CFO Maner steps down at DHS

CFO Maner steps down at DHS    Andrew Maner has resigned as chief financial officer of the Department of Homeland Security, effective March 3. The White House Tuesday nominated David L. Norquist to replace Maner as CFO.
   Maner was director of trade relations in the Customs Service when he was tapped in 2002 to become then-Commissioner Robert Bonner’s chief of staff. In 2003, Bonner named Maner to head the office in charge of managing Customs’ transition from the Treasury Department to the new Department of Homeland Security and its merger with parts of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, Agriculture Department inspection forces and the Border Patrol. Prior to joining Customs, Maner was a vice president for ICG Commerce, a strategic sourcing and supply chain services provider.
   Maner considered resigning on two occasions last year but was asked by the new secretary, Michael Chertoff, to stay on. He came under fire from Congress because the department had not forwarded him to be confirmed by the Senate. When Maner was appointed by President Bush as CFO in January 2004 he was not required to undergo confirmation, but Congress subsequently passed a law requiring that all CFOs be approved by the Senate and DHS has yet to comply. DHS dragged its feet, according to sources close to the department, because Maner already planned to leave and some top officials wanted to wait until there was an opportunity to consider him to head an agency.
   Maner was mentioned early on as a possible replacement for Bonner, who stepped down as head of Customs and Border Protection in November. But his chances were scuttled after the department’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s failure in responding to Hurricane Katrina and negative publicity about wasteful spending. The White House named Julie Meyers to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the other top opening that was available in recent months, and has yet to nominate anyone as permanent CBP commissioner.
   Top DHS officials have expressed strong support for Maner’s work as CFO, and supporters say that criticism against him is unfair because the CFO sets the budget but does not control procurement activity within operational agencies. Maner was also criticized in some press accounts because of financial troubles at ICE, but those difficulties predated his tenure as CFO, and he was credited with putting the agency on a solid financial footing for the 2006 budget cycle.
   In a statement announcing Maner’s departure, Chertoff said, “Over the past four years Andy has made several lasting contributions to homeland security, including creating U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s One Face at the Border, setting up department-wide systems to consolidate financial data, and strengthening controls against fiscal waste, fraud and abuse. Andy is the consummate professional and dedicated public servant. He faced and overcame tremendous challenges associated with standing up the department, and we are stronger today because of his efforts.”
   Norquist is deputy under secretary of defense (budget and appropriations affairs). Prior to this, he served as acting principal deputy under secretary of Defense (comptroller), as well as deputy under secretary of Defense (financial management). He previously served on the professional staff of the House Appropriations Committee.