Today in Washington D. C. - May 23, 2008 - Congress Out Until June 2

On The Floor: Congress begins its Memorial Day recess today and is scheduled to return June 2. The Senate convened for a pro forma session today and is in recess until Tuesday, when another pro forma session will be held. A third is scheduled for Thursday. When the Senate returns, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to take up a climate change bill. Yesterday, the Senate sent the war supplemental bill (H.R. 2642) back to the House after approving funds for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a domestic spending package and rejecting troop withdrawal requirements.

Sen. Reid’s failed to live up to his pledge to confirm three circuit court judges by Memorial Day. Sen. McConnell said, “Is it consistent with a commitment to do ‘everything within [your] power’ to confirm three more circuit nominees by Memorial Day, to then chose the one nominee who, for logistical reasons alone, is the least likely to be confirmed in time to keep the commitment?. . . chasing the impossible, and then blaming others or expressing surprise when it eludes your grasp is not a good excuse, and will be remembered for a long, long time. So today is a sad and sobering day for me and my colleagues. There are now well-founded questions on our side about the Majority’s stated desire to treat nominees fairly and to improve the confirmation process. And there is frustration that will manifest itself in the coming days, and will persist until we get credible evidence that the Majority will respect Minority rights and treat judicial nominees fairly.”

Senate Republican Conference Vice Chair John Cornyn said, “It is inexcusable that the Majority Leader broke his commitment to confirm three judicial nominees before Memorial Day, despite knowing there were long-pending nominees who could be confirmed before the deadline. He had ample opportunity to honor his pledge, yet his actions failed to match his words. “This is another indication that the Democrat-led Senate is more interested in game playing and stall tactics than a fair process for the many well-qualified judicial nominees still pending. They have irresponsibly politicized the Senate’s constitutional obligation to confirm judges.”

Senate Democrats have been just as slow moving other executive branch nominations. Roll Call reports that Democrats scuttled a deal with the White House to move a number of nominations, including the new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development because Reid doesn’t like Sen. Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) preferred nominee for the Tennessee Valley Authority board. It’s unfortunate that Senate Democrats continue to stall and play partisan games with nominations, contrary to their rhetoric, and apparently, their promises.

---

Tags: judicial appointments, nominations, US Congress, US Senate, Washington D.C. To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!