Posted on 09/13/2007 9:24:07 AM PDT by Calpernia
Posters Note: The title sounds almost Nixonian, but Mr. Hunter has been a thorn in many bureaucratic sides for a long time, as this article reveals.
Rep. Duncan Hunter was aware that the U.S. Department of Energy was unhappy with him. Little did he know how unhappy. As chairman of a House national security subcommittee, the El Cajon Republican has called for cutting the agency's budget. But he did not realize that had earned him a spot on what has become known as the Energy Department's "enemies list."
Still, Hunter was not exactly surprised when another member of Congress recently showed him the list, which includes Hunter and some other members of Congress the Department of Energy (DOE) deemed hostile to its interests. Predictably, the listing has provided Hunter with more ammunition for his criticism of Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary and the way she has run her department. "I think she should resign," Hunter said flatly yesterday, joining the growing number of congressional calls for O'Leary to leave her post.
O'Leary has received praise from some quarters for the way she has run her department, especially for opening the agency's records concerning medical radiation experiments over the years. But the Energy Department also has been under fire for its management of nuclear waste disposal and for retaining what its critics say is a bloated bureaucracy. O'Leary's problems intensified last week when the Wall Street Journal revealed that DOE paid $43,500 for a private contractor to rate the way reporters write about the agency.
That was enough to set off a torrent of criticism. The White House reprimanded O'Leary but did not fire her, as many congressional Republicans had demanded. She issued a statement acknowledging that she used "bad judgment." But the criticism, instead of dying down, now has intensified. The House Commerce Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing today on O'Leary's use of public funds. It has turned out that the private contractor, Computer Aided Research and Media Analysis (CARMA), also provided the agency with a list of "favorable" and "unfavorable" politicians and environmental activists.
Heading the "unfavorable" compilation was Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., who has called for abolishing the agency. A compilation of the top 25 congressional critics of DOE with an "unfavorable" rating has been circulating on Capitol Hill. It ranks Hunter 12th. The only other Californian on the list is Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach. Hunter's National Security Subcommittee on Military Procurement oversees DOE's management of nuclear weapons and its cleanup of nuclear waste.
A proponent of abolishing DOE and giving its nuclear weapon responsibilities to the Pentagon, Hunter has criticized the agency as having too much bureaucracy and too many consultants financed by its $6.5 billion nuclear waste cleanup account. A new budget authorization passed by the House would cut $742 million from the account. But, Hunter said, referring to CARMA, "When I cut their budget of nonessential consultants, it looks like I missed one."
The fuss about the money spent by DOE on the media relations is not the only flap to have erupted over O'Leary's spending. There has been criticism before of her extensive taxpayer-funded travel abroad. And on Wednesday DOE acknowledged that it paid a consultant at least $265 a day for two years to help develop a media relations strategy for O'Leary. A spokeswoman for DOE said O'Leary has not issued any statement concerning the practice of rating members of Congress. O'Leary, however, has said she "terminated" the contract with CARMA and did not find its work "useful."
Ping to B4DH and substantial cuts in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ping
Here is a nugget the Dinosaur Media Death Watch List might find interesting:
>>>O’Leary’s problems intensified last week when the Wall Street Journal revealed that DOE paid $43,500 for a private contractor to rate the way reporters write about the agency.<<<
I wonder if this is about Spencer Abraham and the nuclear waste that was dumped into the mountains in Nevada?
Hey hey. The more you dig the better he sounds. Just the opposite of all the others.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.