I would tell the Senator I am not 100 percent pure. I have held up a nomination in the past, but I always state my purpose. The two I can recall immediately were to get agencies to do things they said they would have done long before and, in fact, they did them and I released my hold immediately. It was issuing a report. It wasn't a matter of filling a job or a project or something such as that. So it has been done. But I think if it is done with transparency and in a timely way, we can live with it. In this situation, we are seeing our Executive Calendar stacked with nominations. There was one in particular, which I spoke about the other morning, that struck me--Dr. Stanley, who is trying to take a position with, if I am not mistaken, manpower and readiness.
On the recordFebruary 4, 2010
Editor's note · Context
Senator Durbin discusses the nomination process and the importance of transparency.
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