As HousesofProgress notes in quick hits, Obama has finally pulled the trigger on recess appointments. The White House press release is all prim and proper in its headline presentation:
President Obama Announces Recess Appointments to Key Administration Positions
Fifteen Appointees Have Waited an Average of 214 Days for Senate Confirmation
but the White House blog entry from Jen Psaki, White House Deputy Communications Director, is a little more realistic:
An Unprecedented Level of Obstruction
Posted by Jen Psaki on March 27, 2010 at 02:55 PM EDT
Faced with an unprecedented level of obstruction in the Senate, the President announced his intention to recess appoint fifteen nominees to fill critical administration posts. While the President respects the critical role the Senate plays in the appointment process, he was no longer willing to let another month go by with key economic positions unfilled, especially at a time when our country is recovering from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Many of these fifteen individuals have enjoyed broad bipartisan support, but have found their confirmation votes delayed for reasons that have nothing to do with their qualifications. It has more to do with an obstruction-at-all-costs mentality that we've been faced with since the President came into office. Because of political posturing, these fifteen appointees have waited an average of 214 days for Senate confirmation.
This opposition got so out of hand at one point that one senator put a blanket hold on all of the President's nominees in an attempt to win concessions on two projects that would benefit his state. And another nominee's confirmation was delayed by one senator for more than eight months because of a disagreement over a proposed federal building in his home state. When that nominee was finally given the vote she deserved, she was confirmed 96 to 0. When you attempt to prevent the government from working effectively because you didn't get your way, you're failing to live up to your responsibilities as a public servant.
No argument there. But this is where it gets really good--comparing Obama with Bush--directly demolishing the false-equivalence narrative:
To put this in perspective, at this time in 2002, President Bush had only 5 nominees pending on the floor. By contrast, President Obama has 77 nominees currently pending on the floor, 58 of whom have been waiting for over two weeks and 44 of those have been waiting more than a month. And cloture has been filed 16 times on Obama nominees, nine of whom were subsequently confirmed with 60 or more votes or by voice vote. Cloture was not filed on a single Bush nominee in his first year. And despite facing significantly less opposition, President Bush had already made 10 recess appointments by this point in his presidency and he made another five over the spring recess.
A few more numbers to put this in perspective:
These fifteen nominees have been waiting a total of 3,204 days or almost nine years to start their respective jobs.
Even the most recently nominated of these fifteen individuals has been waiting 144 days or nearly five months.
Jeffrey Goldstein was nominated to serve as the top domestic finance official at Treasury, a crucial position for fixing the economy and preventing another financial crisis. Goldstein has been waiting 248 days or over 8 months.
Jacqueline Berrien was nominated to serve as Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC currently lacks a quorum and cannot fulfill its mandate to protect American workers from discrimination. Berrien has been waiting 254 days or over 8 months.
Craig Becker and Mark Pearce were nominated to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which protects American workers from unfair labor practices. The five member board has been trying to operate with only two members. Becker and Pearce have been waiting for 261 days or over 8 months.
We would have all been better off if Obama had done this a long, long time ago. Failing to go over the heads of obstructionist GOP senators has only emboldened them to become more and more outrageous in their behavior and demands. But now, at last, Obama seems to have finally decided that enough is enough. A couple of observations on the flip.
Ask Shannon Hilt, who's seen our broken system for forming unions firsthand, and she'll tell you that there's no question: Workers need the Employee Free Choice Act.
Hilt spent three years as a field examiner for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), overseeing the elections process and investigating unfair practices. She says the system we have now, one in which companies, not workers, have all the power, isn't free, it isn't fair and doesn't protect workers.
Writing in the Boulder, Colo., Daily Camera, Hilt explains how her years of experience as an NLRB field examiner have convinced her that we need fundamental labor law reform that gives workers, not their bosses, the ability to decide how they form a union and bargain.
There's some great news on the labor front coming out of newly announced labor appointments. There are a whole host of positions to be appointed in both the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board. Progressive appointments here give us a chance to re-shape labor policy through administrative processes and help expand the power of workers in the 21st century.
Follow me over the fold and we'll meet some of these appointees.
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