Obama Threatens Bypass Of Constitution With “Recess Appointments”?
By Julie Smith on February 13, 2010, 9:01 am
In what amounts to a political street fight, the Senate Republican minority has pushed Obama hard in its rebuke of the nomination of Craig Becker. Becker, a pro-labor nominee to the NRLB, saw his nomination come to a screeching halt last Tuesday. Republicans, joined by conservative Democrats, defeated an effort to allow the nomination process to move forward. Now the administration is pushing back, indicating a willingness to consider a recess appointment to place Becker at the NRLB and bypass a Senate confirmation vote.
Tit For Tat
Such appointments are not out of the ordinary. Facing stiff Democratic opposition, George W. Bush used a recess appointment to place John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 2005 after a grueling five month long nomination process. Bush used recess appointments over 170 times during his presidency. While this might raise eyebrows, it should be noted that Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments during his 8 year tenure.
Time Is On Your Side
The only caveat to making a recess appointment is that eventually the appointee will have to come up for confirmation in the Senate. The Constitution indicates that such an appointment is valid only until the next Senate session ends. In modern times, this usually amounts to a period of up to two years. So it looks like Becker will get a free pass and be seated at the NLRB for quite some time before he actually is confirmed. He can also take comfort in that the Senate rarely rejects confirmation at the end of the nominee’s tenure as a recess appointee.
What might throw a monkey wrench into Obama’s carefully laid out plan is the 2010 mid-term elections. Just suppose Republicans make major gains. That would place any recess appointees facing an uphill battle for confirmation yet again.
-------
This is not "change we can believe in"
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
'Is There Anybody That Isn't From Goldman Sachs?' (Video)
Both Bush and Obama hire extensively from Goldman Sachs.
Video: Kaptur CHEWS Up Tiny Tim GOLDMAN And Spits Him Out
Video: Dylan Ratigan and Rep. Marcy Kaptur discuss Tim Geithner, AIG, and Goldman Sachs -- January 28, 2010
-------
This is not "change we can believe in"
Video: Kaptur CHEWS Up Tiny Tim GOLDMAN And Spits Him Out
Video: Dylan Ratigan and Rep. Marcy Kaptur discuss Tim Geithner, AIG, and Goldman Sachs -- January 28, 2010
-------
This is not "change we can believe in"
Obama seeks more money for nuclear weapons
Obama budget seeks more money for nuclear weapons research, security
By Sue Major Holmes
President Barack Obama is seeking increased funding for nuclear weapons research and security next year, even as his administration has pledged to reduce the world's stockpile of nuclear arms.
The administration on Monday asked Congress for more than $7 billion for activities related to nuclear weapons in the budget of the National Nuclear Security Administration, an increase of $624 million from the 2010 fiscal year.
NNSA Administrator Thomas D'Agostino said more money is needed because the U.S. needs the best nuclear weapons facilities, scientists and engineers, even as it moves toward eventual disarmament.
"This budget is implementing the president's nuclear vision," he said.
NNSA wants a 4.7 per cent overall increase for infrastructure to more than $2.3 billion, including money for major long-term projects to replace aging buildings at New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
Greg Mello, director of the nuclear watchdog Los Alamos Study Group, said budgets have increased in recent years, but the nation "hasn't seen any increase in weapons activities like this since the early years of Ronald Reagan."
He called the budget "a complete surrender to Senate Republicans," who have argued that stockpile reductions must be accompanied by a modernized nuclear weapons complex.
Los Alamos' budget includes about $225 million for design work for a research building to replace a 58-year-old lab where scientists analyze samples of plutonium and other radioactive materials.
Watchdog groups contend the new building would position the U.S. to build more nuclear weapons, but Los Alamos lab officials have said the facility would replace existing capabilities.
NNSA's budget request includes more than $2 billion for stockpile support activities, a 25 per cent increase, and $1.6 billion for science, technology and engineering, an increase of more than 10 per cent.
-------
This is not "change we can believe in"
By Sue Major Holmes
President Barack Obama is seeking increased funding for nuclear weapons research and security next year, even as his administration has pledged to reduce the world's stockpile of nuclear arms.
The administration on Monday asked Congress for more than $7 billion for activities related to nuclear weapons in the budget of the National Nuclear Security Administration, an increase of $624 million from the 2010 fiscal year.
NNSA Administrator Thomas D'Agostino said more money is needed because the U.S. needs the best nuclear weapons facilities, scientists and engineers, even as it moves toward eventual disarmament.
"This budget is implementing the president's nuclear vision," he said.
NNSA wants a 4.7 per cent overall increase for infrastructure to more than $2.3 billion, including money for major long-term projects to replace aging buildings at New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
Greg Mello, director of the nuclear watchdog Los Alamos Study Group, said budgets have increased in recent years, but the nation "hasn't seen any increase in weapons activities like this since the early years of Ronald Reagan."
He called the budget "a complete surrender to Senate Republicans," who have argued that stockpile reductions must be accompanied by a modernized nuclear weapons complex.
Los Alamos' budget includes about $225 million for design work for a research building to replace a 58-year-old lab where scientists analyze samples of plutonium and other radioactive materials.
Watchdog groups contend the new building would position the U.S. to build more nuclear weapons, but Los Alamos lab officials have said the facility would replace existing capabilities.
NNSA's budget request includes more than $2 billion for stockpile support activities, a 25 per cent increase, and $1.6 billion for science, technology and engineering, an increase of more than 10 per cent.
-------
This is not "change we can believe in"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
