[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23407-23408]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          PENDING NOMINATIONS

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we are on our final stretch. Before we 
leave for our adjournment prior to the election, I do want to take a 
couple of minutes to talk about the pending nominations.
  The pending nominations have become an issue because it has gotten 
longer and longer and longer, in terms of the list. I am very 
disappointed. We have had a hugely successful session. The last 6 weeks 
and the last 3 days have been tremendously productive, but I am very 
disappointed that we leave here today stranding about, I believe it is 
153 pending nominations that are on the Executive Calendar today. All 
of us have noted the calendar gets thicker and thicker, and it is 
because there are 153 nominations that are being held up.
  For my colleagues, all of them know, but for others listening, these 
nominations have all been received from the President. The President 
has made the nominations. All of them have gone through the committee 
process. All are now available for Senate consideration.
  That is our responsibility. But now in the last few moments before we 
finished our business--I am not going to go through the details why, I 
am not going to rehash why. But we find ourselves in a stalled position 
with 153 nominees right here who are being obstructed. Some on the 
other side of the aisle have said they have nominations which they want 
considered and until that happens everybody is going to be held up. 
Indeed, that is what has happened. It is a scorched-earth-type policy 
which should not be tolerated. I am troubled by it. I hear such words 
as, Well, if I can't have my person or the White House is not sending 
up the person that I asked for, I am going to punish everybody. That is 
what has happened.
  We have 153 people who are on the calendar who are ready and 
available to go. Many of them have put their lives on hold. They have 
dedicated themselves to public service. They have gone all the way 
through the system and they came to this point--to the floor right 
here--and they are obstructed.
  On the calendar, ready and available to go are ambassadorships, 
critical ambassadorships, for example, to Qatar, Estonia, they are 
representatives to the United Nations who are being held up, 
nominations to the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
positions, various positions at the Environmental Protection Agency, to 
the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, to the Department 
of Education nominations, the Veterans Affairs Assistant Secretary 
being held up, and nominations to African Development being held up. 
There are more than 25 pages of nominations being held up.
  These are real people. These are not just names on the calendar. 
These are real people. They have subjected themselves to the process. 
They said, Yes, I am willing to serve, but they are being obstructed. 
Most of these nominations have gone all the way through the system 
without any opposition and for most there is absolutely no controversy 
with their particular nomination. But they are being held hostage. They 
are being held hostage, I believe unreasonably, and it should not be 
tolerated. It is within a Senator's right to do that, but to me it is 
just wrong. These are people committed to public service. There is no 
controversy about them as individuals. They are being held hostage.
  I understand this is not the first time we failed to act on 
nominations or the first time nominations have been held up to 
unrelated issues.
  But I am disappointed that there are Members in this body who have 
taken to such an extreme position--25 pages of nominations.
  This whole concept of putting blanket holds on everybody and holding 
everybody hostage simply is not appropriate and I believe is a 
disservice to the country. But that is what is happening. To me it is 
not responsible. It is not legislating responsibly.
  Senators do have those individual rights, and, boy, we have seen 
individual rights being used today and yesterday and the day before. 
Those are the rules of the Senate.
  But again, I plea that people respect this process and be reasonable 
and allow these nominations to be considered and taken up in a way 
which allows us to act on these deserving people in a reasonable way--a 
way that would allow us to proceed with our constitutional duties.
  The Senate has to approve these individuals with advice and consent. 
We can't give advice and consent if there is this wholesale 
obstruction.
  Again, I wanted to make sure everybody is heard in the nomination 
process. But the obstruction of not being able to consider them is 
unreasonable.

[[Page 23408]]

  With all that said--I said I wasn't going to rehash the why's--I am 
very disturbed by the process and disappointed by Senate colleagues.
  With that said, we will return in November. I hope that once past the 
election--if that is why there is this wholesale hostage holding, if 
that is why it is, once we get past the election being settled--we will 
be able to focus our attention on the calendar.
  I hope we can return to the regular order and allow the Senate to act 
on these nominees. These are people who believe in public service. I 
believe public service and their consideration of public service is a 
noble cause. Let's not leave them on hold indefinitely. Many of them 
are listening to the fact that they will not get through to me right 
now.

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