Dick Cheney’s Dangerous Son-in-Law

[Rose Siding]

In March 2003, when the world’s attention was focused on U.S. soldiers heading to Baghdad, twelve senior officials in the Bush administration gathered around a long oak conference table in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex. They were meeting to put the final touches on a proposed legislative package that would address what was perhaps the most dangerous vulnerability the country faced after 9/11: unprotected chemical plants close to densely populated areas.
...
No one present was prepared for what came next: the late arrival of an unexpected visitor, Philip Perry, general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Perry, a tall, balding man who bears a slight resemblance to Ari Fleischer without the glasses, was brusque and to the point. The Bush administration was not going to support granting regulatory authority over chemical security to the EPA. “If you send up this legislation,” he told the gathering, “it will be dead on arrival on the Hill.”

No one doubted the finality of Perry’s message. The OMB, which sets the course for nearly every proposal coming out of the White House, is a much-feared department that raises or lowers its thumb on policy priorities, a sort of mini-Caesar at the interagency coliseum. But Philip Perry could boast one more source of authority: he was, and is, the husband of Elizabeth Cheney, and son-in-law of Vice President Dick Cheney. After Perry spoke, only Bostock dared to protest, though to little effect. “He was obnoxious,” Bostock recalls.
...
To understand the workings of Philip Perry is to get a sense of the true lines of power in the executive branch. “Perry is an éminence grise,” says one congressional staffer. “He’s been pretty good at getting his fingerprints off of anything, but everyone in this field knows he’s the one directing it. He is very good at the stealth move.” And, as it turns out, Perry’s stealth moves have often benefited opponents of chemical regulation. One of his final pieces of handiwork included coming up with what critics have called an “industry wish list” on chemical security that ultimately became law last fall. “Every time the industry has gotten in trouble,” says the staffer, “they’ve gone running to Phil Perry.”

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0703.levine.html

[mchill]

1. Interesting

The OMB is also in charge of one of Cheney's pet programs: A-76, or competitive sourcing. The intent of A-76 is to give away civil servants jobs to the private sector. It's stated objective is to make government more efficient. My personal experience is that it looks more like a pay off to Cheney's corportate friends while costing the government agencies more money (and the taxpayers) to administer, i.e. a less efficient outcome..while ruining the careers of many longtime civil servants. I could tell you one story, full of corruption, that put some of my agency employees at grave risk, as well as the public, while doubling, or even tripling the cost to the taxpayer, in the name of this OMB/Cheney project, but, you know, .......

[Solo_in_MD]

3. A-76 is a very old program and was very active under Clinton and other presidents too

[mchill]

5. Yes it is an old government program

that Cheney originated while in Congress back in the 1970's, BUT it has never been used, or hardly used, outside of DoD. He plans on outsourcing 75% of the Forest Service agency, e.g..

[NJCher]

2. story at Salon on this creep

I believe he's getting paid 700g's a year to do this nasty business.



Cher

[Solo_in_MD]

4. No civil servant makes $700K...

[mchill]

6. You're right, no civil servant makes $700K

the kickbacks come later.....1 year 11 months from now.