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service unions (Office of Management and Budget). A central goal of Bush’s management
reform was the reduction of the federal civilian workforce through “competitive outsourcing” of
federal jobs. As the “President’s Management Agenda,” released in August 2001 stated, “nearly
half of all federal employees perform tasks that are readily available in the commercial
marketplace” (Office of Management and Budget, 17). Subsequently, the White House mandated
all federal agencies to review their workforces to determine the feasibility of eliminating jobs
through substitution of services or products obtained from the private sector. Agencies were
ordered in 2002 to review five percent of their jobs for potential outsourcing and ten percent
during 2003 (Barr 2002, B2 ). The administration labeled its administrative reform goals as
“freedom to manage,” but critics saw that initiative as a thinly veiled drive to weaken established
protections for government employees while offering patronage to private business. They point
out that the federal agencies lack the means to assess the actual cost of government work to
compare it to the cost of work outsourced to the commercial market (Barr 2001, B2).
Another signal of President Bush’s intense control within the executive branch is his
administration’s penchant for secrecy. Claiming to reenergize the presidency’s place in the
constitutional system after a period of decline beginning in the 1970s, Bush has resisted
congressional demands for information. When Tom Ridge served as the White House assistant
for homeland security, the administration denied congressional committee requests for testimony
from Ridge, despite the obvious appropriateness of Congress’ concern with domestic security.
The president’s claim was that presidential assistants are not required to testify to Congress. In
response, members of both parties in Congress argued that because Ridge was given operating
responsibilities he was subject to congressional oversight (Milbank 2002, A33). The Ridge
controversy disappeared with his appointment to head the homeland security department, clearly
Convention