[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21218]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            CONFIRMING CZARS

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, last Friday the so-called ``green jobs czar'' 
resigned from his post after it was revealed that he supported 9/11 
Truth organization statements insinuating that the government permitted 
the attacks to happen.
  This official was just one of the many czars the administration has 
appointed this year. There's a car czar, a pay czar, a science czar, a 
Great Lakes czar, plus 30 other czars.
  Typically, high-ranking officials go through a Senate confirmation 
process to ensure their fitness for the position, but none of President 
Obama's czars went through this process required by the Constitution.
  The Constitution calls for the Senate to give advice and consent for 
the appointment of its principal officers, a fitting definition for the 
power wielded by these czars.
  It is not too late for the President to properly vet his next green 
jobs czar and to willingly submit all of these high officials to a 
transparent process that can only strengthen his administration.
  When he was Senator, Obama said, ``The biggest problems that we're 
facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and 
more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at 
all. And that's what I intend to reverse when I'm President of the 
United States.''
  Mr. Obama, it's time to keep your word.

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