Last night presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) selected Sen.
Joseph Biden (D-DE) as his running mate presumably to shore up the Illinois senator's foreign policy credentials in
advance of the November election against presumptive republican presidential
candidate John McCain (R-AZ). But what influence will he have on the federal
workforce?
Typically, vice presidents do not have a significant effect
on the federal workforce but the last two administrations have been less than
typical with Vice President Gore's "Reinventing Government" initiative and Vice
President Cheney's surreptitious development and execution of policy from defense to energy, which
has affected not only the lives of the federal workforce but all Americans.
Today in Springfield, Illinois, Biden said, "I'm here for the cops, the
firefighters, the teachers, and the line workers...the folks who live, the folks
whose lives are the measure of whether the American dream endures..."
While the presumptive nominees continue to remain silent on the
federal workforce, how will vice president hopeful Senator Biden potentially
affect feds?
We know Senator Biden opposes employment
discrimination of any kind, including race, religion, gender, disability or
sexual orientation. He supports recognition
through the introduction of the Congressional Badge for Bravery Act for Federal
Law Enforcement, pledges to stop no-bid government contracts, and wants to
provide uninsured Americans the opportunity to purchase an insurance plan that
mirrors the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan.
So while Biden brings the Democratic ticket immediate creditability on larger policy
issues ranging from the war in Iraq
to the ongoing conflict between Russia
and Georgia, as a six-term Senator he does not have experience in the implementation, execution and oversight of policies.
But it may not matter. Don't forget the President gets to appoint over 6,000 federal employees to run our government.
He also appoints the people who oversee the people he appoints, and at the end of the day the Vice President really is still a figure head...isn't he?
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