Bush politicizing Park Service

This may come as little surprise, but it is still outrageous. Bush now requires loyalty oaths from mid-level managers in the Park Service. Via Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility:

Washington, DC — The National Park Service has started using a political loyalty test for picking all its top civil service positions, according to an agency directive released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Under the new order, all mid-level managers and above must also be approved by a Bush administration political appointee.

The October 11, 2005 order issued by NPS Director Fran Mainella requires that the selection criteria for all civil service management slots (Government Service grades or GS-13, 14 and 15) include the “ability to lead employees in achieving the …Secretary’s 4Cs and the President’s Management Agenda.” In addition, candidates must be screened by Park Service headquarters and “the Assistant Secretary [of Interior] for Fish, and Wildlife, and Parks,” the number three political appointee in the agency.

The order represents a complete centralization of Park Service promotion and hiring in what has traditionally been a decentralized agency. More strikingly, the order is an unprecedented political intrusion into what are supposed to be non-partisan, merit system personnel decisions.

The President’s Management Agenda includes controversial policies and proposals such as aggressive use of outsourcing to replace civil servants, reliance on “faith-based initiatives” and rollbacks of civil service rights.

How much longer are we stuck with this dictatorial group in power? More importantly, what will be the long-term damages to our democracy?

Comments

[LoB]

What are they going to do next - brand the civil servants like cattle so that they can be recognized from a long way off? "These here cows and their cowering cow hearts belong 'with US' on the Crawford Rainch near Waco, and them thar hungry-looking cows belong to the 'Against US' rainch over there near the unemployment lines."

I wonder what concrete motives were put forth in support of this program, how they will measure it's success, and who will be held accountable if the program goals are not reached.

[anonymous]

All you good people out there in blogger space please, keep your eyes on the ball. This loyalty oath balony might just be a distraction to keep attention off the changes in NPS Management Policies. That's where the real action is. The new policies were just published in the Federal Register for public comment -- changes largely driven by the aforementioned Cheney appointee. The public comment period is open I think for 90 days.

[Peter]

Thanks for the tip. Here's an article about the new management policies from the San Francisco Chronicle.