TP: What will Obama do?
Source: Times-Picayune
It's a question on a lot of minds lately and there is a lot to think about:
Under an executive order signed by Bush, the Office of Gulf Coast Rebuilding, based in the Department of Homeland Security, will cease to exist Feb. 28, a little more than a month after Obama takes the oath of office. The political appointees in the office, including O'Dell, are expected to depart when the Bush administration ends Jan. 20, leaving the agency with a skeleton crew of civil service employees.
The office, which was started as a liaison between the White House and local governments, is working on a report to Congress on housing issues, particularly in New Orleans, which will discuss lingering problems caused by shortages of affordable rental housing.
Two officials who have worked in the office said the agency has had some success overcoming bureaucratic impediments at FEMA and other federal offices under O'Dell and the previous coordinator, Donald Powell.
But the office was hamstrung, the two officials said, because the president didn't give it the authority to command or overrule recalcitrant federal agencies.
"The most important thing, whether you keep the office going or appoint a coordinator, is to have the president let it be known that the person is speaking for him and has the authority to get things done," said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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