Office of Home Security

[Lynne Henderson]

Thank you Dawn, for the citations.  I heard that Congress was going to
treat it as a cabinet position with accompanying requirements of
confirmation and increased funding.  Is this true?
One thing has me curious--members of this list are referring to the "Office
For Home Security."  The President and the media are calling it the "Office
for Homeland Security."  Plase note--I am not contesting the idea or need
for a high level coordinator here.  I do think it makes a difference in
meaning and nuance as to which it is called.  "Homeland" evokes images of
"fatherland" for me at least, with accompanying shudders, even though
"homeland" is gender neutral, unlike "fatherland" or "motherland"
(Russia)  So I am curious as to which it officially is--perhaps Brad
Clanton can let us know.
Best
Lynne
At 11:51 AM 09/22/2001 -0500, Johnsen, Dawn Elizabeth wrote:
>The appropriate question, it would seem, is whether the new position is
>defined such that Gov. Ridge is an officer of the U.S. for purposes of the
>Appointments Clause (i.e., exercises significant governmental authority), or
>a presidential advisor (the placement of the position on the WH staff
>supports the latter).  The Appointments Clause requires Senate confirmation
>for principal officers, and Senate confirmation also is the default method
>of appointment for inferior officers (though Congress may vest power to
>appoint inferior officers in the President alone).  See, in addition to text
>of Appointments Clause, Morrison v. Olson, 487 U.S. 654 (1988); Edmond v.
>U.S., 520 U.S. 651 (1997); The Constitutional Separation of Powers Between
>the President and Congress, 63 Law & Cont. Problems 514 (Winter/Spring
>2000), quoting 18 Op. Att'y Gen. 171 (1885)("offices in the constitutional
>sense 'are only those established or recognized by the Constitution or by
>act of Congress"; "the President cannot create an office").
>
>Dawn Johnsen
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Leslie Goldstein [mailto:lesl at UDEL.EDU]
>Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2001 8:28 AM
>To: CONLAWPROF at LISTSERV.UCLA.EDU
>Subject: Re: Office of Home Security
>
>
>This morning's NYT has clarified
>1.  Bush created the office as part of his WH staff (yesterday's radio
>intimated
>that the salary for it woudl come from the $40 billion emergency
>appropriation.)
>2.  Congress IS planning to create the office as a permanent one, on e that
>would
>endure beyond Bush's personal preferences for arranging his WH staff.
>LFG
>Leslie Goldstein wrote:
>
> > so the Q would be whetehr Congress after the fact legitimated these moves
>by
> > appropriating specifically for his salary in these posts or whether FDR
>somehow
> > just carved the money out of the White House budget or the defense budget
>or
> > what?
> > Leslie
> >
> > Barrett John Q wrote:
> >
> > > > "David M. Driesen" wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > President Bush announced last night that he was creating and filling
>a
> > > > > new cabinet level position, the Office of Homeland Security.  He did
> > > > > not say that he was asking Congress to create this position and
> > > > > approve his nominee.
> > >
> > > I don't know the President's particulars for Gov. Ridge either, but one
> > > quasi-precedent that came to my mind last night is FDR getting Justice
>Jimmy
> > > Byrnes, a former Senator and future Governor, to leave the Supreme Court
>in
> > > 1942 after serving there for only one Term.
> > >
> > > >From David L. Anderson's ANB entry on Byrnes:
> > > "In October 1942 Roosevelt made Byrnes the head of the Office of
>Economic
> > > Stabilization, and in May 1943 the president issued an executive order
> > > creating a superagency, the Office of War Mobilization (OWM), which
>later
> > > became the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion (OWMR). As
>OWM/OWMR
> > > director with his office in the White House, Byrnes was essentially
> > > "assistant president" for domestic affairs for the war's duration.
> > > Roosevelt delegated sweeping executive powers to Byrnes to initiate
> > > policies, plan programs, and coordinate all federal agencies in
>production,
> > > procurement, and distribution of all war materials--military and
>civilian.
> > > This arrangement relieved Roosevelt of managing the home front and
>allowed
> > > him to concentrate on the military and diplomatic conduct of the war.
> > > Eclipsing the influence of Vice President Henry Wallace and War
>Production
> > > Board chairman Donald Nelson, Byrnes directed such diverse aspects of
> > > American life as food rationing, sports scheduling, closing time for
>bars,
> > > and absentee voting for soldiers. "
> > >
> > > JQB
> > >
> > > ***************************
> > >
> > > John Q. Barrett
> > > Professor of Law
> > > St. John's University School of Law
> > > 8000 Utopia Parkway
> > > Jamaica, N.Y.  11439
> > >
> > > direct:  (718) 990-6644
> > > School of Law:  (718) 990-6600
> > > Law Faculty fax:  (718) 990-2199
> > > School of Law fax:  (718) 591-1855
> > > email:  barrettj at stjohns.edu