New Administration Is Responsible for 50 Jobs That Can Move America

Fifty jobs that can change America. That’s how the Council for Excellence in Government describes its list of key jobs in the new Administration.

The council, a bipartisan think tank of former government officials, listed the jobs in the November issue of Government Executive magazine.

The list is culled from a broader selection of important jobs identified by the council in “The Prune Book,” its analysis of the most important sub-Cabinet jobs of government.

The jobs listed here are all beneath the Cabinet level. They are the managers who support Cabinet secretaries and often make the real policy decisions, said council executive director Mark Abramson.

The list--50 jobs plus one--arranged by groups of issues:

Education and Family

* Agriculture: assistant secretary, food and consumer services.

* Education: assistant secretary, educational research and improvement.

* Education: assistant secretary, elementary and secondary education.

* Health and Human Services: assistant secretary, administration for children and families.

* Housing and Urban Development: assistant secretary, federal housing commissioner.

* Office of Management and Budget: associate director, human resources, veterans and labor.

Work Force

* Defense: assistant secretary, force management and personnel.

* Defense: undersecretary, acquisition.

* Education: assistant secretary, vocational and adult education.

* Labor: assistant secretary, employment and training administration.

* Labor: assistant secretary, employment standards administration.

Environment

* Agriculture: assistant secretary, natural resources and environment.

* Agriculture: chief, Forest Service.

* Commerce: undersecretary, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

* Energy: assistant secretary, environmental restoration and waste management.

* EPA: assistant administrator, air and radiation.

* EPA: assistant administrator, solid waste and emergency response.

* EPA: assistant administrator, water.

* Interior: director, National Park Service.

* Interior: commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation.

* Justice: assistant attorney general, environmental and natural resources division.

* State: assistant secretary, oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs.

Competitiveness, Trade

* Agriculture: undersecretary, international affairs and commodity programs.

* Commerce: director general, U.S. and foreign commercial service.

* Commerce: undersecretary, international trade.

* Education: assistant secretary, post-secondary education.

* Energy: undersecretary.

* Justice: assistant attorney general, antitrust division.

* Labor: assistant secretary, policy.

* State: undersecretary, economic and agricultural affairs.

* Transportation: administrator, Federal Aviation Administration.

* Transportation: administrator, Federal Highway Administration.

* Treasury: undersecretary, international affairs.

Drugs, Crime

* HHS: administrator, alcohol, drug abuse and mental health administration.

* HUD: assistant secretary, community planning and development.

* Justice: administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration.

* Justice: assistant attorney general, criminal division.

* Transportation: commandant, U.S. Coast Guard.

* Treasury: commissioner, U.S. Customs Service.

Health Care

* Defense: assistant secretary, health affairs.

* HHS: administrator, Health Care Financing Administration.

* HHS: assistant secretary, health.

* Veterans Affairs: chief medical director, veterans health administration.

Science and Technology

* Agriculture: assistant secretary of science and education.

* Commerce: director, National Institute of Standards and Technology.

* Commerce: undersecretary, technology administration.

* Defense: director, defense advanced research projects agency.

* White House: assistant to the president and director, office of science and technology policy.

* HHS: director, National Institutes of Health.

* NASA: associate administrator, space flight.

51st Job

* Office of Management and Budget: deputy director, management.