GOP blocks Obama labor nominee
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The new political calculation of the Senate was on display Tuesday when Democrats lost an attempt to free the nomination of a union attorney to join the National Labor Relations Board.
The Senate voted 52-33 to end debate on the nomination of Craig Becker, an attorney for the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, to the board that oversees collective bargaining issues. But 60 votes were required to pass the procedural move, called cloture.
Republicans had opposed the nomination, also opposed by business groups, arguing that Becker would favor unions. One conservative Democrat broke ranks and supported the GOP position.
Previously, Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them would have been able to get to the 60 votes need to invoke cloture. But the recent election of Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) has changed the dynamics, giving the GOP 41 votes and breaking the Democrats super-majority.
“The problem is that Becker was a union lawyer and a darn good one,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, which held hearings on the nomination.
In NLRB history, “there have been 23 management attorneys on board and only three representing unions,” Harkin said. Now, we have someone representing unions “and they don’t want him on the board. I’m sure Mr. Becker will approach [the board’s business] with an open mind.”
How the Senate handles presidential appointments has been a sore point with Democrats who argue that Republicans have held up qualified people for political reasons. Earlier Tuesday, President Obama pointedly said that he had discussed the issue in a meeting with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders.
“I respect the Senate’s role to advise and consent, but for months, qualified, non-controversial nominees for critical positions in government, often positions related to our national security, have been held up despite having overwhelming support,” Obama said.
“Surely we can set aside partisanship and do what’s traditionally been done to confirm these nominations. If the Senate does not act -- and I made this very clear -- if the Senate does not act to confirm these nominees, I will consider making several recess appointments during the upcoming recess because we can’t afford to allow politics to stand in the way of a well-functioning government,” the president said.
-- Michael Muskal
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) speaks during the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act support reception at the Hart Building on January 27, 2010 in Washington DC.
