It's not bad enough that the professional heart of CDC is heading for the exits as fast as they can get there in response to the high handed, abrasive and incompetent management of its Director, Dr. Julie Gerberding. Not bad enough at all. Dr. Gerberding now is getting rid of good people who haven't voluntarily jumped ship. Celeste Montforton at the public health blog, The Pump Handle, where we sometimes post and which is one of the mainstays of the public health blogosphere, brings us news that Dr. John Howard, Director for the last six years of the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) is being let go by the Bush administration, using their lap dog, Dr. Gerberding to do the deed. We haven't mentioned Dr. Howard much here because, unlike other Bush appointees, he has been doing his job so he's not the source of high profile screw-ups like his colleagues. Who thinks he's been doing his job? Pretty much everyone: the American Society of Safety Engineers, the US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Industrial Hygiene Association, as well as professionals in occupational health and safety. One of the jobs Dr. Howard has been doing is coordinating the ground zero health study. Maybe that's the source of the problem:
Dr. Howard's strong support of screening, monitoring and treatment programs for ground zero workers has sometimes put him at odds with the Bush administration, which has been reluctant to provide long-term financing.The ground zero health programs have recently expanded nationally. Congress has appropriated about $108 million this year and proposed a similar amount for next year, but has made no commitment beyond that.
In April, Dr. Howard wrote to Michael O. Leavitt, secretary of health and human services, indicating his desire to be reappointed as director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a post he has held since 2002. (New York Times)
Why anyone with competence would want to stay on in this administration is a bit of a mystery, but I guess Dr. Howard thought he had a job to do and he wanted to do it. But maybe Dr. Gerberding thinks people with his qualifications are a dime a dozen. What qualifications? A Doctor of Medicine degree (1974), a Master of Occupational Health (1982), a Juris Doctor (1986), and a Master of Laws (1987).
And Dr. Gerberding's response to his willingness to serve?
"Dr. Julie Gerberding met with Dr. John Howard and let him know that HHS/CDC will begin a search for a new NIOSH director."
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won't this all be reshuffled anyway, when the
Democrates win the election ?
In the past, the Director of NIOSH has often been a political appointee, much to the chagrin of NIOSH employees. It is difficult to find a person with the credentials who is not already viewed as either pro-industry or pro-regulation. NIOSH should never have been transferred to the CDC. It should be a separate agency under HHS, or at least under the NIH.
This guy is a political appointee and right or wrong he's going. Just as Clinton fired almost 30 A. Attorney Generals because they too serve at the pleasure of the President they too went. Did I mention the 20 million that has been spent on important stuff like that baseball doping thing? Shit.
Guess we need Waxman to do a wax job on this one too because if a Republican cuts someone then its supposed to be a crime. Or thats the implication. Definitely not if you are a Democrat. Firing all of those AAG's was supposed to be ILLEGAL in some way.
Listen, if he wrote to the Secretary and got a negative response then he should call the McCain camp and wait four months to see if he can pull the appointment. McCain is just left enough of center to hire him.
Sitica-Well we cant go and create yet another protected agency as the Congress already spends the first year of an Administrations time trying to run their traps on appointments now. God help us if Obama goes in. That idiot will be appointing half of the 9th Circuit into there and when he does, there goes the country.
MRK -- David Iglesias et al. were seemingly fired for refusing to make politically-motivated indictments of Democrats in cases where either there was no case, or at very least the case was not ready.
If you think that's ok, and the same as letting the previous administration's appointees go, or firing someone for poor performance, then I don't know what to say to you. You're clearly not interested in the facts; just blaming Democrats. (Iglesias, by the way, is still a staunch Republican; he just doesn't think that means it's ok to break the law.)
But there have been no indictments for that activity and only a Wax job on them and Bush Caia. Sorry but it doesnt hold water unless you spend 20 million AND get a conviction. Just another Dem job of saying it was the vast Republican conspiracy. The White House had to only issue two words to these people and somehow that gets turned into conspiracy to indict Democrats.
Here are the two words... You're fired! The NIOSH position is a political one. The next President gets to make his choices too.
McCain is just left enough of center...
Drug humor is in bad taste.
Sure, because they were stonewalled. Both Rove and Bolten were found to be in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify or turn over documents. The 12-7 vote in the Judiciary Committee included two Republicans in the majority. [cite] The scandal led to AG Gonzales's resignation.
But of course, it's all in my miiiiiiind.
P.S. -- I'm not saying there's anything illegal about Dr. Howard's firing. Neither was Revere. Revere was saying Dr. Howard was fired for doing his job properly, which was to the disliking of the Bush administration. An action need not be a crime for it to be wrong, misguided, or counter to the public interest.
Comparing this situation to the firings of the U.S. Attorneys, which does appear to be both wrong and a crime, makes this look worse, not better. I don't know why you would have done so, other than to tie them all in together and dismiss them because a Democrat said it.
Fired... How about not reappointed Caia. Lets get the facts straight. You are right and right or wrong in yours or my opinions do not matter when it comes to appointments. Revere can say what he wants but he could have been cut at any time along the way. He is an appointee. Right in this case is what the Administration wants.
Ah but its not wrong to fire the AG's. They were not retained and were on the street within days of the President taking office. How that gets to the level you point out very well is irrelevant. Pressuring them to indict Dems? Please. They were terminated in midterm which is a bit unusual. Some were Dems, some Republicans. The 2005 Patriot act gave him the right which he exercised. He could have done it at any time along the way too. I would have fired them one by one. The iteration is that they were fired without explanation. Okay so what? Its not a crime. They were all Bush appointees so whats the beef? Twenty something six or so others were considered too.
So Wax job decides to hold hearings and in 07 here comes our famous media. Gonzalez was right that it was overblown. Tanking 26 or so in a week is kind of surprising but not illegal. The big allegation? That they were using the Justice Dept for political purposes. Okay, they all do it by the appointments but god help you if you interfere in an investigation. The allegations were made that they werent hunting enough Democrats and that they were impeding investigations of Republicans. Nothing was ever conclusively found else someone would be in jail. Sounds good if you are running for the next election Hillary.
They went after Gonzalez like a dog on fire. Still nothing and lotsa members of Congress called for his resignation. They got it, end of story maybe.
A grand jury is underway to go after some of the people involved but you know what? I bet that all they could get them for is obstruction rather than this skulduggery that keeps on popping up. We gotta get serious here and let whatever President who is in office run it the way they want as long as its legal rather than this testify in front of Congress, get indicted for obstruction rather than the crap they said you did. Its mindless and we end up with people running scared all the time, wont make a decision and above all perhaps less than the best at the helm of the departments and agencies.
If it doesnt stop with this constant barrage its going to bring the country down and then what are we going to do. Obama and McCain are two peas in a pod with McCain leaning more to the left of center than his roots. Obama is way left and trying to make it to close to the center. Both are not the best choices for the presidency of the US. I always vote. Obama wont get mine, McCain is McCain. They are both going to appoint real dumbasses to their respective posts and well, we are all going to suffer. Its not like Revere's friend cant get a job. He indicates that above. So what the fuck brother.... get out into the the private sector and go make the money. More power to him. A lot of people are losing their jobs right now and welcome to the party is what I say.
Hell he was responsible for treatment and monitoring programs for the 9/11 people. Maybe they decided he wasnt fired up enough or that the unauthorized leaks from his dept should have gone up the chain of command before releasing them. Its politics is all. Pure and simple and it wont change the place a hoot. Maybe he should go and work with Tommy Thompson? Eminently qualified so there he goes. What I want to know? Why are Congressional aides talking to appointee?
Big surprise... yet another investigation.
The Director of NIOSH is subject to Congressional approval, but if its like CDC's other centers, they would not be expected to submit a resignation at the end of the administration. What this effectively does is disempower Howard and raise the likelihood that a placeholder appointed by Gerberding would run the place until sometime next year (or perhaps longer). gerberding will have to submit her resignation at the end of the Administration. I would doubt that she's be held over, but one of her SES-type lackeys would probably be the interim director and her inner circle would continue running things.