[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 22, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3398-S3399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, since I have been here in the Senate, we 
have been under a majority controlled by the Republicans and the 
Democrats. When I first came here, the Democrats had the majority, and 
now the Republicans have the majority.
  During the times that the Democrats had the majority, there were some 
very controversial nominees that came forward, but they always came 
forward and there was a vote. My concern is that we are now entering 
into a new era, where the majority is using nominees of the President--
and there is no question about their capabilities and their credentials 
to hold the job, and there is nothing relating to their moral 
qualifications. They are simply holding up the President's appointees 
because they don't want them to be selected, or they have some other 
issue and they are trying to hold the nominee hostage.
  As an example, Alexis Herman has been nominated to be the Secretary 
of Labor. We were initially told we are not going to get her out of 
committee until there is comptime legislation marked up in the Labor 
Committee. That hurdle has gone over. The legislation is marked up. Now 
there is another hurdle this woman must find herself facing. Now we are 
told that there is an issue that deals with an opposed Executive order 
that would permit Federal agencies to consider requiring contractors on 
certain large Federal construction projects to comply with labor 
contracts for the duration of the project. Governor Miller of Nevada 
issues a similar order and a project labor agreement is now in use on a 
very large construction project outside of Las Vegas to bring water 
into Las Vegas.
  Mr. President, I respectfully submit that holding Alexis Herman's 
nomination hostage to this is wrong. To hold her nomination hostage 
over an Executive order is wrong. She is qualified morally and 
educationally and is experienced. Therefore, she should be working for 
the taxpayers of this country in the job she was selected to do by the 
President. What is happening is not right.
  We can get into the merits of the issue of the majority holding 
Alexis Herman hostage, but should that really be the case? If we looked 
at it closely, we would find that in the State of Nevada, as an 
example, of the seven contracts awarded, three went to nonunion 
contractors. I assume that is what the majority is concerned about. 
They have this problem with unions. Well, in Nevada, even though the 
Governor entered this order, three of the contracts went to nonunion 
contractors, and four went to traditional union contractors. Of the 36 
contractors who bid on the seven contracts, 16 were nonunion, 20 were 
union.
  The point I am making, Mr. President, is that this issue, this 
proposed Executive order, is just that--an issue. We should debate it. 
It is wrong and there is legislation to hold hearings or try to get the 
Executive order overturned, but we should not hold up this woman's 
nomination.

[[Page S3399]]

  Are we going to continue without a Secretary of Labor until the 
majority leadership gets their way on every labor issue? I hope not. I 
don't think that hostage holding is a proper way to pass good 
legislation. It is not the way to have the President's nominees chosen. 
The President has a right to select who he wants to work in these very 
sensitive Cabinet positions. He has chosen a woman that is certainly 
qualified.
  Mr. President, this woman is a graduate, as is my colleague, the 
junior Senator from Maryland, from Xavier University in New Orleans, 
LA. In 1977, she was the youngest director ever of the Woman's Bureau 
at the Department of Labor. She is certainly entitled to this job by 
virtue of her qualifications.
  We are willing to debate these issues and work for compromises if, in 
fact, that is necessary. But the majority is saying that it is their 
way or no way. This tactic is becoming a way of business under this 
majority. Also, I don't believe there has ever been judicial 
nominations put on hold by a Congress as we have seen with this one. 
One must wonder about the pattern of the recent majority attacks--
Alexis Herman, Senator Landrieu, Congresswoman Sanchez, and judicial 
nominee Margaret Morrow. For example, take Margaret Morrow; she has 
been found very qualified by the American Bar Association.
  She was first nominated almost a year ago, and we still have not had 
the opportunity to vote on this woman. This is wrong. The rules of the 
Senate allow leadership to delay a nomination if there are questions 
about the nominee's qualifications. But there are no questions about 
this nominee's qualifications.
  There is no reason that we don't have a vote on Alexis Herman. And we 
should have it this week. I think that it is wrong that we go forward 
with legislation--the majority feels important, and the minority goes 
along with that--but I think we are going to have to arrive at a point 
where we have to take a look at how the majority is handling what takes 
place on this Senate floor. Maybe what we should do is nothing until 
these people who are qualified, like Alexis Herman and like Margaret 
Morrow, until we have votes on them.
  If they want to vote against Alexis Herman, then the majority should 
vote against Alexis Herman. But to hold this woman hostage--it is now 
approaching the 1st of May, and this woman has not been able to go to 
work as Secretary of Labor. That is wrong. I think the American public 
deserve more, and I hope that majority leadership will allow her 
nomination to go forward along with some of other nominees that are 
being held up for reasons unknown to most of us.
  Mr. DeWINE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio is recognized.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 10 
minutes, and I also ask unanimous consent that the time for the Senator 
from Georgia be extended by 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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