According to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the National Park Service has started using a political loyalty test for picking its top civil service positions. This info comes from an agency directive released Oct. 11.

Under the new order, all mid-level managers and above must also be approved by a Bush administration political appointee, the Assistant Secretary of Interior.

The order represents a complete centralization of Park Service promotion and hiring, in what has traditionally been a decentralized agency, according to PEER. More strikingly, the order is an unprecedented political intrusion into what are supposed to be non-partisan, merit-system personnel

decisions.

The President’s management agenda includes controversial policies and proposals such as aggressive use of outsourcing to replace civil servants, reliance on “faith-based initiatives” and rollbacks of civil service rights, said PEER. “It is outrageous that park service superintendents must swear political loyalty to the Bush agenda and parrot hokey mottos in order to earn a promotion,” states PEER executive Jeff Ruch. “The merit system is supposed to be about ability, not apple polishing.”

“Presidents come and go, but the Civil Service is designed to serve whoever occupies the swivel chair in the Oval Office,” Ruch said. “It is downright creepy that now every museum curator, supervising scientist and chief (park) ranger must be okayed by a high-level political appointee.”

FS