Dozens of WH senior staffers making six-figure salaries amid sequester woes
Published March 11, 2013
FoxNews.com
After closing the doors to public tours in an effort to save
money, White House officials haven't yet said if sequester cuts will
result in furloughs or layoffs for its senior staffers -- as is
happening with rank-and-file in other executive branch agencies.
But there are dozens of senior employees and other presidential "assistants" to choose from if the administration were to look at cutting the six-figure salaries from its payroll.
In the field of energy and climate change alone, President Obama in 2012 employed three advisers making at least $100,000 -- though one has since left.
The president kept on staff a "deputy assistant" for energy and climate change, Heather Zichal, making $140,000; a "special assistant" for energy and environment, Nathaniel Keohane; and a "deputy director" for energy and climate change, Dan Utech.
Together, their salaries totaled over $370,000 last year, according to White House records.
Climate blogger Steven Goddard said it's unlikely the administration will scale back its circle of advisers, at least on this issue.
"It's a very important point to his political base," Goddard said. "Whether he believes it or not himself, he has to make the effort to appear that he's working on controlling the climate."
Zichal, who previously worked in the 2008 Obama campaign, during the president's first term helped craft administration policy on fuel economy standards and mercury pollution regulations. Keohane worked via his post on the White House Domestic Policy Council. Keohane left the White House last year to join the Environmental Defense Fund.
The White House is being scrutinized after a decision -- driven in large part by Secret Service staffing considerations -- to end public tours of the "people's house." That decision took effect this past weekend, outraging lawmakers and spurned tourists alike.
While that decision freed up money in the Secret Service budget, some are waiting to see what the White House will do to show sacrifice on its end.
The latest 2012 salary figures released by the White House show 20 staffers were making the maximum $172,200. Many of them are well-known President Obama aides, including Press Secretary Jay Carney and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. Most carry the title of "assistant to the president."
But underneath them are dozens of "deputy" assistants and "special" assistants to the president, most making six-figure salaries -- like the climate change advisers. A review of the 2012 salaries by FoxNews.com shows 139 White House staffers making $100,000 or more.
The White House often attracts top-tier lawyers, bankers, security experts and others who were making far more in the private sector. Any administration wants to offer good money in order to lure the right people into -- or back into -- public service.
But the payroll under the Obama White House has expanded since the Bush administration. The payroll went from $33 million in 2008 to $39 million in 2009. Since then, the Obama administration has scaled back its White House staff expenses, but the payroll was still at $37.8 million in 2012.
There are two more employees making the maximum salary now than in the final year of the Bush administration. Two ethics advisers each make close to $140,000.
The chief calligrapher makes $96,725. Another calligrapher makes over $94,000, while another makes close to $86,000.
On Friday, White House Deputy Press Secretary John Earnest said the White House will be affected by the sequester much like other agencies -- and in some capacity will impose furloughs.
"We're also faced with making some tough decisions when it comes to ongoing projects, when it comes to purchasing equipment and supplies. But we're also a pretty personnel-heavy agency, if you will. So that means ... there will be employees of components who work here at the White House that will be facing pay cuts, that will be facing furloughs," he said.
But there are dozens of senior employees and other presidential "assistants" to choose from if the administration were to look at cutting the six-figure salaries from its payroll.
In the field of energy and climate change alone, President Obama in 2012 employed three advisers making at least $100,000 -- though one has since left.
The president kept on staff a "deputy assistant" for energy and climate change, Heather Zichal, making $140,000; a "special assistant" for energy and environment, Nathaniel Keohane; and a "deputy director" for energy and climate change, Dan Utech.
Together, their salaries totaled over $370,000 last year, according to White House records.
Climate blogger Steven Goddard said it's unlikely the administration will scale back its circle of advisers, at least on this issue.
"It's a very important point to his political base," Goddard said. "Whether he believes it or not himself, he has to make the effort to appear that he's working on controlling the climate."
Zichal, who previously worked in the 2008 Obama campaign, during the president's first term helped craft administration policy on fuel economy standards and mercury pollution regulations. Keohane worked via his post on the White House Domestic Policy Council. Keohane left the White House last year to join the Environmental Defense Fund.
The White House is being scrutinized after a decision -- driven in large part by Secret Service staffing considerations -- to end public tours of the "people's house." That decision took effect this past weekend, outraging lawmakers and spurned tourists alike.
While that decision freed up money in the Secret Service budget, some are waiting to see what the White House will do to show sacrifice on its end.
The latest 2012 salary figures released by the White House show 20 staffers were making the maximum $172,200. Many of them are well-known President Obama aides, including Press Secretary Jay Carney and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett. Most carry the title of "assistant to the president."
But underneath them are dozens of "deputy" assistants and "special" assistants to the president, most making six-figure salaries -- like the climate change advisers. A review of the 2012 salaries by FoxNews.com shows 139 White House staffers making $100,000 or more.
The White House often attracts top-tier lawyers, bankers, security experts and others who were making far more in the private sector. Any administration wants to offer good money in order to lure the right people into -- or back into -- public service.
But the payroll under the Obama White House has expanded since the Bush administration. The payroll went from $33 million in 2008 to $39 million in 2009. Since then, the Obama administration has scaled back its White House staff expenses, but the payroll was still at $37.8 million in 2012.
There are two more employees making the maximum salary now than in the final year of the Bush administration. Two ethics advisers each make close to $140,000.
The chief calligrapher makes $96,725. Another calligrapher makes over $94,000, while another makes close to $86,000.
On Friday, White House Deputy Press Secretary John Earnest said the White House will be affected by the sequester much like other agencies -- and in some capacity will impose furloughs.
"We're also faced with making some tough decisions when it comes to ongoing projects, when it comes to purchasing equipment and supplies. But we're also a pretty personnel-heavy agency, if you will. So that means ... there will be employees of components who work here at the White House that will be facing pay cuts, that will be facing furloughs," he said.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/11/dozens-wh-senior-staffers-making-six-figure-salary-amid-sequester-woes/#ixzz2NMseO2Qm
Government Advertises for Nearly 2,600 New Jobs Since Sequestration
This includes 107 new positions at the Department of
Homeland Security, which has freed illegal immigrants citing budgetary
constraints.
March 11, 2013 - 7:56 pm
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With Office of Management and Budget fact sheets in hand, President Obama warned of dire cutbacks and consequences should sequestration go into effect March 1.
The cuts happened, White House tours have been halted, and the administration swears it’s not overreacting to the bare-bones budget directive.
But in the days since the hammer of sequestration fell, the federal government is hiring anew.
A search tonight of the USA Jobs federal employment website, filtered to positions in the United States and posted over the past 10 days, yielded 2,596 results.
This includes 107 positions at the Department of Homeland Security, which has claimed cutbacks have resulted in everything from a more taxing security line at airports to the need to free illegal immigrant detainees.
Jobs included transportation security officers in rural areas, a library technician in Baltimore, a recreational boating safety specialist in Cleveland, natural hazards program specialists in Denton, Texas, and various program analyst positions in the D.C. area. Various six-figure supervisory jobs are also open.
One hundred and fifteen jobs have been posted since sequestration began for the Agriculture Department, which warned of Americans falling ill from tainted food due to short staffing should sequestration go into effect.
Jobs posted included soil technicians, a recreation forestry technician in Sedona, Ariz., a dairy grader in Winnsboro, Texas, an archaeologist in McCall, Idaho, and a social science analyst.
The highest number of job postings since sequestration went into effect is at the Department of Veterans Affairs, with 909 new openings at the time of publication. The OMB painted a grim picture of tens of thousands of homeless vets being returned to the streets due to the budget cuts.
As the OMB warned Indian tribes would lose nearly $130 million in funding from the Interior Department, 115 new jobs have been posted in the sequestration era including multiple park guides to stock up for the summer, a museum aide, plant technicians, and more.
And while the White House warned of hundreds of furloughed federal prosecutors and a thousand fewer criminal cases being brought to court each year, the Justice Department has 46 new job postings including a public affairs specialist for the U.S. Attorneys, a law librarian, a trial attorney, and a deputy chief for the civil rights division.
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