Computerworld - A proposed amendment that would have given Congress more oversight over the White House cybersecurity czar and at least 17 other czars appointed by President Obama was shut down in the U.S. Senate today.
The amendment, proposed by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), sought to restrict federal funds for the expenses of White House-appointed czars unless two conditions are met. One of them was to require the president to agree that every czar would respond to "reasonable requests" to testify before Congress on matters related to the office. The other required White House-appointed czars to issue a report to Congress twice a year. The proposed amendment was in an Interior Department environmental appropriations bill on the Senate floor.
In a statement, Collins said the amendment was needed to ensure greater transparency and accountability. She had claimed that direct White House appointees were largely insulated from congressional oversight and often duplicated or diluted the statutory authority and responsibilities of Cabinet-level appointees who had been vetted by Congress.
The amendment however was ruled "non-germane" to the pending bill in the Senate this afternoon and will not move forward, a spokesman for Collins said in an e-mail. "The amendment fell," following an objection by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), he said.
Collins, who is the ranking minority member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, had raised similar concerns previously, especially with regard to Obama's plans to appoint a White House cybersecurity czar, or agency coordinator. |