Senator Byrd to President Obama: Too Many Czars

Senator Robert Byrd (a Democrat) has criticized President Barack Obama for creating too many White House "czars" to direct his policy initiatives. According to Politico.Com, Byrd believes that the policy czars Obama has created to manage areas like health care reform, urban policy and energy and climate control could impede the system of checks and balances by taking away authority from Cabinet members, who are accountable to Congress and whom the Senate confirms.

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“As presidential assistants and advisers, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the president,” Byrd wrote. “They rarely testify before congressional committees, and often shield the information and decision-making process behind the assertion of executive privilege. In too many instances, White House staff have been allowed to inhibit openness and transparency, and reduce accountability.”

The West Virginia Democrat on Wednesday asked Obama to “consider the following: that assertions of executive privilege will be made only by the president, or with the president’s specific approval; that senior White House personnel will be limited from exercising authority over any person, any program, and any funding within the statutory responsibility of a Senate-confirmed department or agency head; that the president will be responsible for resolving any disagreement between a Senate-confirmed agency or department head and White House staff; and that the lines of authority and responsibility in the administration will be transparent and open to the American public.”