Political Quotes

“we have about 90 nominations on the Executive Calendar. That is a lot of names--people who have set their lives aside, after having been asked by the President of the United States to do good things for our country. The vast majority are not controversial. There is nothing so about their character, their education, their background. They have, with rare exception, been reported from the committees unanimously. They are being held up out of spite. Nominations on the Executive Calendar have been pending an average of 3 months waiting for the Senate to act. But the Senate can act on these, as we have done in years past, just like that. Top Department Secretaries pending before the Senate--two to be specific--are very important for their leadership roles at our Federal agencies. For example, Rebecca Blank will fill the No. 2 position at the Department of Commerce. She has a Ph.D. in economics from MIT, one of the finest educational institutes in the world. She served as Acting Commerce Secretary when Secretary Locke left to become Ambassador to China. The Commerce Committee approved her, of course, by voice vote. That means unanimously. Her confirmation is urgently needed because the Commerce Department hasn't had a confirmed deputy since July of 2010 because of the obstructionism of the Republicans here in the Senate. Maurice Jones has been nominated to be Deputy Secretary at Housing and Urban Affairs.…”