Dear Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer,
As associations representing businesses of all industries, forms, and sizes in all 50 states, we urge the Senate to take expeditious steps to ensure the timely confirmation of qualified pending nominees to administration positions.
The slow pace of confirmations is depriving agencies across the government of critical leadership and in the case of independent agencies, the quorum necessary to conduct critical business.
The breakdown of the confirmation process results in a breakdown in the efficient and effective functioning of government and ultimately to a drag on the economy. Workers are sidelined as projects await permits from agencies that lack the quorum necessary to issue the permit. Businesses are left waiting for important administrative decisions that simply cannot be made in the absence of Senate-confirmed officials.
Specifically, we are concerned about the new practice in the Senate of subjecting even non-controversial nominees to the time-consuming cloture process, which is creating unnecessary and unprecedented delay in what is already a prolonged process.
Through August 2, of President Trump’s 283 executive and judicial nominations, only 67 have been confirmed. Of those 67, only 13 were confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent, while 37 (55%) were confirmed only after going through the cloture process. By way of comparison, atapproximately the same point in President Obama’s first term, the Senate had confirmed 206 nominees, 182 by voice vote or unanimous consent. Only eight (4%) of President Obama’s nominees were forced to go through the cloture process.
On August 2, over 80 nominees to administration positions have been reported favorably by the committee of jurisdiction but were awaiting Senate confirmation. In some instances nominees have been waiting for confirmation by the full Senate for two months or more despite being approved by committee of jurisdiction unanimously.
By one estimate, at the current rate, it will take 11 years to confirm all of the president’s nominees to executive branch positions.
We urge the Senate to immediately resume the prior practices of deferring to the vetting of nominees conducted by the committees of jurisdiction, confirming non-controversial nominees expeditiously by voice vote or unanimous consent, and the spare use of forcing cloture on nominees.
Sincerely,
Aerospace Industries AssociationAir Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration InstituteAlliance of Automobile ManufacturersAmerica Petroleum and Convenience Store AssociationAmerica’s SBDCsAmerican Bakers AssociationAmerican Bankers AssociationAmerican Beverage AssociationAmerican Council of Engineering CompaniesAmerican Exploration & Production CouncilAmerican Fuel & Petrochemical ManufacturersAmerican Gaming AssociationAmerican Gas AssociationAmerican Hotel & Lodging AssociationAmerican International Automobile Dealers AssociationAmerican Investment CouncilAmerican Iron and Steel InstituteAmerican Land Title AssociationAmerican Petroleum InstituteAmerican Public Gas AssociationAmerican Road and Transportation Builders AssociationAmerican Short Line and Regional Railroad AssociationAmerican Staffing AssociationAmerican Trucking AssociationsAsian American Hotel Owners AssociationAssociated Builders & ContractorsAssociated General Contractors of AmericaAssociation of American RailroadsAssociation of Oil Pipe LinesAuto Care AssociationAutomatic Merchandising AssociationCorn Refiners AssociationCouncil for Responsible NutritionEdison Electric InstituteElectronic Transactions AssociationEnergy Equipment and Infrastructure AllianceEntertainment Software AssociationFederation of American HospitalsFinancial Services RoundtableFood Marketing InstituteIndependent Electrical ContractorsIndependent Petroleum Association of AmericaInstitute of Scrap Recycling IndustriesInsured Retirement InstituteInternational Association of Drilling ContractorsInternational Association of Geophysical ContractorsInternational Franchise AssociationInternational Warehouse Logistics AssociationInterstate Natural Gas Association of AmericaMetals Service Center InstituteMidsize Bank Coalition of AmericaMotor & Equipment Manufacturers AssociationNational Association for Surface FinishingNational Association for the Self-EmployedNational Association of Chain Drug StoresNational Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD)National Association of Home BuildersNational Association of ManufacturersNational Association of Mutual Insurance CompaniesNational Association of Professional Employer OrganizationsNational Association of the Remodeling IndustryNational Association of Wholesaler-DistributorsNational Council of Chain RestaurantsNational Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)National Foreign Trade CouncilNational Grocers AssociationNational Lumber & Building Material Dealers AssociationNational Mining AssociationNational Music Publishers' AssociationNational Ocean Industries AssociationNational Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA)National Restaurant AssociationNational Retail FederationNational Roofing Contractors AssociationNational Small Business AssociationNational Stone, Sand and Gravel AssociationNatural Gas Supply AssociationOnline Lenders AlliancePlastics Industry AssociationPortland Cement AssociationRetail Industry Leaders AssociationSmall Business & Entrepreneurship CouncilSouthwest Cable Communications AssociationThe Fertilizer InstituteThe Latino CoalitionTRSA – The Linen, Uniform and Facility Services AssociationU.S. Chamber of CommerceU.S. Oil & Gas AssociationU.S. Travel AssociationUnited States Council for International BusinessWestern Electrical Contractors AssociationWine & Spirits Wholesalers of America
