Order Code RL31677
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Filling Presidentially Appointed,
Senate-Confirmed Positions in the
Department of Homeland Security
Updated January 16, 2004
Henry B. Hogue
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Filling Presidentially Appointed, Senate-Confirmed
Positions in the Department of Homeland Security
Summary
During consideration of the legislation creating the new Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), many observers stressed the need to mobilize a new
department quickly to respond to threats to homeland security. Yet new government
agencies often encounter substantial difficulties that lead to start-up delays. In one
study of reorganized agencies, the General Accounting Office identified delays in
obtaining key officials as one common start-up problem.
Nearly all the top
policymaking positions in the new homeland security department are to be filled
through appointments by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
In general, delays in filling such positions have not been uncommon, particularly at
the outset of a new Administration.
Although appointment delays may raise
problems for any agency, delays for new agencies can cause major difficulties;
leadership is critical during the transition, when many decisions regarding policies,
procedures, and organizational issues must be made.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) created DHS, which came
into existence on January 24, 2003. The act creates or transfers to the new depart-
ment some 26 full-time, civilian, presidentially appointed positions subject to Senate
confirmation. As of January 15, 2004, the President had submitted 14 nominations
to these positions, and the Senate had confirmed 13 of these. In addition, the
President had used authority provided in the act to appoint six individuals to DHS
positions on a temporary basis. Five of these had been nominated and confirmed to
the positions after their temporary appointments. The nomination of the remaining
individual was pending in the Senate as of that date, and he was given a recess
appointment on December 26, 2003. The President had also used authority provided
in the act to appoint, without Senate confirmation, one individual who had previously
been confirmed for a similar position in another agency. The previously appointed
Commandant of the Coast Guard, Commissioner of Customs, and Administrator of
the United States Fire Administration continued to serve after their organizations
were transferred to the new department. The first Deputy Secretary had left the
position, and a replacement had been confirmed. The appointment status of the head
of the Transportation Security Administration could not be determined. A DHS
confirmation information table and organizational chart are provided.
Studies indicate that the appointment process is, on average, taking longer, and
that the selection and vetting process often takes much longer than the confirmation
process. Given the stated urgency of the new department’s business, Congress could
choose to facilitate the appointment process for DHS positions. Options for enabling
rapid appointment would include making statutory changes to streamline the vetting
process and simplifying the Senate confirmation process, particularly at the
committee level. Some possible changes, however, could prove controversial.
Related information may be found in CRS Report RL31751, Homeland
Security: Department Organization and Management — Implementation Phase, by
Harold C. Relyea. The appointment information in this report will be updated as
events warrant.

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Contents
Presidentially Appointed, Senate-Confirmed Positions in the New Department . 2
The Appointment Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Selection and Nomination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Confirmation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Recess Appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Temporary Appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Departments Created Since 1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Proposals for Appointment Process Improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Appointment Progress at the New Department and Congressional Options
for Facilitating the Appointment Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Appendix: Departments Created Since 1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Housing and Urban Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Veterans Affairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
List of Figures
Figure 1. Department of Homeland Security Organizational Chart . . . . . . . . . . 10
Figure 2. Department of Homeland Security: Working Organizational Chart
Draft Provided by DHS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
List of Tables
Table 1. Initial Appointments to Presidentially Appointed, Senate-Confirmed
Positions in the Department of Homeland Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Table 2. Average Number of Days from Enactment of Organic Legislation
to Nomination and Confirmation of Top Officials in the Five Most Recent
New Departments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Table 3. Appointments at the Department of Homeland Security, as of
January 15, 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Table 4. Initial Appointments to the New Department of Housing and
Urban Development, 1966-1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Table 5. Initial Appointments to the New Department of Transportation,
1966-1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Table 6. Initial Appointments to the New Department of Energy, 1977-1978 . . 30
Table 7. Initial Appointments to the New Department of Education,
1979-1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Table 8. Initial Appointments to the New Department of Veterans Affairs,
1989-1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

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Filling Presidentially Appointed,
Senate-Confirmed Positions in the
Department of Homeland Security
During consideration of the legislation creating the new Department of
Homeland Security, many observers stressed the need to mobilize any new
department quickly to respond to threats to homeland security. Yet new government
agencies often encounter substantial difficulties that lead to start-up delays. In one
study of reorganized agencies, the General Accounting Office identified delays in
obtaining key officials as one common start-up problem.1
Nearly all the top
policymaking positions in the new homeland security department will be filled
through appointments by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
In general, delays in filling such positions are not uncommon, particularly at the
outset of a new Administration.2 Although appointment delays may raise problems
for any agency, delays for new agencies can cause major difficulties; leadership is
critical during the transition, when many decisions regarding policies, procedures,
and organizational issues must be made.
What are the Senate-confirmed positions in the new department? How long is
it likely to take to fill these positions? What progress has been made on filling these
positions? This report addresses these questions by identifying the positions,
describing the appointment process, discussing the time required for the initial
appointments to the last five new departments, describing proposals for improving
the process, discussing the prospects for, and status of, the appointments to the new
department, and discussing some options available should Congress wish to facilitate
the process.
1
U.S. General Accounting Office, Implementation: The Missing Link in Planning
Reorganizations, GAO/GGD-81-57, Mar. 20, 1981. The other main start-up problems the
report identified were delays in obtaining needed staff, insufficient funding that necessitated
additional budget requests, inadequate office space, and delays in establishing support
functions.
2 See, for example, CRS Report RL31054, Nominations and Confirmations to Policy
Positions in the First 100 Days of the George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, and Ronald W.
Reagan Administrations, by Rogelio Garcia.

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CRS-2
Presidentially Appointed, Senate-Confirmed
Positions in the New Department
The principal officers in a department are established in the department’s
organic legislation or reorganization plan.3 Currently, more than 1,200 presidentially
appointed civilian executive or legislative branch positions require Senate
confirmation (PAS positions).4 More than 330 of these are in the 14 previously
existing executive departments. Within federal departments, the first four levels —
secretary, deputy secretary, under secretary, and assistant secretary — are nearly
always PAS positions. Some other officers, including the chief financial officer, the
inspector general, and the general counsel, are also routinely subject to confirmation.
The persons filling these positions are generally considered to be the top policy
decision makers in the federal government, having the responsibility to implement
statutes.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) created the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), which came into existence on January 24, 2003.5 The act
creates positions within, and transfers existing statutory positions to, the new
department. Some of these positions, including most of the principal policymaking
positions, are PAS positions. Other appointments are to be made without Senate
confirmation, either by the President or the new secretary. In other cases, the
appointment authority is not specified in the law. The appointments of concern in
this report are the full-time civilian PAS positions within the new department.6
The act also called for the submission, by the President, of a reorganization plan
not later than 60 days after enactment of the new law. The President released such
a plan the day he signed the act, and transmitted a modification of the plan to
Congress two months later. The plan and modification provide more specific details
concerning the proposed implementation of the act.7 Among other things, the plan
3 For information on the appointment status of presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed
positions within the other executive departments, see CRS Report RL31346, Presidential
Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Executive Departments During the 107th Congress,
2001-2002, by Henry B. Hogue.
4 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Policy and Supporting
Positions, committee print, 106th Cong., 2nd sess., Nov. 8, 2000, S. Prt. 106-54, (Washington:
GPO, 2000). Hereafter referred to as Plum Book 2000.
5 P.L. 107-296, Nov. 25, 2002; 116 Stat. 2135. H.R. 5005, the Homeland Security Act of
2002, as amended, was passed by the Senate on Nov. 19. The Senate amendments were
agreed to by the House on Nov. 22, 2002. The bill was signed into law by President George
W. Bush on Nov. 25, 2002.
6 The full range of statutory positions is identified and discussed in CRS Report RL31492,
Homeland Security: Components and Management Positions for the New Department
(archived), by Henry B. Hogue.
7 U.S. President (George W. Bush), “Department of Homeland Security Reorganization
Plan,” Nov. 25, 2002. The plan may be found at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/
releases/2002/11/reorganization_plan.pdf], visited Oct. 28, 2003; U.S. President (George
(continued...)

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CRS-3
provides a timetable for the transfer of entities and functions into the new
department. All transfers were to be completed by September 30, 2003. This
timetable may have affected the timing of appointments to some of the department’s
PAS positions.
Table 1 identifies PAS positions the act creates in, or transfers to, the new
department. They are secretary, deputy secretary, five under secretaries, Director of
the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Commissioner of Customs, 12
assistant secretaries, general counsel, inspector general, Commandant of the Coast
Guard, and Director of the Office for Domestic Preparedness. The table provides the
section of the act in which each position is established, the pay level of the position,
and nomination and confirmation information as of January 15, 2004.
Under the Homeland Security Act, most of the functions of four agencies that
had PAS positions have been transferred into the new department.
The four
organizations are the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S.
Coast Guard from the Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Customs
Service from the Department of the Treasury, and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA).8
The appointment of the Commandant of the Coast Guard was provided for by
law 9 prior to the Homeland Security Act, and the act specifically provides that the
appointment process will continue to follow prior law. The Commissioner of
Customs, which has been a PAS position at Level III of the Executive Schedule in
the Department of the Treasury, is to maintain that status in the new department. The
previously appointed commandant and commissioner have continued to serve after
the transfer of their respective organizations to the new department.
The act does not provide for the transfer or continuation of any of the FEMA
PAS positions.
It does, however, have a provision that might apply to these
positions:
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, whenever all the functions vested by
law in any agency have been transferred pursuant to this Act, each position and
office the incumbent of which was authorized to receive compensation at the
7 (...continued)
W. Bush), “Letter to Congressional Leaders Transmitting the Reorganization Plan
Modification for the Department of Homeland Security,” Weekly Compilation of
Presidential Documents, vol. 39, Jan. 30, 2003, p. 136.
8 According to the President’s “Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan,”
released on Nov. 25, 2002, these four organizations were to be transferred from their present
location to the new department on Mar. 1, 2003.
The plan may be found at
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/11/reorganization_plan.pdf], visited Oct.
29, 2003. This list does not include the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS),
which was to be abolished once its functions were transferred, as provided for in the act.
(P.L. 107-296, Sec. 471(a).)
9 14 U.S.C. 44.

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CRS-4
rates prescribed for an office or position at level II, III, IV, or V, of the Executive
Schedule, shall terminate.10
Consequently, the United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of
2003 included a section that provided that
Section 1513 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 553) does not
apply to the position or office of Administrator of the United States Fire
Administration, who shall continue to be appointed and compensated as provided
by section 5(b) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15
U.S.C. 2204(b)).11
Because this provision maintains the U.S. Fire Administrator as a PAS position, the
position is included in Table 1. The incumbent at the time of the transfer of FEMA
into DHS continued to serve in the office as of January 15, 2004.
As of January 15, 2004, definitive information concerning the current
appointment status of the head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
was not available from DHS. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act,12 which
created TSA, provided for a PAS position, Under Secretary of Transportation for
Security, at the head of the new agency. James M. Loy was confirmed for that
position on November 18, 2002, just days prior to the enactment of the Homeland
Security Act. The act transferred TSA to the new department as a “distinct entity.”13
However, the under secretary position was not explicitly transferred by the act. It
was unclear whether the statutory position was terminated by the provision discussed
above. Loy left the position to become Deputy Secretary of DHS in fall 2003, and
David M. Stone was designated Acting Administrator by DHS Secretary Tom Ridge.
As of January 15, 2004, it was not clear whether Senate confirmation was required
for a permanent appointment to the position.
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 provides that reconfirmation by the Senate
is not required for “any officer whose agency is transferred to the Department
pursuant to this act and whose duties following such transfer are germane to those
performed before such transfer.”14 Michael D. Brown was appointed as Under
Secretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response under this provision.15 He had
previously been confirmed as deputy director of FEMA.
Under the Homeland Security Act, the President is authorized, during the
transition period, to designate an officer already serving in a PAS position to serve,
10 P.L. 107-296, Sec. 1513.
11 P.L. 108-169, Sec. 102.
12 P.L. 107-71; 115 Stat. 597
13 P.L. 107-296, Secs. 403(2), 423, and 424; 116 Stat. 2178, 2185.
14 P.L. 107-296, Sec. 1511(c)(2).
15 Information received from Department of Homeland Security, Office of Legislative
Affairs, via telephone conversation, Mar. 12, 2003.

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CRS-5
in an acting capacity, in a position within the department. The applicable provision
states that
[d]uring the transition period, pending the advice and consent of the Senate to the
appointment of an officer required by this Act to be appointed by and with such
advice and consent, the President may designate any officer whose appointment
was required to be made by and with such advice and consent and who was such
an officer immediately before the effective date of this Act (and who continues
in office) or immediately before such designation, to act in such office until the
same is filled as provided in this Act.16
The intention of the statutory language may be further clarified by report language
concerning an identical provision in an earlier version of the homeland security
legislation:
This section ... allows the President to designate incumbents in organizations
being transferred who are currently in advice and consent positions, to act in the
same capacity during the transition period, until the position is filled as provided
for in this legislation.17
As of January 15, 2004, President Bush had appointed six individuals (England,
Hutchinson, Hale, Ervin, Aguirre, and Garcia) to departmental positions under this
authority.18 Five of the six (England, Hutchinson, Hale, Aguirre, and Garcia) had
subsequently been nominated and confirmed. The one remaining (Ervin) had been
nominated but not confirmed, and he had received a recess appointment from the
President on December 26, 2003.19 One of the five who were confirmed (England)
subsequently left the department.20
Figure 1 and Figure 2 show two different unofficial organizational diagrams
for DHS. The chart in Figure 1 was created based on information from the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, the President’s reorganization plan, a preliminary
16 P.L. 107-296, Sec. 1511(c)(1); 116 Stat. 2309.
17 U.S. Congress, House Select Committee on Homeland Security, Homeland Security Act
of 2002, report to accompany H.R. 5005, 107th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 107-609,
(Washington: GPO, 2002), p. 127.
18 U.S. President (George W. Bush), “Digest of Other White House Announcements,”
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, vol. 39, Jan. 27, 2003, p. 145; U.S.
President (George W. Bush), “Digest of Other White House Announcements,” Weekly
Compilation of Presidential Documents, vol. 39, Feb. 6, 2003, p. 171; additional information
received from Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Deputy Secretary, via
telephone conversation, Jan. 28, 2003.
19 Ervin’s recess appointment expires at the end of the second session of the 108th Congress.
20 England’s departure from the deputy secretary position was announced on Aug. 22, 2003.
He was subsequently nominated and confirmed to be Secretary of the Navy, and he was
sworn in on Oct. 1, 2003. On Nov. 5, 2003, President Bush nominated James M. Loy to be
the new deputy secretary at DHS.

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CRS-6
organizational chart released by DHS,21 a DHS news release discussing the
President’s modification to the reorganization plan,22 other DHS news releases,
discussions with DHS officials, the Senate nominations database of the Legislative
Information System,23 the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, and news
releases from the White House Web site.
Among other things, it shows the
organizational location of entities that have been transferred to, or created in, DHS
and the new department’s PAS positions.
Figure 2 shows an unofficial organizational chart provided by DHS. This chart
shows some of the developing organizational units in the new department. In
addition, the officials heading each office are identified.
21 See [http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/DHS_Org_Chart.ppt], visited Oct. 28,
2003.
22
“Border Reorganization Fact Sheet,” at [http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/
press_release/press_release_0073.xml], visited Oct. 28, 2003.
The modification was
transmitted to Congress on Jan. 30, 2003. U.S. President (George W. Bush), “Letter to
Congressional Leaders Transmitting the Reorganization Plan Modification for the
Department of Homeland Security,” Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, vol.
39, Jan. 30, 2003, p. 136.
23 See [http://www.congress.gov/nomis/], visited Oct. 28, 2003.

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CRS-7
Table 1. Initial Appointments to Presidentially Appointed,
Senate-Confirmed Positions in the Department of Homeland Security
Date
Date
Days Elapsed
Days Elapsed
Days Elapsed
Nominee or Intended
Executive
Nomination
Confirmed
from
from
from
Position [Section of P.L. 107-296]
Nominee Announced
Schedule
Received in
by the
Enactmentb to
Nomination to
Enactmentb to
by the White House
Levela
the Senate
Senate
Nomination
Confirmationc
Confirmationc
Secretary [102(a)]
Thomas J. Ridge
I
01/07/03
01/22/03
43
15
58
Deputy Secretary [103(a)(1)]
Gordon Englandd,e
II
01/07/03
01/30/03
43
23
66
Under Secretary for Information Analysis and
Frank Libutti
III
04/28/03
06/23/03
154
56
210
Infrastructure Protection [103(a)(2)]
Under Secretary for Science and Technology
Charles E. McQueary
III
02/14/03
03/19/03
81
33
114
[103(a)(3)]
Under Secretary for Border and Transportation
Asa Hutchinsond
III
01/10/03
01/23/03
46
13
59
Security [103(a)(4)]
Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness
Michael D. Brown f
III
—
—
—
—
—
and Response [103(a)(5)]
Under Secretary for Management [103(a)(7)]
Janet Haled
III
01/21/03
03/06/03
57
44
101
Director, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Eduardo Aguirre Jr.g
III or IVh
03/11/03
06/19/03
106
100
206
Services [103(a)(6) and 451(a)(2)]
Commissioner of Customs [411(b)]
Robert Bonneri
III
—
—
—
—
—
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)] (for the Bureau
Michael J. Garciaj
IV
03/26/03
11/25/03
121
213
334
of Immigration and Customs Enforcement)j
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)] (for Border and
C. Stewart Verdery Jr.
IV
04/10/03
06/19/03
136
70
206
Transportation Security Policy)
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)] (Plans, Programs
Penrose C. Albright
IV
06/26/03
10/03/03
213
68
281
and Budgets)

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CRS-8
Date
Date
Days Elapsed
Days Elapsed
Days Elapsed
Nominee or Intended
Executive
Nomination
Confirmed
from
from
from
Position [Section of P.L. 107-296]
Nominee Announced
Schedule
Received in
by the
Enactmentb to
Nomination to
Enactmentb to
by the White House
Levela
the Senate
Senate
Nomination
Confirmationc
Confirmationc
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)]
IV
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)]
IV
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)]
IV
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)]
IV
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)]
IV
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)]
IV
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)]
IV
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)]
IV
Assistant Secretary [103(a)(8)]
IV
General Counsel [103(a)(9)]
Joe D. Whitley
IV
04/28/03
07/31/03
154
94
248
Inspector General [103(b)]
Clark Kent Ervind
IV
01/10/03
46
(recess appointment
12/26/03)k
Commandant of the Coast Guard [103(c)]
Thomas H. Collinsi
Grade of
—
—
—
—
—
admiral while
serving (14
U.S.C. 44)
Director, Office for Domestic Preparedness
C. Suzanne Mencer
not specified
06/16/03
10/03/03
203
78
281
[430(b)]
United States Fire Administrator [P.L. 108-169,
R. David Paulisoni
IV
—
—
—
—
—
Sec. 102]

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CRS-9
a. Compensation, where specified, is stipulated either in the section creating the position or in Sec. 1702.
b. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296), which created the Department of Homeland Security, was signed into law on Nov. 25, 2002.
c. The 31 days falling within the August 2003 recess are not included in these numbers.
d. On Jan. 27, 2003, President Bush announced his intention to designate England, Hutchinson, Hale, and Ervin as acting officials in their intended positions. (U.S. President (George
W. Bush), “Digest of Other White House Announcements,” Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, vol. 39, Jan. 27, 2003, p. 145.) These actions were taken under Sec.
1511(c)(1) of the act. (Information received from Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Deputy Secretary, via telephone conversation, Jan. 28, 2003.) England,
Hutchinson, and Hale were later confirmed as shown.
e. England’s departure from this position was announced on Aug. 22, 2003. He was subsequently nominated and confirmed to be Secretary of the Navy, and he was sworn in on Oct.
1, 2003. On Oct. 23, 2003, President Bush designated James M. Loy to hold the deputy secretary position at DHS on an acting basis. Subsequently, on Nov. 5, 2003, the President
nominated Loy to hold the position on a permanent basis, and the Senate confirmed him on Nov. 25, 2003. This nomination is not shown on this table because it is not an initial
appointment to the position.
f. According to DHS sources, Brown was appointed under Sec. 1511(c)(2) of the act, which provides that reconfirmation by the Senate is not required by the law for “any officer whose
agency is transferred to the Department pursuant to this act and whose duties following such transfer are germane to those performed before such transfer.” He was previously
confirmed as deputy director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (Information received from Department of Homeland Security, Office of Legislative
Affairs, via telephone conversation, Mar. 12, 2003.) Nonetheless, as late as Mar. 3, 2003, Brown was referred to as an acting under secretary in a FEMA press release. See
[http://www.fema.gov/nwz03/nwz03_054.shtm], visited Oct. 28, 2003.
g. On Feb. 6, 2003, the President announced his intention to designate Aguirre as Acting Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service. (U.S. President (George W.
Bush), “Digest of Other White House Announcements,” Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, vol. 39, Feb. 6, 2003, p. 171.) This action was taken under Sec.
1511(c)(1) of the act. (Information received from Department of Homeland Security, Office of Legislative Affairs, via telephone conversation, Mar. 12, 2003.) Aguirre has since
been nominated and confirmed for that position.
h. The compensation for the Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services is not clear in the act and could not be determined from contacts with DHS officials.
Although it is set at Level III by Sec. 1702, it is also linked, by Sec. 451, with the pay for the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Border Security. The compensation for Assistant
Secretaries is set at Level IV by Sec. 1702.
i. The previously appointed Commissioner of Customs (Bonner), Commandant of the Coast Guard (Collins), and U.S. Fire Administrator (Paulison) continued to serve after the transfer
of their respective organizations to the new department. The Commissioner of Customs now heads the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection in the Directorate for Border
and Transportation Security. “Border Reorganization Fact Sheet,” at [http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0073.xml], visited Oct. 28, 2003.
j. The Bureau of Border Security was reorganized under the modification of the President’s reorganization plan and renamed the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The statutory position of Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Border Security was renamed the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Border Reorganization Fact Sheet,” at [http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/press_release/press_release_0073.xml], visited Oct. 28, 2003. On Mar. 11, 2003, the President
announced his intention to designate Garcia as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Personnel Announcement,” at
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030311-22.html], visited Oct. 28, 2003.
k. Ervin’s recess appointment expires at the end of the second session of the 108th Congress.

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CRS-10
Figure 1. Department of Homeland Security Organizational Chart
(positions requiring confirmation are shaded)
Secretary (1)
(1) Thomas J. Ridge
Deputy Secretary (2)
Citizenship and Immigration
Local
Services Ombudsman
Ombudsmen
(2) James M. Loy
(3) Joe D. Whitley
Joint Interagency Homeland Security Task Force
Special Assistant to the Secretary
(4) Clark Kent Ervin
Secret Service
Office for State & Local Government Coordination
Director of Shared Services
(5) Thomas H. Collins
General Counsel (3)
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
(6) Eduardo Aguirre, Jr.
Bureau of Citizenship and
(7) Frank Libutti
Counternarcotics Officer
Office of International Affairs
Immigration Services
(8) Charles E. McQueary
Director (6)
(9) Asa Hutchinson
Legislative Affairs
Inspector General (4)
(10) Janet Hale
Public Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard - Commandant (5)
Office of Citizenship
(11) Michael D. Brown
Privacy Officer
Not to exceed 9 more Assistant Secretaries
(12) C. Suzanne Mencer
Legal Advisor
(13) C. Stewart Verdery, Jr.
Office for National Capital Region
Small & Disadvantaged Business
(14) Robert Bonner
Executive Secretary
Budget Officer
Chief of Staff
(15) Penrose C. Albright
(16) Michael J. Garcia
Chief of Policy and Strategy
(17) R. David Paulison
Other Units Created Within the
Under Secretary for Information Analysis &
Under Secretary for Science
Under Secretary for Border &
Under Secretary for Emergency
Under Secretary for
Department - Involving or
Infrastructure Protection (7)
& Technology (8)
Transportation Security (9)
Preparedness & Response (11)
Management (10)
Appointed by the Secretary
Four chemical, biological,
Assistant Secretary for
Transportation Security
Assistant Secretary for
nuclear, & life science
Chief Financial
Office of Emergency
Infrastructure Protection
Administration
Technology Advisory
Information Analysis
activities from DOE
Preparedness from HHS
Officer
Committee
Lawrence Livermore National
Office for Domestic
Chief Information
National Disaster Medical
Critical Infrastructure
Laboratory - advanced scientific
Preparedness from DOJ
Officer
computing research program &
System from HHS
Assurance Office from
Energy Security &
Director (12)
Homeland Security
activities
DOC
Assurance Program
Chief Human
Institute
from DOE (Including
Capital Officer
Metropolitan Medical
National Infrastructure
Federal Computer
Technology Clearinghouse
Visa Issuance Regulatory
Response System from
Simulation & Analysis
Transportation Security
Incident Response
Responsibilities
HHS
Center
Oversight Board
Center from GSA
Environmental
Measurements Laboratory
Federal Protective
Strategic National
National Infrastructure
National
Service from GSA
Stockpile from HHS
Nuclear Incident
Protection Center from
Communications
Plum Island Animal Disease
Response Team
FBI
System from DOD
Assistant Secretary for
Center from USDA
National Domestic
Border & Transportation
Preparedness Office from
Security Policy (13)
National Technology
FBI
Guard "NET Guard"
Office for National
Bureau of Customs &
Ag. Quarantine Insp.,
Laboratories
Border Protection
FIRESAT - Integrated
INS Insp., Border Patrol,
Commissioner of Customs
Hazard Information
Customs Insp.
(14)
System from NOAA
Office for Plans, Programs
National Bio-Weapons
and Budgets
Defense Analysis Center
Federal Law Enforcement
Revised
Assistant Secretary(15)
from DOD
Domestic Emergency
INS & Customs
Training Center from
01/15/04
Support Teams/DOJ
Enforcement/Investigations
Treasury
Federal Protective Service
Homeland Security Science
& Technology Advisory
United States
Bureau of Immigration &
Federal Emergency
Committee
Management Agency
Fire Administration (17)
Customs Enforcement
Legal Advisor
Assistant Secretary (16)
Homeland Security Advance
Research Projects Agency
Chief of Policy &
(HSARPA)
Strategy

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CRS-11
Figure 2. Department of Homeland Security: Working Organizational Chart Draft Provided by DHS
Secretary (Tom Ridge)
------------------------------------
Deputy Secretary
Chief of Staff
(James M. Loy)
(Duncan Campbell)
Executive Secretary
(Ken Hill)
Small Business
(Kevin Boshears)
Legislative Affairs
MGMT
IAIP
EP&R
S&T
BTS
(Pam Turner)
(Janet Hale)
(Gen. Frank Libutti)
(Mike Brown)
(Charles McQueary)
(Asa Hutchinson)
Privacy Officer
(Nuala Kelly)
Public Affairs
Programs, Plans,
Administration
TSA
(Susan Neely)
Budget
(Mike Dorsey)
(Rear Adm. David Stone)
(Parney Albright)
USCG
(Adm. Tom Collins)
State & Local Coord.
CFO
Research & Dev.
CBP
(Josh Filler)
(Andrew Maner)
(Maureen McCarthy)
(Robert Bonner)
USSS
(Ralph Basham)
Private Sector
HCO
HSARPA
(Al Martinez-Fonts)
(Ron James)
(David Bolka)
ICE
(Michael Garcia)
Inspector General
NCRC
(Clark Ervin)
CIO
(Vacant)
(Steve Cooper)
Systems
Engineering &
FLETC
Development
(Connie Patrick)
Shared Services
(John Kubricky)
Civil Rights & Civil
Security
(Vacant)
Liberties
(Jack Johnson)
(Daniel Sutherland)
Office for Domestic
Citizen & Imm. Svc.
Preparedness
Ombudsman
CPO
(S. Suzanne Mencer)
(Prakash Kahtri)
(Greg Rothwell)
International Affairs
(Cris Arcos)
BCIS
Office for Border and
Transportation Security
(Eduardo Aguirre)
Policy
(C. Stewart Verdery, Jr.)
Counter Narcotics
HSAC
(Roger Mackin)
(Chris Furlow)
General Counsel
(Joe Whitley)
Source: Received electronically from DHS on 10/27/03 and updated via telephone calls with DHS on 10/30/03, 12/9/03, 1/7/04, and 1/16/04.

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CRS-12
The Appointment Process
The power to appoint the principal officers of the United States is shared by the
President and the Senate.24 The Constitution (Article II, Section 2, clause 2) creates
this arrangement, directing that the President
... shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall
appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme
Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law ....
The Constitution further empowers Congress to “by Law vest the Appointment of
such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone,” the courts, or
department heads. The distinction between principal and lower offices has been
statutorily defined with the creation of each new office, and Congress has the ability
to refine this definition further when shaping legislation.
The appointment process consists of three stages — selection and nomination,
confirmation, and appointment. The President has the authority to make a nomination
for a position requiring confirmation (PAS position), but, when making his selection,
he must consider how it will fare in the confirmation process. The Senate confirms
most nominations, but no President can safely assume that his nominees will be
approved routinely.
Selection and Nomination. First, the President selects a nominee and sends
the nomination to the Senate. There are a number of steps in the President’s selection
for most Senate-confirmed positions. First, with the assistance of the White House
Office of Presidential Personnel, the President selects a candidate for the position.
The candidate then prepares and submits several forms: the “Public Financial
Disclosure Report” (Standard Form (SF) 278), the “Questionnaire for National
Security Positions” (SF 86), and the White House “Personal Data Statement
Questionnaire.” The Office of the Counsel to the President oversees the clearance
process, with background investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Office of Government Ethics
(OGE), and ethics official for the agency to which the candidate is to be appointed.
If conflicts are found during the background check, OGE and the agency ethics
officer may work with the candidate to mitigate the conflicts. Once the Counsel has
cleared the candidate, the nomination is ready to be submitted to the Senate. The
selection and vetting stage is often the longest part of the appointment process. There
can be lengthy delays, particularly if many candidates are being processed, as they are
at the beginning of an Administration, or if conflicts need to be resolved. Candidates
for higher level positions are often accorded priority in this process.
A nominee has no legal authority to assume the duties and responsibilities of the
position; the authority comes with Senate confirmation and presidential appointment.
24 A succinct historical and contemporary overview of the appointment power is found in
Louis Fisher, “Appointment Powers,” in his Constitutional Conflicts between Congress and
the President, 4th ed. (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1997), pp. 22-48.

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CRS-13
A nominee who is hired as a consultant while awaiting confirmation may serve only
in an advisory capacity.
If circumstances permit and conditions are met, the
President may give the nominee a temporary appointment under the Vacancies Act
or a recess appointment to the position (see below).25 Both types of appointment
confer upon the appointee the legal authority to carry out the duties of the office.
Recess appointments may have political consequences, however, particularly if
Senators perceive that an appointment is an effort to circumvent their constitutional
role.
Confirmation. In the confirmation stage, the Senate determines whether or
not to approve a nomination. The way the Senate acts on a nomination depends
largely on the importance of the position involved, existing political circumstances,
and policy implications. Generally, the Senate shows particular interest in the
nominee’s views and how they are likely to affect public policy.26 Nominations are
referred to the appropriate committee, where they generally receive a hearing. They
are then usually reported back to the Senate, where they are taken up and voted upon.
Most uncontroversial nominations proceed through the process in a routine, timely
fashion. Nominations can, however, stall or, in effect, die at any point. This is more
likely to happen to controversial nominations. Sometimes, however, Senators may
block uncontroversial nominations to gain leverage as part of a strategy to move
unrelated legislation or nominations.
The median length of time a departmental nomination spends in the Senate has
grown in recent years from 38 days during the 101st Congress (1989-1990) to 87 days
during the 106th Congress (1999-2000). Even with this lengthening confirmation
process, the nomination’s time in the Senate is typically much shorter than the time
taken by the President to select and vet a candidate for the position.
Appointment.
In the final stage, the confirmed nominee is given a
commission signed by the President, with the seal of the United States affixed
thereto, and is sworn into office. The President may sign the commission at any time
after confirmation. Under unusual circumstances, he may not sign it at all, thus
preventing the appointment. Once the appointee is given the commission and sworn
in, he or she has full authority to carry out the responsibilities of the office.
Recess Appointments27
Ordinarily, there are two ways, under specific circumstances, that the President
may make a limited-term appointment without Senate confirmation: by temporary
25 See also CRS Report RS21412, Limited-Term Appointments to Presidentially Appointed,
Senate-Confirmed Positions, by Henry B. Hogue.
26 G. Calvin Mackenzie, The Politics of Presidential Appointments (New York: The Free
Press, 1981), pp. 97-189.
27 For a further discussion of recess appointments, see CRS Report RS21308, Recess
Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions, by Henry B. Hogue. For a list of recess
appointments during the Clinton presidency, see CRS Report RL30821, Recess
Appointments Made by President Clinton, by Rogelio Garcia.

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CRS-14
appointment under the Vacancies Act or by recess appointment. The President’s
authority to make recess appointments is conferred by the Constitution, which states
that “[t]he President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during
the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of
their next Session.”28 The President may make such an appointment either during a
within-session recess (intrasession recess appointment) or between sessions
(intersession recess appointment). Intrasession recess appointments have sometimes
provoked controversy in the Senate, and there is also an academic literature that has
drawn their legitimacy into question.29 Recess appointments expire at the end of the
next session of Congress. As a result, a recess appointment may last for less than a
year, or nearly 2 years, depending on when the appointment is made.
Presidents have occasionally used the recess appointment power to circumvent
the confirmation process. In response, Congress has placed restrictions on the
President’s authority to make recess appointments. Under 5 U.S.C. 5503(a), if the
position to which the President makes a recess appointment falls vacant while the
Senate is in session, the recess appointee may not be paid from the Treasury until he
or she is confirmed by the Senate. The salary prohibition does not apply: (1) if the
vacancy arose within 30 days before the end of the session; (2) if a nomination for
the office (other than the nomination of someone given a recess appointment during
the preceding recess) was pending when the Senate recessed; or (3) if a nomination
was rejected within 30 days before the end of the session and another individual was
given the recess appointment. A recess appointment falling under any one of these
three exceptions must be followed by a nomination to the position not later than 40
days after the beginning of the next session of the Senate.30 For this reason, when a
recess appointment is made, the President generally submits a new nomination for
the nominee even when an old nomination is pending. In addition, although recess
appointees whose nominations to a full term are subsequently rejected by the Senate
may continue to serve until the end of their recess appointments, a provision of the
Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act may prevent them from being
paid after their rejection.31
28 Art. 2, Sec. 2, cl. 3 of the Constitution.
29 Regarding Senate controversy, see Sen. George Mitchell, “The Senate’s Constitutional
Authority to Advise and Consent to the Appointment of Federal Officers,” Congressional
Record, vol. 139, July 1, 1993, p. 15266; and Senate Legal Counsel, “Memorandum of
United States Senate as Amicus Curiae in Support of Plantiffs’ Motion, and in Opposition
to Defendants’ Motions, for Summary Judgment on Count Two,” U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia, Mackie v. Clinton, C.A. No. 93-0032-LFO, Congressional Record,
vol. 139, July 1, 1993, pp. 15267-15274. For academic literature, see, for example, Michael
A. Carrier, “When Is the Senate in Recess for Purposes of the Recess Appointments
Clause?” Michigan Law Review, vol. 92, June 1994.
30 Congress placed limits on payments to recess appointees as far back as 1863. The current
provisions date from 1940 (ch. 580, 54 Stat. 751; 5 U.S.C. 56, revised, and recodified at 5
U.S.C. 5503, by P.L. 89-554, 80 Stat. 475). For a legal history and overview of recess
appointments, see CRS Report
87-832 A, Recess Appointments: Legal Overview
(Archived), by Richard C. Ehlke.
31 P.L. 107-67, Sec. 609. The provision reads, “No part of any appropriation for the current
(continued...)

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CRS-15
Temporary Appointments
The second way a President may, under some circumstances, make a limited-
term appointment without Senate confirmation is by temporary appointment under
the Vacancies Act.
Congress has provided limited statutory authority for the
temporary filling of vacant positions requiring Senate confirmation under the Federal
Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.32 When an executive agency position requiring
confirmation becomes vacant, it may be filled temporarily in one of three ways: (1)
the first assistant to such a position may automatically assume the functions and
duties of the office; (2) the President may direct an officer in any agency who is
occupying a position requiring Senate confirmation to perform these tasks; or (3) the
President may select any officer or employee of the subject agency who is occupying
a position, for which the rate of pay is equal to or greater than the minimum rate of
pay at the GS-15 level, and who has been with the agency for at least 90 of the
preceding 365 days. The temporary appointment is for 210 days, but the time
restriction is suspended if a first or second nomination for the position is pending.
In addition, during a presidential transition, the 210-day restriction period does not
begin to run until either 90 days after the President assumes office, or 90 days after
the vacancy occurs, if it is within the 90-day inauguration period. Appointees under
the Vacancies Act are authorized to “perform the functions and duties of the office
temporarily in an acting capacity subject to [these] time limitations.”33 The act does
not apply to positions on multi-headed regulatory boards and commissions, to certain
other specific positions that may be filled temporarily under other statutory
provisions, or to new positions that have never been filled.34
Because temporary appointments under the Vacancies Act cannot be made to
new positions that have never been filled, this type of appointment is likely to be of
little use to the President for initial appointments to the new department. As noted
above, however, the Homeland Security Act gives the President specific authority for
making temporary appointments. The President is authorized, during the transition
period, to designate an officer already serving in a PAS position to serve, in an acting
capacity, in a position within the department. As discussed above and shown in
Table 1, six individuals had been designated under this authority as of January 15,
2004.35 All of the designees had also been nominated for their positions, and five of
these had been confirmed. The sixth was given a recess appointment by the President
31 (...continued)
fiscal year contained in this or any other Act shall be paid to any person for the filling of any
position for which he or she has been nominated after the Senate has voted not to approve
the nomination of said person.” This provision has been part of this annual funding activity
since at least 1950.
32 P.L. 105-277, Div. C, Title I, Sec. 151; 5 U.S.C. 3345-3349d.
33 5 U.S.C. 3345(a)(1).
34 This law superceded previous, similar statutory provisions. For more on the Vacancies
Act, see CRS Report 98-892, The New Vacancies Act: Congress Acts to Protect the Senate’s
Confirmation Prerogative, by Morton Rosenberg.
35 Table 1, notes d, g, and j.

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CRS-16
on December 26, 2003. The recess appointment will expire at the end of the second
session of the 108th Congress.
The Homeland Security Act includes another unique provision concerning the
filling of PAS positions. Namely, reconfirmation by the Senate is not required by the
law for “any officer whose agency is transferred to the Department pursuant to this
Act and whose duties following such transfer are germane to those performed before
such transfer.”36 As noted above, one individual had been appointed under this
authority as of January 15, 2004.
Departments Created Since 1965
Recent experience with the creation of new departments may provide an
indication of how the nomination and confirmation process may go for the new
homeland security department. The new department faces institutional constraints
and procedures similar to those faced by other recently created departments, although
specific circumstances are also likely to shape the process.
In addition to the Department of Homeland Security, five departments have been
created since 1965: Housing and Urban Development (1965); Transportation (1966);
Energy (1977); Education (1979); and Veterans Affairs (1988).37 Table 2 provides
a summary of the average length of time taken, in each of these departments, to
nominate and confirm individuals to PAS positions. A brief description of the
creation of, and initial appointments to, each of these departments is provided in an
appendix to this report. The initial appointments to PAS positions in each of these
departments are shown in Tables 4-8, which are located at the end of the appendix.
The last column in Table 2 shows the median time elapsed from enactment of
the organic legislation to Senate confirmation. The figures range from a low of 77
days (about 2 ½ months) to 352 days (nearly a year). With the exception of the
Department of Energy, the median times grew longer from 1965 to 1988. This is
consistent with studies indicating that, in general, the appointment process has grown
longer and more complex over the last 40 years. In addition to this trend, the length
of the process has been affected by idiosyncratic circumstances. In the case of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, for example, the organic legislation was signed into
law in the last months of the Reagan presidency, and implemented at the beginning
of the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The incoming President had no authority
to submit a nomination until his inauguration, which was 87 days after the bill-
signing. In addition, many tasks, including a multitude of other appointments,
confronted the new administration, and this may have contributed to the relatively
lengthy appointment process for the new department.
36 P.L. 107-296, Sec. 1511(c)(2).
37 In addition, at the time the Department of Education was created, the remainder of the
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare became the Department of Health and
Human Services.

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CRS-17
Table 2. Average Number of Days from Enactment of
Organic Legislation to Nomination and Confirmation of
Top Officials in the Five Most Recent New Departments38
Days Elapsed from
Days Elapsed from
Days Elapsed from
Enactment to
Nomination to
Enactment to
Department
Nomination
Confirmation
Confirmation
Mean
Median
Mean
Median
Mean
Median
Housing and Urban
216
132
7
6
223
140
Development (1965)
Transportation
176
130
25
20
201
163
(1966)
Energy (1977)
105
45
57
37
162
77
Education (1979)
155
169
34
34
190
203
Veterans Affairs
337
295
63
72
400
352
(1988)
The table also shows that the time between enactment and nomination generally
accounts for a far greater part of the appointment process than the time between
nomination and Senate confirmation; the President generally takes much longer to
submit a nomination than does the Senate to deliberate on the nomination. This
generalization is further supported by a study of departmental appointments in 1981
and 1993. The report looked at the time required to fill PAS positions in the first
year of the Reagan and Clinton Administrations. It showed that, on average, the time
the Presidents took to submit a nomination accounted for more than 75% of the total
time from inauguration to confirmation.39
38 The table shows both the mean and median number of days. The mean is the average as
it is commonly calculated. In order to calculate the mean days elapsed from enactment to
nomination, for example, for each department, the entries for all the positions in the
department were added together and then divided by the number of positions. The median
is the middle number when the “days elapsed” entries for all the positions are arranged in
numerical order. Although the mean is the more familiar kind of average, the median is
included because it diminishes the influence of a few extreme entries. For example, if the
President submits 10 of 12 nominations within 90 days (3 months) and the remaining two
within 540 days (18 months), the mean elapsed time would be 165 days, even though most
nominations were submitted far sooner than that. The median in this case would be 90 days,
which more clearly shows the time, in general, the President took to forward his
nominations.
39 CRS Report 98-641 GOV, Filling Policy Positions in Executive Departments: Average
Time Required Through Confirmation, 1981 and 1993 (Archived), by Rogelio Garcia.

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CRS-18
Proposals for Appointment Process Improvement
Over the past 20 years, a number of commissions and task forces have examined
the presidential appointment process and criticized, among other things, its length
and complexity.40 These groups have issued reports with a number of varied
recommendations, including identification of nominees early in the presidential
transition process; reduction of the overall number of presidential appointees or
Senate-confirmed appointees; greater control by cabinet heads of nominee selection
for subordinates; full-time White House guidance of nominees during the nomination
and confirmation process; easing of financial disclosure, conflict-of-interest
disclosure, and post-employment restrictions; and streamlining and standardization
among the White House, FBI, and Senate committees of requirements and forms for
background and financial disclosure.
During the 107th Congress, the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs
conducted hearings into the presidential appointment process.41 Coinciding with
these hearings, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) transmitted to the Senate
Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Government
Reform, on April 4, 2001, a report on completed and proposed improvements to the
financial disclosure process for presidential nominees.42 This report was developed
pursuant to the Presidential Transition Act of 2000, and was to include
... recommendations and legislative proposals on ... streamlining, standardizing,
and coordinating the financial disclosure process and the requirements of
financial disclosure reports under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 ... for
Presidential nominees [and] avoiding duplication of effort and reducing the
burden of filing with respect to financial disclosure of information to the White
House Office, the Office of Government Ethics, and the Senate ....43
According to the report, OGE found that the “public financial disclosure system ...
requires more information than is useful or necessary to achieve its fundamental
goals,” at a level of detail that is “more intrusive and burdensome than it need be.”44
OGE issued five related recommendations:
40 For an annotated list of these reports, see U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on
Governmental Affairs, Presidential Appointment Process: Reports of Commissions That
Studied the Staffing of Presidential Administrations: A Summary of Their Conclusions and
Recommendations for Reform, committee print, 107th Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: Apr.
2001).
41
Testimony from these hearings may be found at the following Web sites:
[http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/040401_witness.htm] and [http://www.senate.gov/
~gov_affairs/040501_witness.htm], visited Oct. 28, 2003.
42 U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Report on Improvements to the Financial Disclosure
Process for Presidential Nominees (Washington: Apr. 2001). Hereafter referred to as OGE
Report.
43 P.L. 106-293, Sec. 3(b)(1).
44 OGE Report, p. 2.

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CRS-19
(1) reduce the number of valuation categories;
(2) shorten certain reporting time-periods;
(3) limit the scope of reporting by raising certain dollar-thresholds;
(4) reduce details that are unnecessary for conflicts analysis; and
(5) eliminated redundant reporting.45
In addition, the office reported that it had been in contact with the Department of
Justice (DOJ) regarding revision of criminal conflict of interest statutes.
On December 12, 2001, Senator Fred Thompson introduced the Presidential
Appointments Improvement Act of 2001 (S. 1811).46 The bill was referred to the
Committee on Governmental Affairs, and was reported, with amendments, on May
16, 2002. It was not acted upon by the full Senate during the 107th Congress. The
bill would have amended the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to revise the
financial disclosure process for executive branch personnel covered by the act. The
bill would also have stipulated that specified information regarding presidentially
appointed positions be provided to presidential candidates from major parties. This
information would have been provided at the time of the candidates’ nominations.
Further, the bill would have required each agency to recommend PAS positions for
elimination. Finally, it called on OGE and the Attorney General to review federal
employment conflict of interest laws. The bill incorporated a substantial part of
legislation that was drafted by OGE, also pursuant to the Presidential Transition Act
of 2000.
Congressional interest in changes to the executive branch presidential
appointment process has continued in the 108th Congress. On April 2, 2003, Senator
George Voinovich introduced legislation very similar to Senator Thompson’s bill
from the previous Congress, and Rep. Jo Ann Davis introduced a companion bill in
the House on April 3, 2003.47
Similar legislation, if enacted, might shorten the length of time between the
creation of a new department and the submission of nominations to the Senate. It
would do so to the degree that it streamlined financial disclosure processes.
45 OGE Report, p. 2
46 See also U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Presidential
Appointments Act of 2002, report to accompany S. 1811, 107th Cong., 2nd sess., S.Rept. 107-
152 (Washington: GPO, 2002).
47 S. 765, introduced by Sen. Voinovich, and H.R. 1603, introduced by Rep. Davis, were
both entitled the Presidential Appointments Improvement Act of 2003.

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CRS-20
Appointment Progress at the New Department and
Congressional Options for Facilitating the
Appointment Process
If recent trends in the length of the appointment process continue in the current
context, appointments to PAS positions in the new homeland security department
could take, on average, nearly a year from the enactment of the organic legislation.
Based on past experience, three-quarters of this time is likely to be spent on the
selection and vetting process.
Several factors could have helped to speed this process.
First, the Bush
Administration created a transition team that prepared for the creation of the new
department. Presumably, part of this preparation process involved consideration of
the probable leadership. Within four months of enactment, individuals had been
identified for more than half of the PAS positions. By April 28, 2003, just over five
months past the bill signing, eleven nominations to DHS positions had been sent to
the Senate and five of these had been confirmed. This suggests that candidates were
already being selected and vetted before the bill signing, which should have
diminished the time necessary before remaining nominations were submitted to the
Senate. In addition, the Bush Administration had filled most of the other PAS
positions that were vacant at the beginning 2001, allowing the White House
appointments process to be more focused on the DHS positions. The prior two years
had also given the Administration the time and experience to fine-tune its selection
and vetting process.
Two features of the Homeland Security Act could also have sped up the process
of establishing transitional leadership for the new department.
Both of these
provisions have been discussed above. First, existing PAS appointees who would be
performing the same function in the new department do not need to be reconfirmed.
Second, the President is authorized, during the transition period, to designate an
officer already serving in a PAS position to serve, in an acting capacity, in a position
within the department. As noted above, the President has used both of these
authorities.
As of January 15, 2004, 17 (65%) of the 26 PAS positions at DHS had been
filled (see Figure 1); nine of the possible 12 assistant secretaries remained unnamed.
Fourteen nominations to DHS positions had been sent to the Senate, and 13 of these
had been confirmed by that date. The one nominee who was not confirmed received
a recess appointment from the President, and this appointment will expire at the end
of the second session of the 108th Congress. Of the 13 nominations that had been
confirmed, one appointee had resigned, and the position had been filled through a
second confirmed nomination. Consequently, 12 positions had been filled through
the advice and consent process. In addition to the 12 positions filled in this manner,
three positions, Commissioner of Customs, Commandant of the Coast Guard, and
U.S. Fire Administrator, continued to be held by pre-transition incumbents. One
additional position, Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, had
been filled, without Senate confirmation, by an existing PAS appointee, as provided
in the act. In total, the initial appointment process had been completed for 16 of the

---

CRS-21
26 positions — more than one-half. Including the recess-appointed individual, a total
of 17 officials were in place in PAS positions at the new department by January 15,
2004.
Table 3. Appointments at the Department of Homeland Security,
as of January 15, 2004
As of
01/15/04
Nominations
14
Confirmations
13
Incumbent continuing as provided for in the Homeland Security Act
2
Incumbent continuing as provided for elsewhere
1
Appointed through germane duties provision
1
Appointment process completed
16
Designated in acting capacity as provided in the act and not yet confirmed
1
Serving under a recess appointment (same individual as the line above)
1
Confirmed officials who subsequently left the department (replaced)
1
Total PAS positions filled
17
Options for facilitating faster appointment of DHS officials would include the
following:
! There is a consensus that the vetting process can be improved.
Some recommended improvements would require congressional
action, such as streamlining the vetting process. Depending on the
substance, however, proposed changes to financial disclosure or
conflict of interest requirements could prove controversial. It is not
clear if such changes would take effect in time to shorten the vetting
time for the remaining candidates for DHS positions.
! Although the Senate confirmation process is, on average, a smaller
portion of the appointment process than the selection and vetting
process, it too has been taking longer over time. The Senate might
wish to review some of the recommendations made by the
commissions
and
task
forces
cited
above
for
possible
implementation.
! The Senate might choose to work closely with the Administration
prior to the nominations in order to promote the vetting and
nomination of candidates who will be acceptable to the Senate.
Congress may also wish to amend the Homeland Security Act with appointment,
title, and compensation specifications for the head of TSA.

---

CRS-22
Conclusion
The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created the new Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), which came into existence on January 24, 2003. The act creates in,
or transfers to, DHS some 26 full-time civilian PAS positions. Studies indicate that
the appointment process is, on average, taking longer, and that the selection and
vetting process often takes much longer than the confirmation process. Current
circumstances favored a shorter than average time between enactment of the
Homeland Security Act and the filling of the leadership positions for the new
department. Nonetheless, Congress can play a role in facilitating the appointment
process for these, as well as other, positions.

---

CRS-23
Appendix: Departments Created Since 1965
Housing and Urban Development. Presidents John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon B. Johnson had sought the creation of a housing department each year since
1961. In 1965, Congress passed legislation, despite strong opposition, establishing
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).48 The act essentially
elevated the Housing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA) and its components to
cabinet level. HHFA included an administrative component and five operating units:
the Federal Housing Administration, the Public Housing Administration, the Federal
National Mortgage Association, the Community Facilities Administration, and the
Urban Renewal Administration.
The HUD legislation was signed into law on September 9, 1965, and went into
effect 60 days later. President Johnson delayed the formation of HUD pending the
completion of a report on the government’s role in solving urban problems.49 The
new department began with about 14,000 employees and a budget of $3.1 billion (FY
1967).50
Seven PAS positions were created in the new department: a secretary, an under
secretary, four assistant secretaries, and a general counsel. Information concerning
the initial appointments to these positions is shown in Table 4. Nominations to four
of these positions were sent to the Senate and confirmed within five months of the
bill-signing, and nominations to all but one position had cleared the Senate within
nine months. The Administration took more than a year to forward a nominee for
general counsel, but that individual was confirmed within three weeks of nomination.
The mean time from the bill-signing to confirmation was 223 days, or nearly eight
months. The lengthy nomination process for the general counsel skews this average,
however. The median time, 140 days, or almost five months, may more accurately
reflect the average time taken to get top positions filled at the new department.51 Two
of the appointments, secretary and Assistant Secretary for Mortgage Credit/Federal
Housing Commissioner, went to individuals who had served in similar capacities in
HHFA. Their experience in the positions and with the appointment process may
have aided in their relatively quick confirmations. However, the other two nominees
who were nominated and confirmed relatively quickly had not held similar PAS
positions. Notably, no nomination was in the Senate more than three weeks. In
addition, the percentage of the total time from enactment to confirmation that the
nominations were in the Senate was relatively small — 3% on average; the time
48 P.L. 89-174, 79 Stat. 667.
49 “Department of Housing Approved,” in Congressional Quarterly Almanac (Washington:
Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1965), p. 382.
50 For a description, in table form, of departments established from 1947 to 2001, see CRS
Report RL31472, Departmental Organization, 1947-2001, by Sharon Gressle.
51 The means were calculated by dividing the column sums by the number of entries in the
column. This type of average may be strongly influenced by one or two particularly high
or low values. The median is the middle value in a group of numbers; half of the remaining
values fall above it and half below. If there are an even number of values, the median is the
mean of the two most central numbers.

---

CRS-24
taken to get the nomination to the Senate after enactment was far greater, even for the
earliest nominations.
Transportation. In 1966, legislation was enacted creating the Department of
Transportation (DOT).52 Functions were transferred to the new department from a
variety of other parts of the federal government, including the Departments of
Commerce, the Treasury, the Interior, and the Army, the Interstate Commerce
Commission, and the Civil Aeronautics Board. The Federal Aviation Agency was
transferred in its entirety.
President Johnson signed the bill into law on October 15, 1966. A section of
the act provided for the establishment of the department 90 days after the new
secretary took office. In 1967, the new department had nearly 59,000 employees. Its
budget for FY1968 was $6.1 billion.
At the outset, DOT had 19 PAS positions. The initial appointments to these
positions are shown in Table 5. The secretary was confirmed within three months
of the bill-signing, and nominations to 14 of the remaining positions cleared the
Senate within about six months. The Administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway
Development Corporation, who had been appointed by President Kennedy in 1961,
continued to serve in that position. Only three appointments took longer than six
months: the Administrator of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (698
days), the Assistant Secretary of Research and Technology (394 days), and the
Director of the National Highway Safety Bureau (300 days). Despite these longer
appointment processes, for the department, the mean length of time from enactment
to confirmation was 201 days, while the median was 163.
Energy. Congress created the Department of Energy (DOE) in 1977.53 The
new department absorbed, as a whole, the authorities of the Federal Power
Commission, the Federal Energy Administration, and the Energy Research and
Development Administration. It also drew functions from other government entities,
including the Departments of the Interior, Housing and Urban Development,
Defense, and Transportation, and the Interstate Commerce Commission.
The legislation creating the new department had strong support in both houses
of Congress, and President Jimmy Carter signed it into law on August 4, 1977. The
new department was established at the start of the new fiscal year, on October 1,
1977. It had approximately 19,600 employees and a budget (FY1978) of about $10.5
billion.
The law provided for 22 new PAS positions in the department. The initial
appointments to these positions are shown in Table 6. The secretary was nominated
and confirmed the day the President signed the bill. Nominations to 13 other
positions were confirmed by the end of the year (within about 4 months). The
remainder were nominated and confirmed in the following congressional session,
52 P.L. 89-670, 80 Stat. 931.
53 P.L. 95-91, 91 Stat. 565.

---

CRS-25
with total elapsed times of 155 to 432 days (5 to 14 months). As Table 6 shows,
many of these nominations that were confirmed relatively more quickly were
confirmed on the same day, October 20, 1977. Most of the appointments that
remained took substantially longer. The mean length of time from enactment to
confirmation was 162 days (5-6 months), and the median was 77 days (2-3 months).
These represent the shortest average appointment periods among the departments
studied. It is worth noting, however, that the average confirmation period as a
proportion of the total appointment time was relatively large for the Department of
Energy. On average, confirmation took longer for the Department of Energy than for
any other new department studied; the mean length of time from nomination to
confirmation was nearly two months. Conflict between organized energy interests
may have contributed to longer confirmation times for this department.54
Education. In 1979, Congress created, despite considerable opposition in the
House, the Department of Education.55 The new department consisted of programs
that had previously been part of the Education Division of the Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare (HEW). The remaining parts of HEW were then renamed
the Department of Health and Human Services.
President Carter signed the bill into law on October 17, 1979, and the
Department of Education began official operations in May 1980.
The new
department initially had around 7,400 employees and a budget (FY 1981) of
approximately $14.7 billion.
The new department had a total of 18 PAS positions. The initial appointments
to these positions are shown in Table 7. Two positions were transferred directly
from HEW; the incumbents were appointed prior to the creation of the new
department. The secretary was confirmed about a month and a half after the bill-
signing, and four other officers were confirmed within 5 months. The remaining 10
took longer than 5 months, and both the mean and median times to confirmation were
more than 6 months. All officers were confirmed within a year after the law was
passed. The nominees who had previously been nominated and confirmed to other
PAS positions seemed not to have been confirmed any more quickly than those who
had not. This was true even of those who had served in education positions in HEW.
Although the average time a nomination awaited confirmation in the Senate was just
a little more than a month, one nomination remained there for 12 weeks. Still, the
elapsed time a nomination spent in the Senate was, on average, less than 20% of the
total time from signing of the law to confirmation.
Veterans Affairs.
In 1988, legislation was enacted to reorganize the
Veterans’ Administration and elevate it to cabinet level to create the Department of
Veterans Affairs.56 Similar legislation had been introduced in every Congress since
the early 1960s, and it had widespread, although not universal, support in the House
54 J.P. Smith, “Old Hands Grip a New Department,” Washington Post, Oct. 31, 1977, p. A1.
55 P.L. 96-88, 93 Stat. 668.
56 P.L. 100-527, 102 Stat. 2635.

---

CRS-26
and Senate. President Ronald W. Reagan endorsed the idea in November 1987, and
legislation moved forward during the next session of Congress.
President Reagan signed the bill into law on October 25, 1988, in the last
months of his presidency.
The act took effect on March 15, 1989, after the
beginning of the Administration of President George H. W. Bush. The law also
provided, however, that the President could appoint the secretary at any time after
January 21.
Whereas the Veterans’ Administration had three PAS positions in 1988, there
were 13 in the new department.57 The initial appointments to these positions are
shown in Table 8. The secretary was nominated and confirmed by the time the act
took effect, and the deputy secretary was confirmed shortly thereafter.
The mean length of time from enactment of the organic legislation for the
Department of Veterans Affairs to the confirmation of appointees was well over a
year (400 days).
This is nearly twice as long as any of the other four new
departments. Although the Senate confirmation process took longer, on average,
than it did in the other four cases studied here, the President’s selection and vetting
process still accounts for more than 80% of the total elapsed time between enactment
and confirmation. This may be due, in part, to the transition between the Reagan and
Bush presidencies that took place soon after the law was signed. The new Bush
Administration faced many tasks in its first year, including numerous other PAS
appointments.
57 Twelve of the positions were created by the department’s organic legislation. The Chair
of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals was converted into a PAS position by a provision of a
separate act, P.L. 100-687, which was signed into law at about the same time (Nov. 11,
1988).

---

CRS-27
Table 4. Initial Appointments to the New Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1966-1967
Date
Date
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Position
Executive
nomination
confirmed
from
from
from
(PAS position held immediately prior to this
Schedule
received in
by the
enactmenta to
comination to
enactmenta to
Appointee
position, if any)
Level
the Senate
Senate
nomination
confirmation
confirmation
Robert C. Weaver
Secretary
I
01/14/66
01/17/66
127
3
130
(Administrator, Housing and Home Finance
Agency)
Robert C. Wood
Under Secretary
III
01/14/66
01/17/66
127
3
130
H. Ralph Taylor
Asst. Secy. - Demonstrations/Intergovernmental
IV
05/10/66
05/16/66
243
6
249
Relations
Charles M. Haar
Asst. Secy. - Metropolitan Development
IV
01/19/66
01/27/66
132
8
140
Philip N. Brownstein
Asst. Secy. - Mortgage Credit/Federal Housing
IV
01/19/66
01/27/66
132
8
140
Commissioner
(Commissioner, Federal Housing Administration,
Housing and Home Finance Agency)
Don Hummel
Asst. Secy. - Renewal/Housing Assistance
IV
05/10/66
05/16/66
243
6
249
Thomas C. McGrath, Jr.
General Counsel
IV
02/01/67
02/17/67
510
16
526
Mean
216
7
223
Median
132
6
140
Source: U.S. Congress, Senate, Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America (EJ), vol. 108, pp. 1, 41-42, 48-49, 505, 559, 572; vol. 109 EJ, pp. 37, 135, 138.
a. The Department of Housing and Urban Development was created by the Housing and Urban Development Act (P.L. 89-174, 79 Stat. 667), signed into law on Sept. 9, 1965.

---

CRS-28
Table 5. Initial Appointments to the New Department of Transportation, 1966-1968
Date
Date
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Position
Executive
nomination
confirmed
from
from
from
(PAS position held immediately prior to this
Schedule
received in
by the
enactmenta to
nomination to
enactmenta to
Appointee
position, if any)
Level
the Senate
Senate
nomination
confirmation
confirmation
Alan S. Boyd
Secretary
I
01/10/67
01/12/67
87
2
89
(Under Secretary of Commerce for
Transportation)
Everett Hutchinson
Under Secretary
II
01/12/67
01/31/67
89
19
108
Gen. William F.
Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration
II
01/17/67
03/02/67
94
44
138
McKee (Ret.)
(Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency)
Paul L. Sitton
Administrator, Urban Mass Transportation
III
09/04/68
09/12/68
690
8
698
Administration
(Director, Office of Transportation Programs,
Commerce)
Lowell K. Bridwell
Federal Highway Administrator
III
01/18/67
02/09/67
95
22
117
(Deputy Under Secretary for Transportation,
Commerce)
A. Scheffer Lang
Federal Railroad Administrator
III
03/08/67
04/20/67
144
43
187
(Deputy Under Secretary for Transportation
Research, Commerce)
Joseph J. O’Connell, Jr.
Chair, National Transportation Safety Board
III
04/05/67
04/20/67
172
15
187
Oscar M. Laurel
Member, National Transportation Safety Board
IV
04/05/67
04/20/67
172
15
187
Francis H. McAdams
Member, National Transportation Safety Board
IV
04/05/67
04/20/67
172
15
187
John H. Reed
Member, National Transportation Safety Board
IV
04/05/67
04/20/67
172
15
187
Rear Adm. Louis M.
Member, National Transportation Safety Board
IV
04/05/67
04/20/67
172
15
187
Thayer, USCG (Ret.)

---

CRS-29
Date
Date
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Position
Executive
nomination
confirmed
from
from
from
(PAS position held immediately prior to this
Schedule
received in
by the
enactmenta to
nomination to
enactmenta to
Appointee
position, if any)
Level
the Senate
Senate
nomination
confirmation
confirmation
Joseph H. McCannb
Administrator, St. Lawrence Seaway Development
IV
—
—
—
—
—
Corporation
Donald G. Agger
Asst. Secy. - International Affairs
IV
02/07/67
03/02/67
115
23
138
M. Cecil Mackey, Jr.
Asst. Secy. - Policy Development
IV
01/24/67
03/02/67
101
37
138
(Director, Office of Transportation Policy
Development, Commerce)
John L. Sweeney
Asst. Secy. - Public Affairs
IV
01/26/67
03/02/67
103
35
138
(Federal Cochairman, Appalachian Regional
Commission)
Frank W. Lehan
Asst. Secy. - Research and Technology
IV
10/24/67
11/13/67
374
20
394
David D. Thomas
Deputy Administrator, Federal Aviation
IV
01/17/67
03/02/67
94
44
138
Administration
(Deputy Administrator, Federal Aviation Agency)
John E. Robson
General Counsel
IV
01/12/67
01/31/67
89
19
108
William Haddon, Jr.
Director, National Highway Safety Bureau
V
06/06/67
08/11/67
234
66
300
Mean
176
25
201
Median
130
20
163
Source: U.S. Congress, Senate, Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America (EJ), vol. 109, pp. 1-2, 6, 26, 30, 32, 35, 97, 101, 205-206, 411, 437, 442, 569, 741-742,
982, 1032, 1034; vol. 110 EJ, pp. 454, 502-503.
a. The Department of Transportation was created by the Department of Transportation Act (P.L. 89-670, 80 Stat. 931), signed into law on Oct. 15, 1966.
b. McCann had served in this capacity when the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation was under the supervision of the Secretary of Commerce, and continued to serve in this capacity as the
organization moved to the new Department of Transportation. He was nominated by President John F. Kennedy on March 14, 1961, and confirmed by the Senate on March 28, 1961 (vol. 103 EJ,
pp. 424, 476).

---

CRS-30
Table 6. Initial Appointments to the New Department of Energy, 1977-1978
Date
Date
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Position
Executive
nomination
confirmed
from
from
from
(PAS position held immediately prior to this
Schedule
received in
by the
enactmenta to
nomination to
enactmenta to
Appointee
position, if any)
Level
the Senate
Senate
nomination
confirmation
confirmation
James R. Schlesinger
Secretary
I
08/04/77
08/04/77
1
1
1
John F. O’Leary
Deputy Secretary
II
09/13/77
10/20/77
40
37
77
(Administrator, Federal Energy
Administration)
Dale D. Myers
Under Secretary
III
09/13/77
10/20/77
40
37
77
Charles B. Curtis
Chair, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
III
09/13/77
10/20/77
40
37
77
George R. Hall
Member, Federal Energy Regulatory
IV
09/13/77
10/20/77
40
37
77
Commission
Don S. Smith
Member, Federal Energy Regulatory
IV
09/28/77
10/20/77
55
22
77
Commission
(Commissioner, Federal Power Commission)
Matthew Holden, Jr.
Member, Federal Energy Regulatory
IV
09/23/77
10/20/77
50
27
77
Commission
Georgiana H. Sheldon
Member, Federal Energy Regulatory
IV
09/13/77
10/20/77
40
37
77
Commission
(Chair, U.S. Civil Service Commission)
David J. Bardin
Administrator, Economic Regulatory Admin.
IV
09/13/77
10/20/77
40
37
77
(Deputy Administrator, Federal Energy
Admin.)
Lincoln E. Moses
Administrator, Energy Information Admin.
IV
11/29/77
12/15/77
117
16
133
Omi Gail Walden
Asst. Secy. - Conservation and Solar
IV
01/25/78
07/26/78
174
182
356
Applications

---

CRS-31
Date
Date
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Position
Executive
nomination
confirmed
from
from
from
(PAS position held immediately prior to this
Schedule
received in
by the
enactmenta to
nomination to
enactmenta to
Appointee
position, if any)
Level
the Senate
Senate
nomination
confirmation
confirmation
Duane C. Sewell
Asst. Secy. - Defense Programs
IV
05/09/78
08/07/78
278
90
368
Robert D. Thorneb
Asst. Secy. - Energy Technology
IV
09/13/77
05/04/78
40
198
238
(Acting Assistant Administrator for Nuclear
Energy, Energy Research and Development
Administration)
Ruth Clusen
Asst. Secy. - Environment
IV
07/13/78
08/25/78
343
43
386
Philip S. Hughes
Asst. Secy. - Intergovernmental and
IV
09/23/77
10/20/77
50
27
77
Institutional Relations
Harry E. Bergold, Jr.
Asst. Secy. - International Affairs
IV
09/13/77
10/20/77
40
37
77
Alvin L. Alm
Asst. Secy. - Policy and Evaluation
IV
09/13/77
10/20/77
40
37
77
George S. McIsaacb
Asst. Secy. - Resource Applications
IV
12/01/77
02/10/78
119
36
155
John M. Deutch
Director, Office of Energy Research
IV
09/13/77
12/06/77
40
84
124
Lynn R. Colemanb
General Counsel
IV
09/23/77
05/09/78
50
193
243
John K. Mansfield
Inspector General
IV
04/20/78
05/03/78
259
13
272
Thomas S. Williamson, Jr.
Deputy Inspector General
V
09/21/78
10/10/78
413
19
432
Mean
105
57
162
Median
45
37
77
Source: U.S. Congress, Senate, Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America (EJ), vol. 119, pp. 658, 676, 717- 718, 741, 779, 833, 838-839, 914, 932, 939-940,
957, 959; vol. 120 EJ, pp. 27, 31-32, 96, 106, 205, 371, 433-440, 564, 586-587, 628, 631, 683, 761, 769.
a. The Department of Energy was created by the Energy Organization Act (P.L. 95-91, 91 Stat. 565), signed into law on Aug. 4, 1977.
b. At the end of the 95th Cong., 1st sess., the nominations of Thorne, Coleman, and McIsaac were returned to the President at the time of sine die adjournment on Dec. 15, 1977, under the provisions of
paragraph 6 of rule XXXVIII of the Standing Rules of the Senate (vol. 119 EJ, pp. 975-976). Each of the three was renominated to the same position on Jan. 26, 1978 and confirmed as noted.
Although this activity technically represents two nominations for each nominee, the two are treated as one continuous nomination for the purposes of this table. The elapsed times between nomination
and confirmation and enactment and confirmation do not include the 35 days of the intersession recess (Dec. 15, 1977 to Jan. 19, 1978), during which the Senate would have been unable to act
on these nominations.

---

CRS-32
Table 7. Initial Appointments to the New Department of Education, 1979-1980
Date
Date
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Position
Executive
nomination
confirmed
from
from
from
(PAS position held immediately prior to this
Schedule
received in
by the
enactmenta to
nomination to
enactmenta to
Appointee
position, if any)
Level
the Senate
Senate
nomination
confirmation
confirmation
Shirley M. Hufstedler
Secretary
I
11/14/79
11/30/79
28
16
44
(Circuit Judge, Ninth Circuit)
Steven A. Minter
Under Secretary
III
03/21/80
05/07/80
156
47
203
Cynthia G. Brown
Asst. Secy. - Civil Rights
IV
06/06/80
06/18/80
233
12
245
(Principal Deputy, Office for Civil Rights, HEW)
Thomas K. Minter
Asst. Secy. - Elementary and Secondary Education
IV
04/03/80
05/07/80
169
34
203
(Deputy Commissioner for Secondary Education,
HEW)
Albert W. Bowker
Asst. Secy. - Postsecondary Education
IV
04/21/80
05/07/80
187
16
203
F. James Rutherford
Asst. Secy. - Research and Improvement
IV
04/03/80
05/07/80
169
34
203
(Assistant Director for Science Education, National
Science Foundation)
Edwin W. Martin, Jr.
Asst. Secy. - Special Education and Rehabilitative
IV
06/06/80
06/18/80
233
12
245
Services
(Deputy Commissioner for Education of the
Handicapped, HEW)
Daniel B. Taylor
Asst. Secy. - Vocational and Adult Education
IV
05/28/80
06/18/80
224
21
245
Betsy Levin
General Counsel
IV
02/13/80
04/02/80
119
49
168
James B. Thomas, Jr.
Inspector General
IV
06/13/80
08/19/80
240
67
307
(Director, Bureau of Accounts, ICC)
C. William Fischer
Asst. Secy. - Budget and Planning
Vb
01/25/80
02/28/80
100
34
134
(Special Assistant, Department of Energy)

---

CRS-33
Date
Date
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Position
Executive
nomination
confirmed
from
from
from
(PAS position held immediately prior to this
Schedule
received in
by the
enactmenta to
nomination to
enactmenta to
Appointee
position, if any)
Level
the Senate
Senate
nomination
confirmation
confirmation
Martha E. Keys
Asst. Secy. - Legislation
Vb
05/19/80
06/18/80
215
30
245
John Gabusi
Asst. Secy. - Management
Vb
01/25/80
02/28/80
100
34
134
(Assistant Director for Management, Community
Services Administration)
Elizabeth S. Carpenter
Asst. Secy. - Public Affairs
Vb
01/25/80
02/28/80
100
34
134
c
Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Admin.
V
—
—
—
—
—
Lelia Kimched
Director, Institute for Museum Services
V
—
—
—
—
—
Michael P. Timpane
Director, National Institute for Education
V
04/28/80
05/21/80
194
23
217
(Deputy Director, National Institute of Education,
HEW)
Margaret J. Giannini
Director, National Institute of Handicapped
V
11/06/79
01/29/80
20
84
104
Research
Mean
155
34
190
Median
169
34
203
Source: U.S. Congress, Senate, Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America (EJ), vol. 121, pp. 851, 856, 904, 911; vol. 122 EJ, pp. 42, 44, 45, 81, 122, 127, 154,
214, 223, 227, 257, 272, 278, 283, 318-319, 325, 331, 345, 361, 365, 374-375, 470, 528.
a. The Department of Education was created by the Department of Education Organization Act (P.L. 96-88, 93 Stat. 668), signed into law on Oct. 17, 1979.
b. More recently, all assistant secretaries in the Department of Education have been compensated at Level IV of the Executive Schedule (U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Policy
and Supporting Positions, committee print, 106th Cong., 2nd sess., S.Prt. 106-54, Nov. 8, 2000 (Washington: GPO, 2000), pp. 75-83).
c. Robert R. Humphreys was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on Sept. 23, 1977 and confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 28, 1977 for this position, which was part of the Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare at the time. He was succeeded by George A. Conn, who was nominated by Ronald Reagan on July 1, 1981 and confirmed on July 28, 1981. It is unclear when Humphreys’
tenure ended and whether or not he continued to serve at the beginning of the new Department of Education (vol.119 EJ, pp. 740, 778; vol.123 EJ, pp. 441, 569).
d. Kimche was nominated (Dec. 6, 1977) and confirmed (Dec. 15, 1977) prior to the transfer of this position from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to the new Department of Education
(vol. 119 EJ, pp. 935, 959). It appears that she continued to hold the position at the beginning of the new department (U.S. Congress, House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Policy
and Supporting Positions, committee print, 96th Cong., 2nd sess., Nov. 19, 1980 (Washington: GPO, 1980), p. 42).

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CRS-34
Table 8. Initial Appointments to the New Department of Veterans Affairs, 1989-1990
Date
Date
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Days elapsed
Position
Executive
nomination
confirmed
from
from
from
(PAS position held immediately prior to this
Schedule
received in
by the
enactmenta to
nomination to
enactmenta to
Appointee
position, if any)
Level
the Senate
Senate
nomination
confirmationb
confirmationb
Edward J. Derwinskic
Secretary
I
01/20/89
03/02/89
87
41
128
(Under Secretary for Security Assistance, Science
and Technology, State)
Anthony J. Principi
Deputy Secretary
II
03/06/89
03/17/89
132
11
143
D’Wayne Gray
Chief Benefits Director, Veterans Benefits
III
01/25/90
04/05/90
457
70
527
Administration
James W. Holsinger, Jr.
Chief Medical Director, Veterans Health
III
05/15/90
08/04/90
567
81
648
Administration
David E. Lewis
Asst. Secy. - Acquisition and Facilities
IV
10/12/89
11/19/89
352
38
390
Edward T. Timperlake
Asst. Secy. - Congressional and Public Affairs
IV
06/15/89
10/06/89
233
80
313
S. Anthony McCann
Asst. Secy. - Finance and Planning
IV
06/21/89
10/06/89
239
74
313
Edward G. Lewis
Asst. Secy. - Information Resources Management
IV
09/18/89
11/19/89
328
62
390
Ronald E. Ray
Asst. Secy. - Human Resources and Administration
IV
09/06/89
11/19/89
316
74
390
Allen B. Clark, Jr.
Asst. Secy. - Veterans Liaison and Program
IV
07/17/89
10/06/89
265
48
313
Coordination
Charles L. Cragind
Chair, Board of Veterans’ Appeals
IV
09/24/90
02/28/91
682
90
772
Jo Ann K. Webb
Director, National Cemetery System
IV
07/26/89
10/06/89
274
39
313
Raoul L. Carroll
General Counsel
IV
06/15/89
10/06/89
233
80
313
Stephen A. Trodden
Inspector General
IV
05/07/90
08/04/90
559
89
648
(Assistant Inspector General for Audit, DOD)
Mean
337
63
400
Median
295
72
352
Source: Senate nominations database of the Legislative Information System, available at [http://www.congress.gov/nomis/].
a. The Department of Veterans Affairs was created by the Veterans Affairs Act (P.L. 100-527, 102 Stat. 2635), signed into law on Oct. 25, 1988.
b. The 33 days the Senate was in recess during the summer of 1989 (Aug. 4 to Sept. 6, 1989) and the 67 days between the 101st and 102nd Congresses (Oct. 28, 1990 to Jan. 3, 1991), during which the
Senate could not have acted on nominations, are not included in the calculations of elapsed time between nomination and confirmation.
c. President George H. W. Bush nominated, and the Senate confirmed, Derwinski as both ecretary of the new department and Administrator of Veterans Affairs.
d. The Chair of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals was converted into a PAS position by a provision of a separate act, P.L. 100-687 (Nov. 11, 1988), near the same time that the Veterans Affairs Act was
signed into law. Cragin was first nominated on Sept. 24, 1990 and, after his nomination was returned to the President at the end of the 101st Congress, nominated again on Jan. 4, 1991. For the
purposes of this report, these two nominations are treated as one continuous nomination.

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