Bush Economic Aide Says Government Lacks Vision
Saturday, December 13, 2003; Page A01
A senior member of President Bush's economic team told manufacturers this summer that it is difficult for the balkanized federal government to develop vision on any policy issue and that, in particular, the Commerce Department has scant political or financial authority to influence government policy on behalf of the nation's ailing manufacturers.
The comments by Deputy Commerce Secretary Samuel W. Bodman, revealed in a transcript of a day-long manufacturing symposium in June, offer a rare dose of candor about the way Washington works and the limits of the government's power. They also surfaced just as the administration is trying to boost the visibility of its manufacturing policies, and as Bodman awaits Senate confirmation to assume the No. 2 post at the Treasury Department.
Responding to a comment on the government's vision for manufacturing, Bodman told the gathering, "I will tell you, it is very hard for this government to have a vision on anything. We are totally stove-piped, and we live within these compartments. This is not by way of a complaint. This is not by way of an excuse. It is by way of a fact.
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Administration officials have promised a renewed effort to address the manufacturers' problems. But Bodman's assessment of the Commerce Department's power appears to call into question a central plank of Bush's manufacturing initiative: the appointment of a "manufacturing czar" within the Commerce Department. Bush pledged in September to create the post of assistant secretary of commerce for manufacturing, a promise that has yet to be fulfilled, but even Bush supporters have questioned that move's potential impact.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61073-2003Dec12.html