US lawmakers are cracking down on the funding of special advisors, the so-called “czars”, in charge of specific social programmes.
The czar bill, if passed, would require the investigation and approval of czars by the Senate before receiving a salary paid out of public funds.
Legal analyst Nicole Kardell believes what they are trying to achieve with this bill is the reassertion of Congressional authority as set out by the Constitution, where Congress has the responsibility to approve those appointed to work as government officials in the White House.
“If I were a Democratic Congressperson myself, I would also be behind this bill because it is a problem that was highlighted by Democratic members during the Bush administration when we had a Republican-run Congress. This is a matter of sort of going back to the three branches of government,” Nicole Kardell said.