



  "To build confidence in the advisory committee

system and increase the willingness of scientists and

engineers to serve, department and agency heads should

establish an appointment process supported by explicit

policies and procedures and hold staff accountable for

its implementation."



The committee found "little progress had been made on

the recommendations of the 2000 report," but was more

hopeful about the utility of the latest endeavor. 

"This report will sell itself"

because of the times we are in, Press predicted. 

Meserve added that "we are trying to sensitize" the

Administration, with Porter saying that the OSTP

Director John Marburger had been briefed on the

report, and was very interested in reviewing and

implementing its recommendations.



###############

Richard M. Jones

Media and Government Relations Division

The American Institute of Physics

fyi@aip.org    http://www.aip.org/gov

(301) 209-3094

##END##########





=====

+++++++++++++++++++

"It doesn't matter whether you're riding an elephant or a donkey if you're going in the wrong direction."

Jesse Jackson





-- John

John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist

e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com





		

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