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Bipartisan chiefs of staff vent frustration in letter to House CAO

by Jordy Yager - 04/29/10 12:15 AM ET

A bipartisan group of chiefs of staff is angry with the Chief Administration Officer (CAO) of the House, saying he has not responded to their prolonged concerns about issues ranging from curtailed staff training to archaic technology.

In a letter to the House Administration Committee that surfaced Wednesday, the House Chiefs of Staff Association vented its frustration with Dan Beard over discontinued staff training programs, outdated technologies that affect reimbursements for office expenses and Beard’s refusal of a meeting.

{mosads}“In 2010, when children are scanning documents and sending e-mail, it is inconceivable that we remain dependent on a financial system that requires manual submission of receipts and key-stroke entry of invoices,” says the letter, which was sent April 5.

“We are unable to access basic online bill-pay and vouchering systems — the same systems widely utilized by small-town public utilities and department stores.”

The letter became a point of contention at Wednesday’s oversight hearing with the Administration Committee, which heard testimony from Beard about the CAO’s operations.

Beard said he was open to meeting with the chiefs of staff and hearing their concerns.

“I phoned them repeatedly and told them I’d be ready to meet with them any time,” said Beard. “I have not met with them, but I have a meeting scheduled.”

While not referencing the letter’s financial concerns directly, Beard said House rules limit what he can do to make financial operations flow smoothly.

“In our financial counseling area it’s important for us to maintain a certain integrity and internal control to report to the [inspector general] as well as the auditors,” he said. “Oftentimes we’re asked to do things that we simply cannot do or aren’t the best business solution to a particular item.”

But the ranking Republican of the committee, Rep. Dan Lungren (Calif.), said he didn’t accept Beard’s explanation, and viewed his comments as accusatory rather than conciliatory.

“It sounds like you’re rendering criticism on the chiefs of staff, and frankly I would not only resist that, I would take umbrage with that,” said Lungren.

“To suggest somehow that you can’t listen to chiefs of staff because they are asking you to do something illegal and improper or in some way wrong, frankly, I don’t accept that at all.”

Beard said that was not his intention. In a statement released after the hearing, his spokesman said that the CAO took Lungren’s concerns seriously and would try to address them with lawmakers and their staffs.

“The Office of the CAO welcomed the input it received today from the members of the Committee on House Administration and, as always, will use the valuable insight they shared to continue to offer them the best support and service possible,” said CAO spokesman Jeff Ventura in the statement.

The chiefs of staff association’s president, George McElwee, who works for Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), is attending training with his Navy Reserve unit this week and could not be reached for comment.

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The association’s vice president, Stan White, who is chief of staff for committee Chairman Robert Brady (D-Pa.), declined to comment on the letter or any future meeting the group may have with Beard.

Lungren also pointed to last year’s relocation of certain training classes from the Longworth House Office Building to the Ford House Office Building — a five-minute walk away. He said that staffers were having a more difficult time attending the classes, including one to train staff on managing their office expenses, in their new location.