WASHINGTON - The U.S. House approved an amendment that would eliminate the Obama administration's car czar and eight other advisers throughout government.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., said the czars were tantamount to a "shadow government." The House approved the amendment to a bill to fund the federal government's operations through March 30. The vote, 249-149, was along mostly party lines, reported The Detroit News.
"It is time that we end this practice by President Obama of creating a shadow government run by czars with Cabinet-level powers who circumvent the accountability and scrutiny that comes with Senate confirmation required by the Constitution," Scalise said. "The government should not be running car companies, we should not be regulating the Internet and we should not have all these czars."
The White House has defended the so-called czars and noted that other administrations, including the Bush administration, have also used czars.
Among the eight other positions that Scalise would cut would be the special master overseeing executive pay at General Motors Co., Chrysler Group LLC, Ally Financial and AIG Inc.
The acting special master, Patricia Geoghegan, approves the pay for the top 25 executives at those firms that received large bailouts.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., questioned why the Republicans would want to eliminate the "pay czar."
"What they want to do is knock out the person whose job it is to monitor compensation at AIG and at General Motors and at Chrysler and at Ally," Frank said. "No one will now be supervising what you do and even though you haven't yet paid back the federal government, there will be no enforcement of restrictions on your bonuses."
Frank also noted that many of the people are no longer in the jobs. "They are denying funding for non-existent jobs," Frank said.
The administration has also insisted it is not running General Motors or Chrysler Group LLC.
Ron Bloom, who headed auto policy since July 2009, moved to the White House to take a job overseeing manufacturing policy earlier this month.
His duties will largely be filled by an assistant Treasury secretary overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, assisted by several Treasury staffers.
