[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 22 (Thursday, February 9, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H677-H680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECESS APPOINTMENTS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Woodall) is recognized
for 30 minutes.
Mr. WOODALL. Madam Speaker, I very much appreciate the time, and I
appreciate being able to follow my colleagues from the Progressive
Caucus.
There is not a lot that the Progressive Caucus works for in terms of
their techniques that I agree with, but there is so much that the
caucus works for in terms of its overall goals for America that I agree
with. And I think that that is a story that does not get told as often
as it should here in this House. We can very often have common goals
but have very different ways that we seek to achieve those goals, Madam
Speaker.
I think the way that we achieve those goals is important. It's
important. As my colleague said when he was speaking on behalf of the
Progressive Caucus, America voted in 2008. America voted in 2010. And
in 2008, they elected a President. In 2010, they elected a new
Congress. And powers divided America. Powers divided America. We have
Democrats controlling the White House. We have Democrats controlling
the Senate. We have Republicans controlling the U.S. House of
Representatives. And we have the American people who should be
controlling all three of those things.
As we were coming into this new year, Madam Speaker, I was at home
with my family back in Georgia, and I heard the news that the President
of the United States had decided to appoint members to boards, to
positions, to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to the National
Labor Relations Board, to appoint positions that require Senate
confirmation, to name people to those positions without getting that
Senate confirmation, saying that if I can't do it with the Senate, I'll
just skip the Senate.
And I don't mind telling you, Madam Speaker, that really cast a
damper on my Christmas season. We were coming into this new year--a new
year where, as my friends from the Progressive Caucus have just laid
out, we have challenge after challenge after challenge after challenge
that we, as Americans, must face together, that we must come together
in order to solve.
And we're coming into this new year, an opportunity to make that
happen. And I had high hopes. I had high hopes that despite this being
an election year--and I think that brings out a lot of what's worst
about Washington, DC. Despite this being an election year, despite
there being divided government in Washington, I thought, We are going
to have an opportunity because the challenges are so great to come
together on behalf of all of our constituencies to move this Nation
forward.
And I wondered because, even though you are as new, as I am, Madam
Speaker, we've seen in years past that the closer you get to election,
the crazier things get in Congress. The closer you get to an election,
sadly, the more folks stop worrying about doing the right thing and
start worrying about getting reelected and doing whatever it takes to
do that. And as a freshman, Madam Speaker, I know you likely agree with
me.
I happen to think doing the right thing is the best thing for getting
reelected. I think if more folks spent more time worrying about doing
the right thing instead of getting reelected, their reelection
campaigns would take care of themselves. But I had high hopes coming
into this year that this would not be a wasted reelection year for the
American people but that we would be able to work on serious issues
together.
The rule book I use, Madam Speaker, I have up here on the board. This
happens to be article II, section 2, clause 3 of the United States
Constitution. But the Constitution is the rule book I use. I carry mine
with me. I don't want it to be far away because I believe that if we
have the same rule book to operate from, Madam Speaker, then it gives
us that context for trying to achieve the goals the American people
sent us here to do.
Here we have article II, section 2, clause 3 of the United States
Constitution: ``The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies
that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting
commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.'' This
is the recess appoint authority, Madam Speaker. You've heard it said
the President has the power to make recess appointments. The President
shall have the power to fill all vacancies that may happen during the
recess of the Senate. Undisputed. Undisputed, Madam Speaker: article
II, section 2, clause 3.
Article II, section 2, clause 2: The President shall have power by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate to make treaties. And he
shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges
of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States whose
appointments are not herein otherwise provided.
The President shall have the power to make appointments if the Senate
is in recess. But if the Senate is not, the President only has the
power--the President shall, the Constitution says, nominate by and with
the advice and consent of the United States Senate. That's the way our
system works, Madam Speaker. That's the rule book that was left for us
by our Founding Fathers. That's the rule book that has guided this
country for 225 years. The President has the power to appoint
nonelected leaders, unelected leaders to lead this Nation. But he can
do so only with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Now, back in the day, Madam Speaker--I know you are from the northern
part of the east coast. I'm from the southern part of the east coast.
{time} 1320
It used to take us a long time to get to Washington, DC. I'm 640
miles away from the Capital down in Georgia. If I had to get on my
horse and ride to the United States Capital, it would take quite a few
days to do it. And understanding that the business of the American
people had to continue, our Founding Fathers looked ahead and said if
the Senate cannot be reconvened, if the Senate is too far away to
consult, and your first duty is to consult, but if you cannot, we want
the country to go on.
Well, that's been the way it's been in this country, Madam Speaker,
as you know, for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Until now. Until now,
when for the very first time, when for the very first time this
President of the United States said, I can't get my nominees through
the Democratic Senate, so I'm going to go around the Senate. And he
made appointments without the advice and consent of the Senate.
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I have with me today, Madam Speaker, a page from the Congressional
Record, a speech that was given on the Senate floor, and this is what
it says: Mr. President, the Senate will be coming in for pro forma
sessions during the Thanksgiving holiday to prevent recess
appointments.
My hope is that this will prompt the President to see that it is in
our mutual interests to get nominations back on track. With an election
year looming, significant progress can still be made. But that progress
can't be made if the President seeks controversial recess appointments
and fails to make others.
With the Thanksgiving break looming, the administration informed me
that they would make several recess appointments. I indicated I would
be willing to confirm various appointments if the administration would
agree to move others, but they would not make that commitment. And as a
result, I am keeping the Senate in pro forma session to prevent recess
appointments until we get this process back on track.
Do you hear those words from the United States Senate, Madam Speaker?
Do you hear those words? This was the majority leader in the United
States Senate speaking out, telling the President you cannot, you
cannot, you cannot make appointments without the advice and consent of
the Senate. You're trying to go around us; we will not allow it. We're
afraid you're going to do it when we go home for Thanksgiving. So
instead of going on recess, instead of recessing the Senate, we're
going to stay in pro forma session not just through Thanksgiving, but
through the Christmas holidays to make certain that the President seeks
our advice and consent.
Sounds like a speech a Republican would have given, Madam Speaker, to
make sure the President of the United States followed the Constitution,
but it's not. It's not. This is actually a page from the Congressional
Record November 16, 2007, Madam Speaker.
These are the words that then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spoke
to President Bush, telling President Bush the law of the land is you
can't do it without us unless we're in recess. We're not going to go on
recess. We're staying here in pro forma session. And, in fact, the
majority leader and still now majority leader, Harry Reid in the United
States Senate, kept the Senate in session, pro forma session every day
until the end of President Bush's term and no recess appointments were
ever made. Why, Madam Speaker? Because the Senate never went on recess.
Harry Reid said: Mr. President, the Senate will be coming in for pro
forma session during the Thanksgiving holiday to prevent recess
appointments. That's how he opened his speech that day. He closed his
speech that day by saying: As a result, I'm keeping the Senate in pro
forma session to prevent recess appointments until we get this process
back on track.
Harry Reid knew, Madam Speaker, that the President could not, could
not under the laws that govern our plan, under the rule book that is
the United States Constitution, that he could not make appointments if
Harry Reid kept the Senate in pro forma session; 2007, then-Majority
Leader Harry Reid talking to then-President George Bush.
Fast forward, Madam Speaker, to the holiday season 2011-2012, same
majority leader sitting in the United States Senate, Harry Reid, same
pro forma session continually through Thanksgiving and Christmas, the
same pro forma session that Harry Reid said clearly would prevent
constitutionally the President from making any appointments.
And what did this President do? He made four. For the first time in
American history, he made four. And he said, you know what, it's been
so hard to work with the Senate. This whole going around the Senate and
skipping them all together is working so well, I may do it again. If I
can't work with you, you, the delegates of the American people, you,
the elected representatives to our Republic, if I can't work with you,
I'm going to go around you. And it worked out so well this time, I
might do it again.
Madam Speaker, while I disagree with my colleagues on the methods
that we use, I share a common set of goals with them of what we want
for America. When we lose that common fiber, when we lose what I would
call that American Dream, that almost tangible spirit that unites us
more than it divides us, that sense of who we are as a Nation that you
can almost reach out and touch, that makes it clear that we will
continue, no matter what our differences, toward a common end. I would
tell you the Constitution of the United States, Madam Speaker, contains
much of that spirit. The Constitution is clear.
And this President, for the first time, decided it just didn't
matter. He had ends that he wanted to achieve, and he said the means,
as unconstitutional as they may be, justify those ends.
Same circumstance, same Senate majority leader, same season on the
calendar, same pending election year. In 2007, Harry Reid took to the
floor of the United States Senate, spoke out on behalf of the American
people and said, The Constitution matters, don't you dare.
The silence from the Senate this year is deafening. Deafening.
We only survive as a Republic, Madam Speaker, if the rules apply to
everyone consistently. This is not a matter of party; this is a matter
of country.
Harry Reid was right when he called out a Republican President and
said, don't you dare. It's unconstitutional. And that Republican
President, President George Bush, didn't because he knew also that the
Constitution forbade it.
Where is the indignation today from the Senate, Madam Speaker, when
that same thing is going on, but the only thing that is different is
the President is of a different party? If we are ready to trade away
those fundamental truths that unite us as a Nation, Madam Speaker, in
the name of party, we have nothing. We have nothing.
This is not a Republican crisis. This is not a Democratic crisis.
This is a constitutional crisis and one that every single American has
to be on watch for.
{time} 1330
Madam Speaker, I'm not proud of everything that happened when
Republicans ran the House, Republicans ran the Senate, and Republicans
ran the House. I'm certainly not proud of everything that happened when
Democrats ran the House, Democrats ran the Senate, and Democrats ran
the White House. The temptation to go along with party leaders is
strong. But the requirement of the oath that we swear the day we come
to this institution, Madam Speaker, is not to follow party leaders. It
is to follow the United States Constitution and to defend it against
enemies foreign and domestic. We cannot trade away these principles
that have guided our Republic and have protected our freedom in the
name of party.
When the President was elected, Madam Speaker, I think he believed
that. I remember the spirit of the country in those days right after
the President was elected. It was magical. I actually happened to be in
town, Madam Speaker, when the inauguration was going on there in
January of 2009. President Obama being sworn in as President of the
United States, and there were men and women weeping in the streets--
weeping in the streets because they had joy in their heart that their
voice had been heard, their President had been elected and that better
days were on the horizon for America. Men and women weeping in the
streets.
President Obama was not my choice for President, but I love--I love--
that while he and President Bush agreed on virtually nothing, President
Bush took the keys to the White House and the suitcase full of nuclear
launch codes, and he handed them to President Obama. Not a drop of
blood was shed, and not a bullet was fired. The leadership of the most
powerful nation on the planet, the most deadly military the Earth has
ever known, the beacon of freedom the likes of which this planet has
never seen, the keys to that kingdom were handed from one leader to the
next, leaders who disagreed on almost everything, handed from one to
the next with no blood and no gunshots for one reason and one reason
only: because the American people demanded it, because the election
required it, because the freedoms that were laid out in the United
States Constitution that said the only power in Washington is the power
that we, the voters, give to it, lend to it, lease to it for a small
period of time. That is the only power in
[[Page H679]]
this town. And when, We the People speak, Washington must listen. All
under the rules, the rules of the United States Constitution.
President Obama knew that when he was elected. Here's what he said--
this is from his election night victory speech in 2008 when President
Obama said this: Resist the temptation to fall back on the same
partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our
politics for far too long. He was right when he said it. Resist the
temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and
immaturity that has poisoned our politics for far too long. That was
his victory night speech, Madam Speaker.
Before this Christmas season, when he decided he can't work with the
Senate, he's going to go around the Senate; when he decided if he
couldn't pass it with the people's representatives, he'd just skip the
people's representatives, he said, I'm going to choose a new path.
But in December of last year, Madam Speaker, after 3 years as our
President, when asked about the partisan tone that the rhetoric was
taking, he said this: It was going to take more than a year to solve
it. It was going to take more than 2 years. It was going to take more
than one term, probably takes more than one President.
On victory night, Madam Speaker, he said deliverance is coming to
America from the temptation of partisanship, pettiness, and immaturity.
In December of 2011, he said that it was just going to be too hard,
couldn't do it in a year, couldn't do it in 2 years, couldn't do it in
a whole term, probably can't even do it in one presidency.
Madam Speaker, his sights are set too low. He can, if he has the
courage to do it. August of 2008, right before the election, Madam
Speaker, President Obama says this as he announces his vice
presidential candidate: After decades of steady work across the aisle,
I know that he'll--talking about Vice President Biden--be able to help
me turn the page on the ugly partisanship in Washington so we can bring
Democrats and Republicans together to pass an agenda that works for the
American people.
Madam Speaker, he knows, he knows in his heart what the right thing
to do is. He knows. He wants to move past, turn the page, he says, on
the ugly partisanship in Washington so that we can bring Democrats and
Republicans together to pass an agenda that works for the American
people. That was right before the election, Madam Speaker.
This year, he's decided for the first time in American history, if he
can't get along with Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, he'll
just go around them. It doesn't matter that the constitutional rule
book says no. He has somewhere he wants to go. He wants people in power
that he can appoint, and the fact that the Senate won't sign off on
those folks, the fact that the voice of the American people as
represented in those 100 men and women in the Senate won't sign off on
those folks doesn't matter to him. He has an agenda, and he wants to go
after it. What happened, Madam Speaker, to trying to turn the page?
November 2010, President Obama recognizes failure. When asked about
that bitter partisanship, he said this: I neglected some things that
matter to a lot of people, and rightly so that they matter, maintaining
a bipartisan tone in Washington. He knew, November 2010, he knew he'd
promised it, he knew that we, the American people, were hoping that he
would deliver it, and we were praying that he would have the strength
and conviction to deliver it. November of 2010, he said, I neglected
it. But in November, 2010, he said, I'm going to redouble my efforts to
make it happen. I know in my heart it should happen, he said. I'm going
to redouble my efforts.
That was November, 2010, Madam Speaker, and here we are having the
President go around the Constitution for the first time ever in
American history because the Senate does not approve of his nominees.
He cannot get Senate approval. Rather than nominating people with whom
he could get Senate approval, he said, I want what I want. The will of
the people as expressed by the Senate does not matter. If I can't work
with them, I'm going to go around them, and it works so well, I'm
likely to do it again.
Madam Speaker, I don't want this to sound like a partisan discussion,
this that is happening with the Constitution today, this constitutional
crisis that we're in with these non-recess ``recess'' appointments. It
is wrong whether a Republican tries to do it or a Democrat tries to do
it, and we know that to be true because we remember it from 2007. It
wasn't but one President ago that we last confronted this circumstance.
And what we concluded was, it's unconstitutional, you can't do it, and
we're going to keep the Senate in pro forma session. And that prevented
President Bush from making any more appointments for the remainder of
his presidency.
This is what President Obama said back when he was Senator Obama--
Senator Obama: These are challenges we all want to meet, and problems
we all want to solve, even if we don't agree on how to do it. But he
says this, Madam Speaker: But if the right of free and open debate is
taken away from the minority party and millions of Americans who asked
them to be their voice, I fear that the already partisan atmosphere of
Washington will be poisoned to the point where no one will be able to
agree on anything. That doesn't serve anyone's best interest, he said,
and it certainly isn't what the patriots who founded this democracy had
in mind.
Madam Speaker, when President Obama was Senator Obama, and he sat in
the Senate and the responsibility of representing the men and women of
Illinois sat on his shoulders, he knew what the truth was.
{time} 1340
If the right of free and open debate is taken away from the minority
party and the millions of Americans who ask us to be their voice, I
fear the already partisan atmosphere will be poisoned to the point
where no one will be able to agree on anything.
He was right, Madam Speaker. He was right before the election, when
he said he was going to fight partisanship. He was right after the
election, when he said he wanted to bring openness back to Washington.
He was right when he was a United States Senator and he said the
people's voice needed to be heard. He was wrong when he ignored the
United States Constitution less than 45 days ago and said, I can't work
with the Senate. The people's Representatives have it all wrong. And if
I can't work with them, I'm going to go around them. You can't make
that choice, Madam Speaker. The rule book is right here. It's the
United States Constitution.
Again, Senator Barack Obama: We need to rise above an ends-justify-
the-means mentality because we are here to answer to the people--all of
the people, not just the ones wearing our party label. This was April
13, 2005.
As a United States Senator, President Obama knew. He knew, when he
had the burden of responsibility--the pleasure of responsibility--of
representing the men and women of Illinois, he knew ends-justify-the-
means mentality. We must rise above it, he said. We must answer to the
American people, not just the ones wearing our party label.
He was right, Madam Speaker. He was right then. He was right before
the election. He was right after the election. He is wrong today. What
has happened? What has happened in 3 years of his Presidency that he
knew where we could go as a Nation, he knew where we should go as a
Nation. He knew that the rule book that has been guiding us for over
200 years would get us through to better days tomorrow. He knew it, and
he's forgotten it. And we're on the brink of a constitutional crisis.
Madam Speaker, I have here a quote from Senator Chuck Schumer: You
don't change the rules in the middle of the game just because you can't
get your way. Our Constitution, our system of laws, is too hallowed, is
too important to do that. Democratic Senator from New York, Chuck
Schumer.
Madam Speaker, I've said it as long as I've been here--and you and I
have been here just over 1 year--truth does not have a Republican or
Democratic label after it. Truth is truth, right is right, and wrong is
wrong. The President knows what's wrong. He knew it as a Senator. He
knows it as a President. His colleagues in the Senate know what's
wrong. You don't change the rules in the middle of the game just
because you can't get your way. Our
[[Page H680]]
Constitution, our system of laws, is too hallowed, is too important to
do that.
Chuck Schumer was right, Madam Speaker. There's no process in this
Constitution for reining in that Executive that just throws the
Constitution aside--short of impeachment. It's the only one. We can't
sue him. We can't go down there. We can have a picket, but that doesn't
make any difference.
He knew it. He knew it was wrong. He knew it as a candidate. He knew
it once he was elected. He knew it when he was a Senator. And he did it
anyway, because the ends justified his means.
Madam Speaker, all we are as a Nation comes from the very few words
that make up this United States Constitution--Constitution on your
bedside, Bible on your bedside, those important works of American
history by your bedside, Madam Speaker. We have a national identity,
and that national identity is defined by having one set of rules that
apply to everybody equally.
Madam Speaker, I'm grateful to you for making this time available to
me today. I encourage every American to look at these facts and judge
for themselves what the next step is on our constitutional journey.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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