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Publication
Placing the Call to ServiceReveals the message from two surveys of senior-level appointees from the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Estimated number that said they would strongly recommended presidential service to a good friend; Percentage that …
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Our tottering confirmation process.Examines the presidential appointment process in the U.S. Background on the confirmation process; Analysis of the confirmed appointees of several presidents; Cause of delays in the confirmation process; Role of the Senate in the confirmation …
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The Volunteering DecisionDiscusses what prompts and sustains the volunteering decisions of presidents in the U.S. Views of President John F. Kennedy on volunteerism; Volunteer programs that former president Lyndon Johnson helped create; Other presidents of the U.S. that gave …
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Recommendations Forestalled or Forgotten? The National Commission on the Public Service and Presidential AppointmentsNearly two decades after the first Volcker Commission issued its report on the federal public service, the presidential appointment and confirmation process remains long, cumbersome, intensive, and embarrassing. As the evidence presented in this essay …
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The Search for Social EntrepreneurshipResearch on social entrepreneurship is finally catching up to its rapidly growing potential. In The Search for Social Entrepreneurship, Paul Light explores this surge of interest to establish the state of knowledge on this growing phenomenon and suggest …
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Homeland Security's Extreme MakeoverAs the Department of Homeland Security proceeds with its own recovery from hurricane Katrina, Americans have to wonder what, if anything, can be done to make sure the nation is ready for catastrophes such as earthquakes and terrorist attacks that come …
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The Katrina Effect on PreparednessThis report, comparing data collected in two surveys, one prior to Hurricane Katrina and one following, identifies a significant drop in public confidence in government's ability to handle disasters in the wake of the botched response to Hurricane …
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The Homeland Security HashFour years after it opened its doors, the Department of Homeland Security is by general agreement one of the most troubled cabinet-level agencies in the federal government. Hardly a day goes by without some fresh report on a contract gone bad, a new …
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The Troubled State of the Federal Public ServiceThe United States cannot win the war on terrorism or rebuild homeland security without a fully dedicated federal civil service. Unfortunately, federal employees report that both the quality of their work life and their level of job satisfaction have …
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Trust in Charitable OrganizationsPublic confidence in charitable organizations such as the Red Cross and United Way is essential to a high performing nonprofit or charitable sector. Indeed, confidence affects almost everything that matters to the future of the sector, especially the …
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Restoring the President's Reorganization AuthorityReorganization offers a significant opportunity to align agencies by mission rather than constituencies. If done well it can strengthen accountability, reduce wasteful duplication and overlap, tighten administrative efficiency, improve employee …
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The Civil Service and National Security Personnel Improvement ActIt was twenty-five years ago that this Committee took up the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. That statute reflected an effort to modernize a personnel system that had not been reformed since 1946, and addressed many of the issues embedded in this bill. …
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Next Steps in Human Capital ReformThe testimony explains why the Committee's proposed legislation to establish a Department of Defense national security personnel system marks an important step forward in crafting long-overdue changes to our outmoded human capital system in …
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An Update on the Bush Administration's Competitive Sourcing InitiativeTestimony regarding the Bush Administration's competitive sourcing initiative, which promises to subject at least 50 percent of the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act (FAIR Act) not-inherently governmental jobs up for competition by some …
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Fact Sheet on the New True Size of GovernmentEven as Democrats and federal employee unions battle the Bush Administration's proposal to put thousands of federal jobs up for competition with the private sector, the government's largely-hidden workforce created through contracts and grants has reached …
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To Give or Not to Give: The Crisis of Confidence in CharitiesPublic confidence is essential to America's 1.5 million charitable organizations and the 11 million Americans they employ. Confidence clearly affects the public's willingness to donate time and money, shapes the political and regulatory environment that …
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Implementing the 9/11 Commission ReportThe Commission has provided the essential outlines for strengthening our intelligence community and homeland security institution. It is now up to Congress and the president to exercise its judgment on whether and how to proceed, including areas that the …
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Government's Greatest Priorities of the Next Half CenturyNo one can be sure what the next fifty years will hold in terms of government achievement, nor can anyone be sure just what the federal government will be doing fifty years from now. The government will almost certainly launch entirely new endeavors, some …
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Posts of Honor: How America's Corporate and Civic Leaders View Presidential AppointmentsFrom its very beginnings as a war-weary republic, the United States has always depended on citizen servants to lead its government. The Founding Fathers believed their young nation would not long survive as a representative democracy without leaders whose …
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Government's Greatest Achievements of the Past Half CenturyLooking back from the edge of a new millennium, it is difficult not to be proud of what the federal government has tried to achieve these past fifty years. Name a significant domestic or foreign problem over the past half century and the federal …
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Pressure to GrowAfter years of downsizing, the federal government is poised for expansion again. Directly or indirectly responsible for about one-eighth of the jobs in the nation’s economy, the government is about to grow, whether the electorate chooses George W. Bush or …
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Fact Sheet on the President's Domestic AgendaBush continues a trend toward smaller agendas begun in the wake of the 1981 tax cuts, which sharply constrained the amount of federal funding for large scale, new programs. He also continues a trend among Republican presidents toward a �less-is-more� …
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Rumsfeld's Revolution at DefenseWhatever his legacy as an architect of the war in Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has already earned a place in American bureaucratic history as one of its most ambitious organizational reformers. Rumsfeld is determined to complete a top to bottom …
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The 9/11 Commission's Human Capital RecommendationsThe Commission's report has outlined the essential elements of a more effective intelligence community and homeland security effort. It is now up to Congress and the president to exercise their best judgment on whether and how to proceed, whether through …