[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          VACANCIES REFORM ACT

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I want to add my voice to those 
supporting the passage of the Vacancies Reform Act as part of this 
bill. The Vacancies Reform Act addresses an enormously important issue: 
the need to protect the Senate's constitutional role in the appointment 
of Federal officers. The Constitution provides that the President's 
power to appoint officers of the United States is to be exercised ``by 
and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate.'' Unfortunately, in too 
many cases, over the course of the past several Administrations, the 
Senate's constitutional prerogatives have been ignored, through the 
Executive's far too common practice of appointing acting officials to 
serve lengthy periods in positions that are supposed to be filled with 
individuals confirmed by the Senate.
  With the leadership of Senators Byrd and Thompson, we in the 
Governmental Affairs Committee have worked for a large part of this 
session to try to find a solution to this problem that reasserted the 
Senate's constitutional rights while at the same time avoided creating 
an unwarranted risk to the Government's good functioning. As noted in 
the Additional Views I and others signed to the committee's report, the 
bill the committee reported in July and the Senate considered in 
September went most of the way toward achieving these goals. 
Nevertheless, because it still contained a number of troubling 
provisions that, in my view, could have hindered the ability of the 
executive branch to carry out its duties, I could not in the end 
support that version of the bill.
  Since the bill's floor consideration in September, all of the 
interested parties have worked hard and in good faith to address the 
concerns that remained about the bill, with the result that we now have 
a good bill, one that offers a measured and appropriate response to the 
Executive's longstanding unwillingness to comply with the dictates of 
the Vacancies Act. I am particularly pleased that the final version of 
the bill resolves one of my biggest concerns--that we not define who 
may serve as an acting official in a manner that, in some cases, 
effectively precludes anyone from serving in an acting capacity. The 
final version of the bill well addresses this problem by offering the 
President the option to choose any senior agency staff who has worked 
at the agency for at least 90 days to serve as the acting official.
  So, Mr. President, let me once again thank Senator Byrd, Senator 
Thompson, and the others who have worked so hard on this bill. I am 
pleased that it soon will become law.

                          ____________________