The publication is reproduced in full below:
Nomination of Dara Lindenbaum
Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, Dara Lindenbaum is the President's nominee to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission. We are scheduled to vote on that nomination today.
On April 6, the Committee on Rules and Administration held a hearing to consider this nominee. She shared her credentials for the job and her understanding of the agency's mission and the role of a commissioner.
On May 3, she was favorably reported out of committee. I supported her nomination to be voted out of committee. The Federal Elections Commission plays a vital role for Campaign Finance Committees. As a former Secretary of State, I work with the FTC on a regular basis; and since that time, I have run in many Federal elections. I know how important a fully functioning FEC is to Federal candidates who need to avail themselves of the FEC's guidance and advisory opinions. I also know how important the stability of the agency is to the regulated community.
While the commissioners to the Federal Election Commission are, by design, partisan, it is unlikely that every Senator will agree with the views of all nominees. Ms. Lindenbaum has expressed a willingness to work with the other commissioners and find consensus to do the important work of the agency. I am a Republican and Ms. Lindenbaum is a Democrat. This Commission only works with if there is an equal number of Republicans and Democrats.
Sadly, with the three Republican nominees from the last administration, the vote on the floor was 49 to 43, 49 to 47, 50 to 46. These should not be partisan nominations. They are partisans nominated to a partisan job; and, frankly, we have to do a better job than 49 to 43, or 49 to 47, or 50 to 46, which, again, was the vote on the floor of President Trump's Republican nominees who are currently serving.
Ms. Lindenbaum enjoys the support of a bipartisan group of election law practitioners. Senator Klobuchar and I received a letter from 30 practitioners on both sides of the aisle highlighting Ms. Lindenbaum's decade of relevant experience, especially her experience representing clients on matters of State and Federal campaign finance and election laws.
I look forward to supporting her nomination today. I hope many of my colleagues will join me in supporting her. This a commission, one, that doesn't work without an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, and it doesn't work if the commission doesn't have at least that equal number. Unless there are at least four commissioners, the Commission ceases to function. For too many months of the last dozen years, we had a Commission that wasn't fully functioning, couldn't make final decisions, couldn't issue opinions. I am looking forward to a six-
member Commission.
I look forward to voting for Ms. Lindenbaum today when her nomination comes up early this afternoon.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lujan). The Senator from Colorado.
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 90
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
Alerts Sign-up