Chuck Grassley: “in the spirit of legislation I am sponsoring with Senator Wyden, I want to make something clear. I want to make it a…”

“in the spirit of legislation I am sponsoring with Senator Wyden, I want to make something clear. I want to make it a matter of public record that I am putting a hold on the nominations for ambassador of individuals being considered for posts in Bolivia, Haiti, Jamaica, and Belize. I am also asking to be consulted on any unanimous-consent agreements involving the Foreign Service promotion list if it should come up for consideration. I am taking this step to make it clear to the State Department and the administration that the Congress takes the law seriously. Something the administration appears not to do. Under the law, the administration is required to submit to the Congress on November 1 of each year the names of countries that the administration will certify for cooperation on drugs. Last year, the administration was late in submitting that list. The administration had asked for more time and we gave it to them. Although I believe 6 weeks was pushing it. The Congress made it clear then, however, that being late was not a precedent. We gave the administration an extra month in law. And they missed that deadline. They asked for more time last year and we gave it to them. We made it clear, though, that giving more time last year was not to become an excuse for being tardy in the future. This point seems to have gotten lost. This year, again, the administration has not submitted the list as required by the law on the date specified.”