Enough of Senate 'Holds', Time to Move Forward

Driving to the printer, to pick up some proofs on new brochures for work today, I was listening to the segment on NPR about the number of Obama appointees that are being blocked from doing their job by ‘holds’ in the Senate.

As you’ll read, ‘holds’ are a cheesy little way of gumming up the works, behind the scenes, anonymously. If this isn’t the official definition of ‘chicken shit’ then nothing is. This can be done away with, like it’s bad traveling companion, the filibuster, but it’s doubtful that it can happen with this Senate - without a LOT of public outrage and insistence.

Listen to the complete story by clicking here.

Here’s what NPR has to say about it all:

“The “hold” is an informal Senate custom that allows any lawmaker to block action on any bill or nomination at any time for any reason. It is essentially a threatened filibuster. Party leaders can try to move ahead anyway, but they generally honor holds out of tradition and courtesy. A president can overcome holds on nominations by making short-term appointments while Congress is away on recess. This spring, President Obama, facing 77 such holds, made more than a dozen recess appointments. By comparison, at the same point during the George W. Bush administration, senators had placed holds on only five nominations. As of May 5, senators had holds on 87 executive and judicial nominations, most of them anonymous. Four lawmakers have gone public and attached their names to the nominees they are blocking. Democrats say they have no current holds on nominations.”

And here is the thoroughly ridiculous number of appointees that are the objects of ‘holds’ - just one more thing that needs changing in the Senate (aside from all the obstructionist Republicans there):

Warren F. Miller Jr.	Director, Office of Radioactive Waste Management, DOE	Aug. 4, 2009	Anonymous
Winslow Lorenzo Sargeant	Chief counsel for advocacy, Small Business Administration	Sept. 16, 2009	Anonymous
Brian Hayes	Member, National Labor Relations Board	Oct. 21, 2009	Anonymous
Mark Gaston Pearce	Member, National Labor Relations Board	Oct. 21, 2009	Anonymous
Julie A. Reiskin	Board member, Legal Services Corp.	Oct. 21, 2009	Anonymous
Gloria Valencia-Weber	Board member, Legal Services Corp.	Oct. 21, 2009	Anonymous
Rafael Borras	Under secretary, Homeland Security	Oct. 28, 2009	Anonymous
Michael J. Walsh	Major general, U.S. Army	Oct. 27, 2009	Sen. David Vitter, R-La.
Jane Branstetter Stranch*	Circuit court judge, 6th circuit	Nov. 19, 2009	Anonymous
Benjamin B. Tucker	Deputy director, drug control policy	Nov. 19, 2009	Anonymous
John H. Laub	Director, National Institute of Justice	Dec. 3, 2009	Anonymous
Phillip E. Coyle III	Associate director, Office of Science and Technology Policy	Dec. 3, 2009	Anonymous
Anthony R. Coscia	Director, Amtrak Board	Dec. 3, 2009	Anonymous
Albert DiClemente	Director, Amtrak Board	Dec. 3, 2009	Anonymous
Mark R. Rosekind	Member, National Transportation Safety Board	Dec. 3, 2009	Anonymous
Jacqueline A. Berrien	Member, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	Dec. 10, 2009	Anonymous
Chai Rachel Feldblum	Member, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	Dec. 10, 2009	Anonymous
P. David Lopez	General Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	Dec. 10, 2009	Anonymous
Victoria A. Lipnic	Member, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	Dec. 10, 2009	Anonymous
Jill Long Thompson	Member, Farm Credit Administration Board	Dec. 16, 2009	Anonymous
Eric L. Hirschhorn	Under Secretary of Commerce, Export Administration	Dec. 17, 2009	Anonymous
Steven L. Jacques	Assistant secretary, Housing and Urban Development	Dec. 17, 2009	Anonymous
Jim R. Esquea	Assistant secretary, Health and Human Services	Dec. 23, 2009	Anonymous
Michael W. Punke	Deputy U.S. Trade Representative	Dec. 23, 2009	Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky
Islam A. Siddiqui	Chief agricultural negotiator, Office of U.S. Trade Representative	Dec. 23, 2009	Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky
Michael F. Mundaca	Assistant secretary of the Treasury	Dec. 23, 2009	Anonymous
Albert Diaz*	Circuit court judge, 4th circuit	Jan. 28, 2010	Anonymous
James A. Wynn Jr.*	Circuit court judge, 4th circuit	Jan. 28, 2010	Anonymous
Craig Becker	Member, National Labor Relations Board	Feb. 4, 2010	Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Louis B. Butler Jr.*	District court judge, Western Wisconsin	Feb. 4, 2010	Anonymous
Edward Milton Chen*	District court judge, Northern California	Feb. 4, 2010	Anonymous
Mary L. Smith	Assistant attorney general	Feb. 4, 2010	Anonymous
Benita Y. Pearson*	District court judge, Northern Ohio	Feb. 11, 2010	Anonymous
Timothy S. Black*	District court judge, Southern Ohio	Feb. 11, 2010	Anonymous
James P. Lynch	Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics	Feb. 11, 2010	Anonymous
Judith Ann Stewart Stock	Assistant secretary of State	Feb. 24, 2010	Anonymous
Patricia A. Hoffman	Assistant secretary of Energy	March 3, 2010	Anonymous
Jon E. DeGuilio*	District court judge, Northern Indiana	March 4, 2010	Anonymous
Audrey Goldstein Fleissig*	District court judge, Eastern Missouri	March 4, 2010	Anonymous
Lucy Haeran Koh*	District court judge, Northern California	March 4, 2010	Anonymous
Tanya Walton Pratt*	District court judge, Southern Indiana	March 4, 2010	Anonymous
Marilyn A. Brown	Board member, Tennessee Valley Authority	March 4, 2010	Anonymous
William B. Sansom	Board member, Tennessee Valley Authority	March 4, 2010	Anonymous
Neil G. McBride	Board member, Tennessee Valley Authority	March 4, 2010	Anonymous
Barbara Short Haskew	Board member, Tennessee Valley Authority	March 4, 2010	Anonymous
Ari Ne’eman	Member, National Council on Disability	March 10, 2010	Anonymous
Jane E. Magnus-Stinson*	District court judge, Southern Indiana	March 11. 2010	Anonymous
Brian Anthony Jackson*	District court judge, Middle Louisiana	March 18, 2010	Anonymous
Elizabeth Erny Foote*	District court judge, Western Louisiana	March 18, 2010	Anonymous
Mark A. Goldsmith*	District court judge, Eastern Michigan	March 18, 2010	Anonymous
Marc T. Treadwell*	District court judge, Middle Georgia	March 18, 2010	Anonymous
Josephine Staton Tucker*	District court judge, Central California	March 18, 2010	Anonymous
Michael Peter Huerta	Deputy administrator, Federal Aviation Administration	March 18, 2010	Anonymous
David T. Matsuda	Administrator, Maritime Administration	March 18, 2010	Anonymous
Michael F. Tillman	Member, Marine Mammal Commission	March 24, 2010	Anonymous
Daryl J. Boness	Member, Marine Mammal Commission	March 24, 2010	Anonymous
Earl F. Weener	Member, National Transportation Safety Board	March 24, 2010	Anonymous
Jeffrey R. Moreland	Director, Amtrak Board	March 24, 2010	Anonymous
Larry Robinson	Assistant secretary of Commerce	March 24, 2010	Anonymous
Arthur Allen Elkins Jr.	Inspector general, Environmental Protection Agency	March 24, 2010	Anonymous
Carolyn Hessler Radelet	Deputy director, Peace Corps	April 13, 2010	Anonymous
Elizabeth L. Littlefield	President, Overseas Private Investment Corp.	April 13, 2010	Anonymous
Lana Pollack	Commissioner, International Joint Commission, U.S. and Canada	April 13, 2010	Anonymous
Victor H. Ashe	Member, Broadcasting Board of Governors	April 13, 2010	Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
Walter Isaacson	Member, Broadcasting Board of Governors	April 13, 2010	Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
Michael Lynton	Member, Broadcasting Board of Governors	April 13, 2010	Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
Susan McCue	Member, Broadcasting Board of Governors	April 13, 2010	Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
Dennis Mulhaupt	Member, Broadcasting Board of Governors	April 13, 2010	Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
S. Enders Wimbush	Member, Broadcasting Board of Governors	April 13, 2010	Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.
Bisa Williams	Ambassador to Niger	April 13, 2010	Anonymous
Raul Yzaguirre	Ambassador to the Dominican Republic	April 13, 2010	Anonymous
Theodore Sedgwick	Ambassador to the Slovak Republic	April 13, 2010	Anonymous
Robert Stephen Ford	Ambassador to Syria	April 13, 2010	Anonymous
William Joseph Martinez*	District court judge, Colorado	April 15, 2010	Anonymous
Gary Scott Feinerman*	District court judge, Northern Illinois	April 15, 2010	Anonymous
Sharon Johnson Coleman*	District court judge, Northern Illinois	April 15, 2010	Anonymous
Dana Katherine Bilyeu	Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board	April 28, 2010	Anonymous
Michael D. Kennedy	Member, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board	April 28, 2010	Anonymous
Dennis P. Walsh	Chairman, Special Panel on Appeals	April 28, 2010	Anonymous
Milton C. Lee Jr.	Associate judge, DC Superior Court	April 28, 2010	Anonymous
Todd E. Edelman	Associate judge, DC Superior Court	April 28, 2010	Anonymous
Judith Anne Smith	Associate judge, DC Superior Court	April 28, 2010	Anonymous
Mari Carmen Aponte	Ambasssador to El Salvador	April 28, 2010	Anonymous
David B. Fein	U.S. attorney, Connecticut	April 29, 2010	Anonymous
Zane David Memeger	U.S. attorney, Eastern District, Pennsylvania	April 29, 2010	Anonymous
Clifton Timothy Massanelli	U.S. attorney, Eastern District, Arkansas	April 29, 2010	Anonymous
Paul Ward	U.S. marshall, North Dakota	April 29, 2010	Anonymous

Notes

* Indicates a judicial appointment, which is for life. Other nominations are for set terms. Source: Senate Executive Calendar

Comments

[ColinFromLasVegas]

Thanks, Maven. Interesting article. I didn't realize that blockage has occurred for even the most ordinary of postings...like Ambassadors to foreign countries.

This already points out that the Republicans have nothing on their agenda except for the complete and utter destruction of President Obama, his administration, Democrats and all people who look at them funny and disagree with them.

Their scorched earth left behind them policy is in place. And it will remain. And it continues with filibuster, stop, obstruct, debate, deflect, start over. After heath care reform passage, the phrase and policy of no, you can't has officially changed to hell no, you can't.

I don't know if I can speak for other voters, but I see this policy and can safely say I am sick of it. And my voice will be heard in the voting booth soon.