Statement by the President

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

1:59 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon, everybody.  It's no secret that the American people have probably never been more frustrated with Washington.  And one of the reasons why that is, is that over the past five years, we've seen an unprecedented pattern of obstruction in Congress that’s prevented too much of the American people's business from getting done.

All too often, we've seen a single senator or a handful of senators choose to abuse arcane procedural tactics to unilaterally block bipartisan compromises, or to prevent well-qualified, patriotic Americans from filling critical positions of public service in our system of government. 

Now, at a time when millions of American have desperately searched for work, repeated abuse of these tactics have blocked legislation that might create jobs.  They've defeated actions that would help women fighting for equal pay.  They've prevented more progress than we would have liked for striving young immigrants trying to earn their citizenship.  Or it's blocked efforts to end tax breaks for companies that are shipping jobs overseas.  They've even been used to block common-sense and widely supported steps to protect more Americans from gun violence, even as families of victims sat in the Senate chamber and watched.  And they've prevented far too many talented Americans from serving their country at a time when their country needs their talents the most. 

It's harm to our economy, and it's been harmful to our democracy.  And it's brought us to the point where a simple majority vote no longer seems to be sufficient for anything, even routing business through what is supposed to be the world's greatest deliberative body.

Now, I realize that neither party has been blameless for these tactics.  They've developed over years, and it seems as if they've continually escalated.  But today's pattern of obstruction, it just isn't normal.  It's not what our Founders envisioned.  A deliberate and determined effort to obstruct everything, no matter what the merits, just to refight the results of an election is not normal.  And for the sake of future generations, we can't let it become normal.

So I support the step a majority of senators today took to change the way that Washington is doing business -- more specifically, the way the Senate does business.  What a majority of senators determined by Senate rule is that they would restore the longstanding tradition of considering judicial and public service nominations on a more routine basis. 

And here's why this is important:  One of a President's constitutional responsibilities is to nominate Americans to positions within the executive and judicial branches.  Over the six decades before I took office, only 20 presidential nominees to executive positions had to overcome filibusters.  In just under five years since I took office, nearly 30 nominees have been treated this way.  These are all public servants who protect our national security, look out for working families, keep our air and water clean. 

This year alone, for the first time in history, Senate Republicans filibustered a President's nominee for the Secretary of Defense who used to be a former Republican senator.  They tried everything they could to hold up our EPA Administrator.  They blocked our nominee for our top housing regulator at a time when we need more help for more families to afford a home and prevent what has caused mortgage meltdowns from happening again. 

And in each of these cases, it's not been because they opposed the person, that there was some assessment that they were unqualified, that there was some scandal that had been unearthed.  It was simply because they opposed the policies that the American people voted for in the last election. 

And this obstruction gets even worse when it comes to the judiciary.  The Constitution charges the President with filling vacancies to the federal bench.  Every President has exercised this power since George Washington first named justices to the Supreme Court in 1789.  But my judicial nominees have waited nearly two and a half times longer to receive yes or no votes on the Senate floor than those of President Bush.  And the ones who eventually do get a vote generally are confirmed with little, if any, dissent. 

So this isn't obstruction on substance, on qualifications.  It's just to gum up the works.  And this gridlock in Congress causes gridlock in much of our criminal and civil justice systems.  You've seen judges across the country, including a Bush-appointed Chief Justice to the Supreme Court, say these are vital vacancies that need to be filled, and this gridlock has not served the cause of justice; in fact, it's undermined it. 

Over the past three weeks, Senate Republicans again denied a yes or no vote on three highly qualified Americans to fill three vacancies on the nation's second-highest court, even though they have the support of a majority of senators.  Four of President Bush's six nominees to this court were confirmed.  Four out of five of my nominees to this court have been obstructed. 

So the vote today I think is an indication that a majority of senators believe, as I believe, that enough is enough.  The American people's business is far too important to keep falling prey, day after day, to Washington politics. 

I'm a former senator.  So is my Vice President.  We both value any Senate's duty to advise and consent.  It's important, and we take that very seriously.  But a few now refuse to treat that duty of advise and consent with the respect that it deserves.  It's no longer used in a responsible way to govern.  It's rather used as a reckless and relentless tool to grind all business to a halt.  And that's not what our Founders intended, and it's certainly not what our country needs right now.   

And I just want to remind everybody, what's at stake here is not my ability to fulfill my constitutional duty.  What's at stake is the ability of any President to fulfill his or her constitutional duty.  Public service is not a game.  It is a privilege.  And the consequences of action or inaction are very real.  The American people deserve better than politicians who run for election telling them how terrible government is, and then devoting their time in elected office to trying to make government not work as often as possible.  

Now, I want to be clear, the Senate has actually done some good bipartisan work this year.  Bipartisan majorities have passed common-sense legislation to fix our broken immigration system and upgrade our courts -- our ports.  It’s passed a farm bill that helps rural communities and vulnerable Americans.  It’s passed legislation that would protect Americans from being fired based on their sexual orientation.  So we know that there are folks there, Republican and Democrat, who want to get things done.  And, frankly, privately they’ve expressed to me their recognition that the system in the Senate had broken down, and what used to be a sporadic exercise of the filibuster had gotten completely out of hand.

I believe -- I’m confident -- that that spirit will have a little more space now.  I want us to make sure that we can do more work together to grow the economy and to create jobs.  And if there are differences in the Senate, then debates should be had.  People should vote their conscience.  They should vote on behalf of their constituents -- but they should vote.  That's what they're there to do.  And ultimately, if you’ve got a majority of folks who believe in something, then it should be able to pass. 

Americans work hard.  They do their jobs, and they expect the same from everybody who got sent here.  And as long as I have the privilege of being in this office, I’ll keep working as hard as I know how to make sure that the economy is growing, and we’re creating good jobs, and we’re widening prosperity and opportunity for everybody.  And I know that that's what the majority of folks in the Senate believe, as well.  But the gears of government have to work, and the step that a majority of senators took today I think will help make those gears work just a little bit better.

Thanks very much, everybody.  And now Josh will answer all your questions.

END
2:09 P.M. EST

Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate

NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE:

Brad R. Carson, of Oklahoma, to be Under Secretary of the Army, vice Joseph W. Westphal.

Maureen Elizabeth Cormack, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Richard A. Kennedy, of Pennsylvania, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority for a term expiring May 30, 2016, vice William Cobey, term expired.

Leslie Berger Kiernan, of Maryland, to be Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform, with the rank of Ambassador.

Leslie Berger Kiernan, of Maryland, to be Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, during her tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform.

Heather L. MacDougall, of Florida, to be a Member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission for a term expiring April 27, 2017, vice Horace A. Thompson, term expired.

David Radzanowski, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief Financial Officer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, vice Elizabeth M. Robinson.

John Roth, of Michigan, to be Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security, vice Richard L. Skinner, resigned.

President Obama Announces a Presidential Emergency Board, Names Members

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order creating a Presidential Emergency Board to help resolve an ongoing dispute between the Long Island Rail Road Company and some of its employees. 

The Presidential Emergency Board will provide a structure for the two sides to resolve their disagreements.  The Presidential Emergency Board will hear evidence and, within 30 days, will deliver a report to the President recommending how the dispute should be resolved. 

President Obama also announced that he intends to appoint the following members to Presidential Emergency Board No. 244:

• Ira F. Jaffe – Chair, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244
• Roberta Golick – Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244
• Arnold M. Zack – Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244

President Obama said, “I appreciate that these dedicated individuals have agreed to devote their talent and years of experience working on labor-management disputes to help reach a swift and smooth resolution of this issue.”

Ira F. Jaffe, Appointee for Chair, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244
Ira F. Jaffe has been an arbitrator and mediator of labor and employment disputes since 1981 and has presided over more than 4,500 cases in a wide variety of industries in the private and public sectors.  Mr. Jaffe serves on over 60 permanent arbitration panels and has served on four separate PEBs, one in 2001, two in 2007, and one in 2011 in which he served as Chair.  Mr. Jaffe is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA) and served as the National President of the Society of Federal Labor Relations Professionals in 1990.  As an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University Law School, Mr. Jaffe taught courses in labor and employment arbitration and mediation, labor law, collective bargaining and labor arbitration, and agency and partnership.  He is a Charter Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and has arbitrated and mediated a wide variety of employee benefits disputes.  He is also a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  Mr. Jaffe received a B.S. from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.

Roberta Golick, Appointee for Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244
Roberta Golick has been an arbitrator and mediator since 1974, focusing on labor-management disputes.  During this time, she has handled thousands of cases in both the private and public sectors.  She served as the 2011-12 President of the National Academy of Arbitrators.  This is Ms. Golick’s fourth Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) appointment.  She was a panel member most recently on the 2011 PEB regarding a dispute between major freight rail carriers and their unions.  From 1974 to 1982, Ms. Golick served as an arbitrator/mediator at the Massachusetts Board of Conciliation and Arbitration.  Ms. Golick is a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and sits on its First Circuit Credentials Committee.  She is featured in the newly released documentary, The Art and Science of Labor Arbitration, which focuses on arbitrators whose careers and contributions are landmarks in labor law policy and in the resolution of industrial disputes.  Ms. Golick is the 1996 recipient of the Cushing-Gavin Award, given annually by the Boston Labor Guild.  She received a B.A. from Barnard College, Columbia University, and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. 

Arnold M. Zack, Appointee for Member, Presidential Emergency Board No. 244
Arnold Zack has been an arbitrator and mediator of over 5,000 labor disputes since 1957 and a member of five Presidential Emergency Boards, serving as Chair twice.  He served on Presidential Emergency Board No. 243 involving a coalition of the Nation’s freight carriers and two coalitions representing eleven railroad unions in 2011.  He has just completed a nine year term as Judge on the Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal.  He was the President of the National Academy of Arbitrators from 1994 to 1995.  From 1990 to 2000, he was the Chair of the Essential Industries Dispute Settlement Board in Bermuda, and the Chair of the Essential Services Dispute Settlement Board there from 1998 to 2001.  He was the founder and a member of the Board of Control of the Center for Sio-Legal Studies at the University of Natal in South Africa from 1986 to 1990, where he designed dispute resolution systems for employment disputes in South Africa.  He has also served and taught as a senior research associate at the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School since 1985.  He is a member of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.  He has been a Fulbright Scholar and a Wertheim Fellow.  He received a B.A. from Tufts University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and an M.P.A. from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.   

President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, President Obama nominated Sherry Moore Trafford and Judge Steven Michael Wellner to serve on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 

“I am proud to nominate these outstanding candidates to serve on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia,” said President Obama.  “They have a long and distinguished record of service, and I am confident they will serve on the bench with distinction.”

Sherry Moore Trafford: Nominee for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Sherry Moore Trafford has worked as a staff attorney in the Mental Health Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia since 2004, where she represents clients in proceedings such as mental health detention and commitment cases.  From 1999 to 2004, Trafford was a staff attorney in the Civil Legal Services Division of the Public Defender Service. From 1997 to 1999, she served as a Skadden Public Interest Law Fellow and staff attorney at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.  From 1995 to 1997, Trafford served as a law clerk for Judge William B. Bryant of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Trafford received her J.D. from Yale Law School and her B.A. with honors from Indiana University.

Judge Steven Michael Wellner: Nominee for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Steven Michael Wellner is Principal Administrative Law Judge for Unemployment Insurance Appeals for the District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings. Prior to his appointment in May 2006, Judge Wellner was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where he focused on environmental counseling for corporations, trade associations, and clients involved in corporate transactions.  In addition, he managed the pro bono legal services program for Kirkland & Ellis’s Washington office and received the John Carroll Society Pro Bono Legal Service Award in 2004.  Judge Wellner received his J.D. from the University of Michigan and his B.A. with high distinction from the University of Virginia.