One of President Bush’s final orders involves checks and balances

Still the president for just hours longer, George W. Bush ordered opposing agencies to consider one another’s once not-so-popular decisions while they determined the fitness of federal contractors, as well as employees who are a part of the excepted federal service.

Bush made the order “to simplify and streamline the system of federal government personnel investigative and adjudicative processes to make them more efficient and effective,” it was written in a document release. The director of the Office of Personnel Management, Linda Springer, was told to initiate the policy.

The initiative is meant to keep tabs on public trust positions to maintain confidence in the persons filling various positions.

Federal regulations state that public trust positions may involve policy making, public safety, health or law enforcement duties, fiduciary responsibilities, access to financial records, as well as major program responsibility.

Favorable eligibility determinations were to be reciprocal so long as:

-Suitability standards that meet OPM criteria were used in the original determination and the current determination

-The applicant had no break in employment since the original favorable determination was made.

If, the new position requires a higher level of investigation than previously completed then the determinations were not required to be reciprocal.