"We no longer head committees. We head them up"?

Are both of the sentences saying the same thing. The intention that the author shows us is that he thinks that "up" is not necessary there ("up"-the proposition is drapped to the verb face)?

Context:

Fighting clutter is like fighting weeds—the writer is always
slightly behind. New varieties sprout overnight, and by noon
they are part of American speech. Consider what President
Nixon's aide John Dean accomplished in just one day of testimony
on television during the Watergate hearings. The next day
everyone in America was saying "at this point in time" instead of
"now."
Consider all the prepositions that are draped onto verbs that
don't need any help. We no longer head committees. We head
them up. We don't face problems anymore. We face up to them
when we can free up a few minutes. A small detail, you may
say—not worth bothering about. It is worth bothering about.
Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can
keep out of it that shouldn't be there. "Up" in "free up" shouldn't
be there. Examine every word you put on paper. You'll find a
surprising number that don't serve any purpose.

MOre:
http://images.pcmac.org/SiSFiles/Schools/CA/AndersonUnion/WestValley/Uploads/Forms/onwritingwell.pdf