On the recordJune 22, 2011
Mr. President, I congratulate Senators Schumer and Alexander and Collins and others for working through this bipartisan legislation. It is nice to actually have a piece of legislation we can work on together, in this case to help streamline the appointment process for some of these lower level positions. I congratulate them for their work. I do, however, have an amendment that I think makes an important correction. I have discussed this with both Senator Alexander and others. I think they understand and they tend to agree that this amendment is important. Under this bill, the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011, three important Presidential appointments within the Department of Defense that are currently Senate-confirmed positions would no longer be subject to Senate confirmation. These positions within our military departments are aimed at a very important goal; that is, to attain better stewardship of taxpayer dollars by our military. I am talking about specifically the Assistant Secretaries of Financial Management for the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.…





