Wnited States Senate WASHINGTON, Dc 20510 August 21, 2017 ‘The Honorable Ryan Zinke Secretary Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20240 Dear Secretary Zinke: We write today concerning your recent decision to reassign dozens of Senior Executive Service (SES) members within the Department of the Interior. We are concerned that these changes may run contrary to Congress’s intent behind the Senior Executive Service: to attract and retain a group of executive managers of the “highest quality” that would be “guided by the public interest and free from improper political interference.” The Administration's decisions may also undermine this Department's responsibilities as the primary steward of public lands and natural resources, and fail to uphold this government's duties to consult with tribes on government decisions that impact Indian Country, ‘Absent more details regarding your reorganization efforts, we are concerned that these reassignments appear to intimidate and retaliate against SES employees who faithfully discharged their duties as government employees—regardless of Administration. If true, these decisions will harm morale and lead to a critical drain of talent and ability. Reports indicate that the reassigned individuals, some of whom may now leave the federal service, have exceptional qualifications and expertise. By eroding overall Departmental effectiveness and efficiency, these moves may also prove counter-productive. For example, management within the United States Fish and Wildlife Service varies greatly ftom region to region. To be effective, regional directors must possess a deep understanding of legal and science matters, many of which are unique to their geographic regions. Regional directors must also understand the history of the Service’s interaction with regional stakeholders and work to develop and maintain these relationships to effectively implement policy. Reassigning regional directors with no specific reason to offices in different geographic regions that cannot utilize their specialized expertise does not seem to benefit the Department's mission or U.S. taxpayers. In fact, such a move seems to run directly contrary with Congress's directive that the SES program provide for “continuity” in the management of publie programs. In addition, by uprooting long-time employees, many of whom have formed deep and lasting relationships of trust with the Indian communities they serve, these reassignments will inhibit this Administration’s ability to carry out a government-to-government relationship with Indian tribes. The disruption of those relationships, combined with a vacuum of institutional knowledge, will cause unnecessary confusion and disorder in the delivery of program services. So that we may better understand and evaluate the Department's decision-making process, we request that you provide us with the following materials:© A list of each SES official in the Department who has been reassigned in 2017 (or for ‘whom plans to reassign have been made), along with their prior position, prior job responsibilities and geographic location of the prior position, and their new position, new job responsibilities and new geographic location. © Copies of all documents (including but not limited to emails, white papers, meeting minutes, presentations, correspondence and memos) related to the Department's, decisions to reassign each such individual. © Transcripts of any listening sessions or other public outreach events the Department conducted to solicit input on your stated plans to make specific changes to the SES workforce or otherwise reorganize the Department. © Acopy of any analysis prepared or obtained by the Department that describes or estimates how these recent reassignments benefit Department trust resources and the use of taxpayer funds, as well as the reasons for each such reassignment and how these reassignments further DOI's overall mission. * An eexplanation as to how each reassigned individual's skill-set matched the position to which they were re-assigned compared to the position from which they were re-assigned. ‘Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. If you have any questions, or if we can provide you with additional information concerning the responses we seek, your staff may contact Elizabeth Mabry at the Committee on Environment and Public Works at (202) 224-8832, Ken Rooney at the Committee on Indian Affairs at (202) 224-2251 or Ashley Poling at the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management at (202) 224-5782, We respectfully request your response by September 8, 2017, Sincerely yours, Fella. Lom hake Tom Carper Tom Udall Ranking Member Vice Chair Committee on Environment & Publie Works Committee on Indian Affairs }. eu, bi et k tug = Heidi Heitkamp Ranking Member Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs & Federal Management