Senate confirms all five NLRB members
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The Hill ^ | 07/30/13 06:15 PM ET | By Ramsey Cox
After a contentious fight over some of President Obama’s nominees, the Senate confirmed five members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
On Tuesday, the Senate voted to clear all five nominees — Harry Johnson III, Philip Miscimarra, Nancy Schiffer, Kent Hirozawa and Mark Pearce.
Republicans agreed to hold up-or-down votes on the NLRB nominees as part of a deal to avoid Senate rule changes limiting the minority's right to filibuster executive branch nominations. Two of the NLRB nominees confirmed were GOP picks — Johnson and Miscimarra — and Schiffer, Hirozawa and Pearce were Obama's nominees.
As part of the deal, Obama had to withdraw the nominations of Sharon Block and Richard Griffin to the NLRB. Block and Griffin were recess appointments to the labor board, but their appointments were ruled unconstitutional in federal court and drew fierce opposition from Republicans.
“Because of the bipartisan deal that was reached on the president’s nominees, it looks like we finally have a path forward to fully confirm the National Labor Relations Board,” Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said ahead of the votes. “It will be the first time in over a decade that this has happened. … It is long past time to put the board back in business and tone down the rhetoric.”
Democrats wanted to ensure vacancies on the board were filled before the August recess because on Aug. 27, Pearce’s term as NLRB chairman was set to end, meaning the board wouldn’t have had a quorum to rule on decisions.
On Tuesday, Hirozawa and Schiffer were confirmed on 54-44 votes, Pearce was reconfirmed on a 59-38 vote, Johnson and Miscimarra were confirmed on voice-vote.
The NLRB settles labor disputes within the United States for businesses and protects workers’ rights.
“This board is an important safeguard for workers in America — regardless of whether the employees are union or non-union,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said. “Without the work of the NLRB, employees who have been cheated and treated unfairly would have no entity to address the wrongs.”
Schiffer was a former associate general counsel to the AFL-CIO, and Hirozawa served as chief counsel to Pearce before being nominated.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he wouldn’t vote to confirm Hirozawa or Schiffe because he was afraid the nominees would be biased in favor of unions.
“Fairness and impartiality is what I look for in an NLRB nominee,” Alexander said Tuesday. “Two of those nominees do not meet that standard.”
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted 13-9 to advance the nominations of Schiffe and Hirozawa last week — the committee cleared the other three in May.
To: onyx
Why not—just give him everything he asks for, and be done with it.
2 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:16:35 PM by basil (2ASisters.org)
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To: onyx
Cowards.
3 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:17:05 PM by South40
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To: onyx
Republicans - full of sound & fury signifying nothing.
4 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:18:00 PM by skeeter
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To: onyx
Might as well put sj lee in at DHS... you know boehner really wants to do it.
LLS
5 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:19:31 PM by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
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To: onyx
What a weight off my mind to know that I'll never hear Harry Reid threatening to use the "Nuclear Option" ever again!What's the over/under on this promise? Six months, maybe?
6 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:22:52 PM by ZOOKER (Until further notice the /s is implied...)
To: South40
Commies
9 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:28:41 PM by knarf (I say things that are true ... I have no proof ... but they're true)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Republicans agreed to hold up-or-down votes on the NLRB nominees as part of a deal to avoid Senate rule changes limiting the minority's right to filibuster executive branch nominations. Two of the NLRB nominees confirmed were GOP picks -- Johnson and Miscimarra -- and Schiffer, Hirozawa and Pearce were Obama's nominees... Obama had to withdraw the nominations of Sharon Block and Richard Griffin... Block and Griffin were recess appointments to the labor board, but their appointments were ruled unconstitutional in federal court...
10 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:32:54 PM by SunkenCiv (It's no coincidence that some "conservatives" echo the hard left.)
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To: onyx
Why do we need an NLRB anyway? Defund it and shut it down.
11 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:37:13 PM by Maceman (Just say "NO" to tyranny.)
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To: onyx
Hey look, the Senate made a “deal” and replaced 0bama’s illegal recess appointee Communists with different appointee Communists!
12 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:39:46 PM by CivilWarBrewing
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To: Maceman
Republicans?
The mouse that roared.
13 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:39:57 PM by Progov
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To: onyx
Their 1st order of business will be to exempt all labor unions from obamacare.
14 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:44:22 PM by Rusty0604
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To: SunkenCiv; All
Republicans agreed to hold up-or-down votes on the NLRB nominees as part of a deal to avoid Senate rule changes limiting the minority's right to filibuster executive branch nominations. Two of the NLRB nominees confirmed were GOP picks -- Johnson and Miscimarra -- and Schiffer, Hirozawa and Pearce were Obama's nominees... Obama had to withdraw the nominations of Sharon Block and Richard Griffin... Block and Griffin were recess appointments to the labor board, but their appointments were ruled unconstitutional in federal court...Unless I'm missing something here, it doesn't seem that the Pubbies lost all that much in this deal. The party in the WH traditionally get the majority on these five-person commissions and boards by 3 to 2 anyhow. And they can breathe easier that there won't be any change in Senate rules re filibustering nominations.
15 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:58:10 PM by justiceseeker93
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To: onyx
 The GOP Senate caucus.
16 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 8:28:44 PM by SoFloFreeper
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To: justiceseeker93
Nope, just the ones who didn’t actually read, the ones who preferred to jump to already-held conclusions based on the headline.
17 posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 8:30:10 PM by SunkenCiv ( |
