At Common American Journal we have been following Glenn Beck’s suggestion to “question with boldness.” So, we wondered, who are those czars? What do they do?
First we found Glenn Reynold’s graphic at Instapundit.
Now we’ve found this list compiled by Karole Dolen-Proffit of the Sacramento Conservative Examiner dated August 4, 2009:
“The biggest problems that we’re facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all. And that’s what I intend to reverse when I’m president of the United States.” -Sen. Barack Obama, March 31, 2008
Despite Obama’s campaign promises, his ever growing list of self-appointed “Czars” speaks volumes about his true intentions. These people have all been selected to oversee everything from the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to the restoration of the Great Lakes, all without Congressional oversight or approval.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, explains Congressional Oversight in detail:
“Congressional Oversight refers to oversight by the United States Congress of the Executive Branch, including the numerous U.S. federal agencies. Congressional Oversight[1] refers to the review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation. Congress exercises this power largely through its standing committee system. However, oversight, which dates to the earliest days of the Republic, also occurs in a wide variety of congressional activities and contexts. These include authorization, appropriations, investigative, and legislative hearings by standing committees; specialized investigations by select committees; and reviews and studies by congressional support agencies and staff.
Congress’s oversight authority derives from its “implied” powers in the Constitution, public laws, and House and Senate rules. It is an integral part of the American system of checks and balances.”
Here is a list of Czars that Obama has chosen thus far:
1. Afghanistan-Pakistan (Af-Pak) Czar – Richard C. Holbrooke
A.K.A. – US Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan
2. AIDS Czar – Jeffrey Crowley
A.K.A. – Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy
3. Bailout Czar – Herbert M. Allison Jr.
A.K.A. – Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability
4. Border Czar – Alan D. Bersin
A.K.A. – Assistant Secretary for International Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security and Special Representative for Border Affairs
5. Car Czar – Edward B. Montgomery
A.K.A. – Director of Recovery for Auto Workers and Communities
6. Climate Change Czar – Todd D. Stern
A.K.A. – Special Envoy for Climate Change
7. Cybersecurity Czar – Melissa Hathaway
A.K.A. – Director of the White House Office of Cybersecurity
8. Domestic Violence Czar – Lynn Rosenthal
A.K.A. – White House Advisor On Violence Against Women
9. Drug Czar – Gil Kerlikowske
A.K.A. – Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
10. Economic Czar – Lawrence H. Summers
A.K.A. – Head of the National Economic Council
11. Economic Czar II – Paul Volcker
A.K.A. – Chair of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board
12. Education Czar – Arne Duncan
A.K.A. – Secretary of Education
13. Energy Czar – Carol M. Browner
A.K.A. – Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
14. Food Safety Czar – Michael Taylor
A.K.A. – Special Assistant to the FDA Commissioner for Food Safety
15. Government Performance Czar – Jeffrey D. Zients
A.K.A. – Federal Chief Performance Officer
16. Great Lakes Czar – Cameron Davis
A.K.A. – Special advisor to the U.S. EPA overseeing its Great Lakes restoration plan
17. Green Jobs Czar – Anthony K. “Van” Jones
A.K.A. – Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
18. Guantanomo Closure Czar – Daniel “Danny” Fried
A.K.A. – Special envoy to oversee the closure of the detention center at Guantanamo Bay
19. Health Czar – Nancy-Ann DeParle
A.K.A. – Director of the White House Office of Health Reform
20. Information Czar – Vivek Kundra
A.K.A. – Federal Chief Information Officer
21. Intelligence Czar – Admiral Dennis Blair
A.K.A. – Director of National Intelligence
22. Latin-American Czar – Arturo Valenzuela
A.K.A. – Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
23. Mideast Peace Czar – George Mitchell
A.K.A. – Special Envoy to the Middle East
24. Mideast Policy Czar – Dennis Ross
A.K.A. – Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region
25. Pay Czar – Kenneth Feinberg
A.K.A. – Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation
26. Regulatory Czar – Cass R. Sunstein
A.K.A. – Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs-designate Office of Management and Budget
27. Religion Czar – Joshua Dubois
A.K.A. – Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships
28. Safe Schools Czar: Kevin Jennings
A.K.A. – Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools
29. Science Czar – John Holdren
A.K.A. – Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology
30. Stimulus Oversight Czar – Earl Devaney
A.K.A. – Head of the White House’s Recovery Act Transparency and Accountability Board
31. Sudan Czar – Scott Gration
A.K.A. – Special Envoy to Sudan
32. TARP Czar: Elizabeth Warren
A.K.A. – Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP
33. Technology Czar – Aneesh Chopra
A.K.A. – Federal Chief Technology Officer
34. Terrorism Czar – John O. Brennan
A.K.A. – Deputy National Security Advisor
35. Trade Czar – Ron Kirk
A.K.A. – United States Trade Representative
36. Urban Affairs Czar – Adolfo Carrion
A.K.A. – White House Director of Urban Affairs
37. War Czar – Douglas Lute
A.K.A. – Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan
38. Water Czar – David Hayes
A.K.A. – Interior Department Deputy Secretary
39. Weapons Czar – Ashton Carter
A.K.A. – Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics
40. Weapons of Mass Destruction Czar – Gary Samore
A.K.A. – Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction, Proliferation, and Terrorism
