Blasting the Bush administration’s federal management, Democratic presidential frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., offered a government reform plan she said would increase transparency and reduce waste.
“This is a plan to enhance accountability and transparency and make government more efficient and effective for taxpayers,” Clinton said April 13 in a statement released by her campaign. “To restore competence and end the culture of cronyism. To replace secrecy and mystery with transparency.”
• Reduce the number of no-bid contracts. Citing a decrease in competitive bidding for government work, Clinton argued no-bid contracts are being abused.
• Ban former Cabinet officials from lobbying the administration. Bush administration officials such as former Attorney General John Ashcroft have drawn criticism for moving quickly after leaving office to positions lobbying the government.
• Create a public service academy. Clinton recently co-sponsored a bill to create an institution modeled on the military academies to train public servants.
• Restore the Office of Technology Assessment, a small office that provided scientific and technical analysis to Congress from 1972 until 1995, when Congress withdrew funding.
• Publish budgets for every agency online.
• Strengthen whistleblower protections to encourage federal employees to uncover fraud and abuse.
Speaking at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, Clinton cited the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration’s management of the Iraq war and other problems as evidence of the need for her proposals. Clinton was particularly critical of the sharp increase in government contracting under President Bush.
Clinton’s proposals are the latest in a series of calls by presidential candidates for government reform. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has called for increased government transparency and for reducing waste. Potential Republican candidate Fred Thompson, the former chairman of the then-Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, has also cited increased waste and mismanagement and called for overhauling the civil service system to make it easier for agencies to hire and fire employees.
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