[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19308]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, today the Senate will vote on two 
nominations: those of Norman Eisen to serve as Ambassador to the Czech 
Republic and Maria Carmen Aponte to serve as Ambassador to El Salvador.
  These two Ambassadors are in their positions as we speak, having been 
given recess appointments. These nominees are accomplished, qualified 
public servants who will continue to represent their Nation with 
distinction. For my Republican colleagues, however, being qualified and 
dedicated doesn't seem to be enough anymore. Last week, they blocked 
the nomination of a brilliant legal mind, Caitlin Halligan, to the U.S. 
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Obviously, they don't 
mind there are these vacancies because Republicans were in the majority 
in that court. So they wanted to defeat this competent woman, and that 
is what they did with these vacancies still there in that court.
  They blocked the nomination of Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau, despite his obviously deep qualifications 
for the job. He has a long history of protecting the middle class 
against unfair practices by financial predators and he would have been 
a great asset in our fight to protect Main Street from the kind of Wall 
Street greed that caused the 2008 financial crisis. Yet Republicans 
denied Mr. Cordray's nomination--I should say confirmation--and all it 
does is weaken the agency he was nominated to lead.
  I hope Republicans will not turn every confirmation process into a 
political three-ring circus. The candidates today, Mr. Eisen and Ms. 
Aponte, have jumped through enough hoops already. Ms. Aponte's 
accomplished record as Ambassador to El Salvador over the past 15 
months speaks for itself. Experts in the region from across the 
political spectrum support her confirmation. The same enthusiasm is 
there for Ambassador Eisen. If Republicans block the confirmation of 
these excellent, qualified candidates, it will only be for nakedly 
partisan reasons.

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