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Disaster Management: Bush Nominates another Controversial Nominee
Who do you want in charge when disaster strikes? What kind of experience does someone need in order to coordinate relief efforts for the world’s crises? What sort of person should represent the United States to the world’s refugees, many of whom are women and children?
Answering these questions will help us to consider the nomination of Ellen Sauerbrey to the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). If confirmed, Sauerbrey will be in charge of getting life-saving aid to victims of everything from earthquakes to civil wars.
Issues and critiques
Many are concerned that Sauerbrey is not qualified for the job. Although she has government experience - she was the U.S. representative to the Economic and Social Council of the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women - critics say she has no experience managing refugee or humanitarian crises.
Those opposed to Sauerbrey compare her to former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Mike Brown, who failed to bring much needed aid to flood victims in New Orleans, Louisiana. Like Brown, Sauerbrey has little disaster management experience.
Sauerbrey used to serve on Maryland’s state legislature and ran for governor of the state in 1994 and 1998. She lost both races. In 2000, she was state chairwoman for President Bush’s presidential campaign. Bush first appointed Sauerbrey to the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva and then to the U.N. Economic and Social Council mentioned above.
Sauerbrey at the U.N.
Many women’s groups are sharply opposed to the Sauerbrey nomination because of her performance as a U.N. delegate. She opposed ratification of the Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) along with representatives from North Korea, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, and several of the most conservative Arab states who refused to ratify.
Further, women’s rights advocates criticize Sauerbrey for holding up a two-week U.N. conference to reaffirm the 1995 Platform for Action, an event dedicated to empowering women worldwide. Sauerbrey insisted on including an amendment that would clarify that the Platform did not include the right to abortion or "create any new international right." Sauerbrey was forced to withdraw the amendment because all but two countries opposed it, Egypt and Qatar.
Abortion and nomination
So the debate over Sauerbrey’s nomination invokes the abortion debate. Those in favor of abortion rights are opposed to her nomination since she has declared that abortion should not be considered a legitimate component of reproductive health care services.
Abortion rights advocates worry that Sauerbrey could further limit family planning services worldwide. The Bush administration has already eliminated funding to women’s health organizations that offer abortions or information on abortions. For more on this, click here.
Sauerbrey cannot be turned down for the post just because she is against abortion rights. Senate committee members must consider a nominee’s qualifications and experience, not her ideology.
But critics say that, regardless of her beliefs, Sauerbrey just isn’t suited for the major operational responsibilities and $700 million budget of the PRM. They say that like Mike Brown and Harriet Miers, Ellen Sauerbrey isn’t the best person for the job. Further, opponents argue that President Bush tends to nominate the most loyal instead of the best and the brightest.
What do you think of the claims that President Bush nominates people he knows well to some of the most powerful and important positions? Is Ellen Sauerbrey the best pick for head of the PRM? What qualities should the leader of worldwide disaster relief posses? Should a nominee’s belief system be a factor in Senate confirmation?
What do you think?
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Update Posted on: 10/27/2005
