[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 159 (Thursday, October 29, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10869-S10871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. REID. Madam President, last week four Nevadans tragically died 
from the H1N1 virus, the swine flu. In Clark County, NV, the State's 
most populous county and the home of Las Vegas, 18 people have now died 
as a result of the H1N1 flu. We are all familiar with this strain of 
the flu. It has been on the front pages for months.
  This past weekend, President Obama declared the outbreak a national 
emergency in anticipation of a rush of patients to doctors' offices and 
emergency rooms.
  Fortunately, for nearly 150 years the United States has had a high-
ranking official in place to serve as the government's top public 
health officer. We call that person the Surgeon General of the United 
States. Unfortunately, though, right now we have no permanent Surgeon 
General. The reason is as simple as it is mind-boggling: Republicans in 
the Senate refuse to confirm President Obama's exceptionally qualified 
nominee for this job. I would try to explain the Republican reason for 
the refusal, but, as with so many other

[[Page S10870]]

things they oppose, a rationale simply does not exist. Senate 
Republicans are simply so opposed to everything--absolutely 
everything--that they even oppose putting people in some of the most 
important positions in our government. Democrats, on the other hand, 
believe those who are chosen to serve our country must be able to get 
to work without delay.
  Perhaps those watching and listening think this is how the Senate 
always operates. It is not. Allow me to put these delays in context.
  President Obama has 228 nominations awaiting confirmation--228. 
During the first Bush administration, there was not a problem; during 
the Reagan years, not a problem; during the Clinton years, minor 
problems; during the second Bush administration, no problems. During 
the first Bush administration, the first year, there wasn't a single 
cloture motion that had to be filed. He got basically everyone he 
wanted. But that isn't the way it is here. In the first 4 months of the 
Bush administration, as I indicated, the Senate was controlled by the 
President's party. We were in the minority. There wasn't a single 
filibuster--not one. But in the first 4 months of the Obama 
administration, Republicans filibustered eight of his nominees--in the 
first 4 months. That means President Obama faced twice as many 
filibusters of his nominees in the first 4 months of his administration 
as President Bush faced in his first 4 years.

  Those who are watching may also understandably assume that if this is 
not how the Senate always operates, then there must be something 
extraordinarily controversial about these nominees, something highly 
objectionable or even questionable. Again, no. None of the nominees are 
controversial. None of them are questionable.
  As I mentioned, Republicans in the Senate refuse to confirm our 
Nation's Surgeon General at a time when our President has declared a 
national emergency over the H1N1 virus. The President's nominee, Dr. 
Regina Benjamin, a physician from Alabama and the founder of a 
nonprofit rural health clinic, is eminently qualified for the position. 
She had been written up in news accounts from all over the country 
before she was selected by President Obama.
  But that is not all. Republicans in the Senate also refuse to confirm 
the top official responsible for science and technology in our 
Department of Homeland Security. For that position, President Obama 
nominated an expert in combating both pandemics and bioterror attacks. 
Imagine that. Americans are bracing against a flu epidemic here at home 
and threats of terrorism from abroad; the President nominated someone 
highly experienced in both of these areas, and Republicans are saying 
no.
  If that sounds like something you wouldn't want your Senate to do, 
you might even be further concerned that it is not the first time these 
Republican Senators have done it. While our sons and daughters are 
fighting in Iraq and rebuilding that nation, earlier this year 
Republicans delayed the confirmation of America's Ambassador to Iraq. 
While troops serve bravely in Afghanistan, earlier this year 
Republicans delayed the confirmation of LTG Stanley McChrystal, our new 
commander in that difficult war.
  These telling examples are only the tip of the iceberg. Allow me to 
continue.
  Months ago, President Obama picked a trade expert who worked in the 
Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations to be this Nation's Deputy 
Trade Representative, an extremely important job, but she has yet to 
officially join the Obama administration. Listen to this one. Why? 
Because a Republican Senator is holding up the nomination over a bill 
they think would hurt tobacco companies. If that seems like an 
unrelated, random reason to hold up this qualified nominee, you might 
even be more outraged to learn that the bill that so angers this 
Republican Senator is not before the U.S. Senate, it is not even before 
the U.S. House of Representatives. In fact, it is not even in the 
United States. It is a bill before the Canadian Parliament. It should 
go without saying that our administration can't dictate how the 
Canadian legislature does its job any more than the Canadian Parliament 
can dictate how we do ours. It should go without saying, but 
unfortunately we evidently have to say it.
  Another example: President Obama nominated another former chief of 
staff of the General Services Administration, which manages Federal 
agencies. Today, that person has still not been confirmed. President 
Obama nominated this woman in April on the first full day of the Major 
League Baseball season. Today, on the second day of the World Series, 
she remains unconfirmed for her job. Why? Because a Republican Senator 
is demanding that a Federal building be built in his home State.
  Let's go over these few things. There are 228 being held up, but we 
know we should have a Surgeon General. We know Regina Benjamin is 
eminently qualified. We have a flu pandemic. We have other issues 
facing our country, and we need the top doctor. We don't have it. Why? 
Just because the Republicans don't want anyone to move forward. We know 
that the head of the Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, is desperate to have someone there who can do the 
work that is needed dealing with this flu epidemic. I had a call from 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, the day before 
yesterday. She said: I can't imagine why I can't get this woman to help 
me. We are dealing with bioterrorism, with the flu pandemic, and she is 
being held up. We are talking about trade relations that need to be 
improved all over the world, and we have this being held up because of 
some tobacco law they are considering in the Canadian Parliament.
  There are so many examples. President Obama asked an expert in Latin 
American affairs, a man who has written books, a scholar--his expertise 
is in regime change in Central and South America. He has been a 
visiting scholar at many fine universities in the United States, even 
at Oxford. He has been chosen to be our Nation's Assistant Secretary of 
State for the Western Hemisphere to take care of what is going on in 
the southern part of this world in which we live.
  Nearly 6 months after he was nominated, one Republican Senator still 
refused to allow the confirmation to move forward. This Senator is 
trying to force our Nation to recognize a military coup in Honduras, 
and so he is holding this nomination hostage. Most people would 
reasonably conclude that this nominee's expertise would be particularly 
useful at a time when there is a diplomatic crisis in Central America, 
in Honduras. The man who was ousted--some say constitutionally, some 
say not--they took him out of the country. He came back, and now he is 
in Brazil's Embassy and has been for about a month. There are 
demonstrations every day. The economy is staggering. Yet this is being 
held up.
  These examples are not isolated. They are part of a much larger 
pattern. This year, Republicans have already gone to great lengths to 
ensure that President Obama cannot have his full team in place. We have 
already wasted taxpayers' precious time and money by holding up the 
present nominees for Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, Director of National Drug Control Policy, Deputy Secretary 
for the Department of the Interior, two members of the Council of 
Economic Advisers, a number of Assistant Attorneys General, and many 
others. These nominees finally broke through, the ones I just 
mentioned: the Secretary of Labor, Health and Human Services, the 
Director of National Drug Policy, the Deputy Secretary of the Interior, 
two members of the Council of Economic Advisers, and a number of 
Assistant Attorneys General. They finally broke through, but their 
story doesn't end there. When votes were finally called, they passed 
with flying colors.
  They passed with votes of 89 to 2, 97 to 1, 88 to 0, and 97 to 0. The 
numbers don't lie, and there is no clear evidence that many of these 
objections were without merit--just to stall. Some took weeks of time 
when we could have been doing other things. So it is obvious that these 
objections are not the norm, that they are not based on qualifications, 
and they are rampant with this Republican minority.
  As far as Republicans are concerned, no one is too important to 
block. No high-ranking position is too important to remain empty, and 
no problem is too urgent to delay. The person who Janet

[[Page S10871]]

Napolitano wants to work on bioterrorism and the pandemic that we have 
with the flu, who has been selected by the President, is being held up; 
the Surgeon General is being held up; the Trade Representatives are 
being held up; 228 nominations are being held up for reasons like a 
Canadian bill, like a building in their State--petty reasons.
  The American people must look at what is going on and say: What is 
this all about? It is about Republicans setting records last year on 
how many filibusters they would conduct. If I sound like a broken 
record, it is because Senate Republicans continue to be recordbreakers. 
Last year, after they held up the work of Congress more than any other 
time in history, the American people rejected the Republican status 
quo. They said no to Republicans' ``just say no'' strategy.
  There is no question that the American people are taking notice, 
there is no question that they see these games for what they are, and 
there is no question they are fed up with these petty partisan tricks, 
and there is no question that these tactics have consequences--
consequences that we don't have one of the most important jobs in 
America filled by one of the most important doctors in America, Regina 
Benjamin, and that we don't have somebody in the Department of Homeland 
Security to help with bioterrorism and with the flu pandemic.
  These reckless tactics have consequences. The Republicans delay and 
delay at their own peril. But the truth is that all Americans suffer. 
It is time for them to allow these nominations to go through. And I 
haven't mentioned the judges.

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