[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 16]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            WORKING GROUP--LOWER LEVEL EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS

  Mr. REID. One of the issues we must reform is the confirmation 
process in the Senate. I have heard from a number of Senators on both 
sides of the aisle who think we should address this.
  Clearly, all Presidents are entitled to choose well-qualified 
individuals to serve in their administration. In the vast majority of 
instances, the individuals nominated by the President are not 
controversial, but many have faced delays before assuming their 
positions. These delays mean critical decisionmakers are not in place. 
And, the delays make it harder to find qualified people--many great 
nominees simply cannot wait around for months as the stress and 
uncertainty affects their families and careers. We need to do better in 
the 112th Congress. According to the Congressional Research Service, 
the Senate has a constitutional duty to exercise ``advice and consent'' 
on more than 1,215 executive branch nominees. That is a large number. 
Is my friend from Kentucky aware of that the Senate confirms more than 
1,215 executive branch nominees?
  Mr. McCONNELL. I am aware that the number of presidential appointees 
has grown substantially. According to the bipartisan Commission on 
Public Service report from 2003, President Kennedy took office in 1960 
with only 286 positions to fill by Presidential appointment. Many of 
those required Senate confirmation. About 40 years later, President 
George W. Bush faced a total of 3,361 Presidential appointment slots to 
fill. I am sure the current President faced a similar number of 
appointments.
  Mr. REID. I remember the Public Service Commission well and its 
Chairman Paul Volcker. We may need a new working group in the Senate to 
examine the confirmation process and ways to improve, streamline, and 
in some cases perhaps eliminate the confirmation process for lower 
level nominees. I would like to propose a new working group on 
executive nominations headed by Chairman Schumer and Ranking Member 
Alexander of the Rules Committee. We will develop the details of this 
effort in the coming weeks, but I think a Senate level working group is 
a good place to start. And I would also recommend that Senators Schumer 
and Alexander work on this effort in conjunction with Senators 
Lieberman and Collins. The Homeland Security and Government Affairs 
Committee has held hearings on the confirmation process in the past, 
and Senators Lieberman and Collins have been engaged in this issue for 
some time. They can bring a valuable perspective here.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I agree the Senate should establish a working group to 
examine this issue. Surely, Senators Lieberman and Collins have 
bipartisan respect and should be a part of any such group on executive 
nominations. Senators Alexander and Schumer are good choices to 
spearhead this effort. I look forward to working with the majority 
leader and my colleagues in the coming weeks as we finalize this 
proposal.

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