Senator Chuck Hagel sent me, a Democrat, a 2004 Year End Report, "prepared, published and mailed at taxpayers expense." It's a waste of money, though obviously not the first or the worst.
Since I've paid for it, I will give it a critique.
The first observation one is inclined to make is that the Senator never heard the expression that "Selbst Lob schtinkt."
The second thing one must conclude is that the Senator likes meeting senior people, especially if they happen to be resident in the "Greater Middle East" a really offensive re-designation of the world's geography. But he did get some money allocated to the University of Nebraska so some Afghanistanis could be trained to be Young Leaders, presumably only those that speak English.
The next thing he's keen on is Intelligence and Immigration. Although oversight of the former is promised, there's really no indication that the Senator knows what that means. Just pass a couple of new laws and that should take care of it. Ditto for Agriculture Disaster Assistance and Bovine Spongiform Encephalophathy. Couldn't get an Animal Identification Plan passed last year, so will try again. Ditto for a New Homestead Act to entice to settle in rural America. Ditto for help to small communities to get arsenic out of the drinking water.
On Education, Energy, Health Care and even Trade and Development the Senator has achieved little, outside a couple of awards for himself. Ditto for Veterans, Military Death Benefits and increased benefits for Veteran Education. Tax cuts were kept in place, however. consistent with the now unsubstantiated theory that reducing tax revenues, and the necessary public assets they pay for, will somehow spur private enterprise.
While admitting that there was a failure to provide adequate over-sight for the agencies which provide half the home mortgages in the nation, the Senator seems incapable of recognizing that Congressional over-sight means more than simply proposing new regulations or laws.
Even when it comes to making sure that federal agencies meet their obligations to the public, the Senator prefers to delegate problems on a case by case basis to his staff, rather than insuring that the administration becomes more efficient and responsive to the public. It hardly seems cost-effective to have a duplicative bureaucracy sprouting in the offices on capitol hill.
All in all, Senator Hagel's year end report is four pages of nothing.
Posted by Hannah at March 7, 2005 07:42 PM