Jason Chaffetz: “I yield myself such time as I may consume. The need for reforms in the Federal appointments process is not a new topic.…”

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. The need for reforms in the Federal appointments process is not a new topic. There is little dispute that the current nominations process has grown too cumbersome and complicated, in some cases, discouraging qualified individuals from seeking leadership positions. On average in recent administrations, only 35 of the 100 most needed leadership roles were filled within the first 100 days of the new administration, and 200 days into a new administration, only 50 percent of key national security officials are actually in place. Nine special commissions have called for fixing the broken Presidential appointments process by starting the Presidential transition and personnel planning earlier, streamlining background investigations, and reducing the number of appointments requiring Senate confirmation. S. 679 provides a commonsense solution that preserves the important role of the Senate in confirming key nominees but unburdens the process by relieving the advice and consent requirement for less critical positions. The bill is based on a bipartisan Senate working group commissioned to improve the nominations process, which was led by Senators Alexander and Schumer. S.…”