Chuck Grassley: “my opposition to the cloture motion is as much about whether we are going to be able to fulfill our constitutional…”

“my opposition to the cloture motion is as much about whether we are going to be able to fulfill our constitutional responsibilities of oversight of the administrative branch of Government as it is about the particular qualifications of the nominee. I intend to vote against cloture and I hope that Democrats who are listening--particularly those Democrats in the last election who were bellyaching because there wasn't any oversight on the part of Republicans toward the executive branch of Government--would pay attention to the fact that this nominee has something to do with and is an illustration of the lack of cooperation on the part of the executive branch, failure to cooperate with Congress on the issue of congressional oversight. I have serious concerns about what this cloture vote means, then, to congressional oversight of the executive branch now and in the future, and what it means for Members such as me, who placed a hold on this nominee. This was not a secret hold. I made this hold public. I am voting against cloture and ask my colleagues to join me because I believe we need to send a message to the executive branch that it is not OK to impede congressional investigations. It is not OK to limit the Senate's access to documents, information, and employees of the executive branch.”