Issue Position: Improving Government

Issue Position

Issue Position: Improving Government

"I believe government's highest calling is to empower people and galvanize their energy and resources to help solve our problems, meet our challenges and seize our opportunities."

Senator Voinovich has long made reform of the federal workforce one of his top priorities. He has committed himself to providing the federal government with the tools needed to recruit and retain the skilled employees required to meet our nation's changing needs. And he's always done so with the motto "do more with less."

As governor of Ohio, he implemented the Quality Service Through Partnership program to train thousands of state workers in management techniques that stressed employee empowerment and common sense problem solving. The number of state employees was reduced under Governor Voinovich's administration, while the remaining workforce became more professional and motivated. His service earned him Governing magazine's "Public Official of the Year" award for 1995.

In the Senate, George V. Voinovich has become a recognized leader in addressing the human capital challenges that threaten the federal government's ability to provide essential services to the American people. During his four-year tenure as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia, Senator Voinovich has worked to enact more reforms to the federal civil service than had been made in the previous 25 years.

Senator Voinovich knows that legislated reforms are only the first step towards addressing the future workforce needs of the federal government. Congressional oversight of those reforms is crucial to ensure effective implementation. The subcommittee's jurisdiction affords him the unique opportunity to enact a comprehensive oversight agenda and investigate broad areas of federal government management and operations.

In addition to hearings on human capital oversight, Senator Voinovich used the subcommittee to conduct oversight of a wide range of agencies and programs. Some of his top priorities include:

* Department of Defense's Supply Chain Management: Senator Voinovich has embarked on a comprehensive review of the Department of Defense's supply chain management process. The goal of supply chain management is to deliver the "right items to the right place at the right time" for America's fighting men and women. There are two overarching principles to the senator's interest and involvement for improving the supply chain management process. First, the department must be a better steward of the taxpayer's money. Second, inefficient, ineffective and redundant steps within the supply chain have a direct and immediate impact on American soldiers on the battlefield.

* Federal Government Security Clearance Process: Senator Voinovich is also committed to improving the federal government's security clearance procedures. The cumbersome, lengthy security clearance process delays the timely hire of highly-skilled individuals for sensitive positions within the federal government. This delay hampers the nation's national security agencies' capacity to meet their heightened missions. Senator Voinovich was integral in establishing the security clearance provisions in the Intelligence Reform Act, and he is committed to fixing a process that has serious implications on the ability of the federal government's national security workforce to get the job done. The Office of Personnel Management reduced the number awaiting clearance investigations by 36 percent in 2006. Nevertheless, OPM still faces a backlog of over 61,000 security clearances.

* Improving Management of the Department of Homeland Security: The signing of the Homeland Security Act on November 25, 2002, initiated the federal government's largest restructuring since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947. The leaders of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must contend with major organizational, operational and cultural issues as they attempt to meld a unified identity from DHS's 22 original agencies and 180,000 employees. Simultaneously, DHS is charged with the monumental task of protecting our county against terrorism. Senator Voinovich has engaged in vigorous oversight of the department's transformation and has worked with his colleagues to address a variety of homeland security concerns to ensure that DHS has the proper tools to make necessary improvements in its operations.

* Chemical Industry Security: Senator Voinovich is keenly aware that the chemical industry plays a key role in our nation's high quality of life, whether it is crop production, temperature control, water chlorination, household cleaners or life-saving medications. In Ohio, the chemical industry directly employs nearly 50,000 people; each one of these jobs creating an additional 6.2 jobs. Though the senator acknowledges the work that the industry has done to self-regulate in the absence of federal action, it has become increasingly clear that the federal government must provide a framework for the prevention of and protection against terrorist attacks that would compromise this nation's critical infrastructure.

The chemical industry is experiencing economic hardship as a result of rising natural gas costs, and Senator Voinovich will work to ensure that onerous federal requirements do not further jeopardize its viability. Senator Voinovich worked tirelessly to craft legislation that protects this nation's chemical sector from the threat of terrorism, while ensuring that the chemical sector continues to enhance our quality of life. His efforts resulted in enactment of a provision, as part of the Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2006, directing DHS to (1) establish risk-based and performance-based standards for chemical facilities to protect against terrorist attacks; (2) offer strong protection of sensitive security information; (3) provide adequate liability protection and due process; and (4) give credit for measures already taken by industry to protect their infrastructure. The provisions, which represent two years of work and negotiation with his colleagues, represent a major step forward in Senator Voinovich's efforts to better secure our homeland.

* Improving Federal Emergency Management and Disaster Relief Policy: In the year since Hurricane Katrina exposed deficiencies at all levels of government in preparing for and responding to a major catastrophe, Senator Voinovich has devoted significant attention to improving emergency management. Senator Voinovich actively participated in the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Hurricane Katrina investigation and hearings, reviewing the factors that contributed to the inadequate response in the Gulf Coast. He collaborated closely in developing FEMA reform legislation intended to improve federal disaster preparedness, improve response and recovery capabilities and better meet the needs of disaster victims. Senator Voinovich believes strongly in developing a more robust national emergency management system, capable of responding to both natural disasters and terrorism, in order to prevent future devastation and suffering on the scale of Hurricane Katrina. He is committed to continued oversight of FEMA to ensure the agency is operating as effectively as possible. To this end, he is working to pass legislation that would establish a Chief Management Officer (CMO) within the Department of Homeland Security. The legislation would establish a CMO at the Deputy Secretary level to ensure the Department meets its long-term management challenges. The incumbent would be appointed to a fixed term to help ensure sustained leadership and top-level commitment to management.

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