"But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself." — James Madison, Federalist #51
Guided by a scathing Inspector General's report on a law enforcement system operating with dubious autonomy, federal oceans administrator Jane Lubchenco today announced a suite of immediate changes designed to reign in a force that has cast shadows over her National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In her first firm public reaction to the two-week old preliminary report of US Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser, Lubchenco acknowledged "longstanding deficiencies" and asserted that fixing the problems would take some time.
But in a memo today to Lois J. Schiffer, general counsel for the agency, and James Balsiger, the acting assistant administrator for fisheries, Lubchenco acted in areas cited by Zinser's team.