Contents

• Introduction
• The Appointments Process
• Recess Appointments
• Temporary Appointments
• Appointments During the 111^th Congress
• Average Time to Confirm a Nomination
• Organization of this Report
• Nominations and Incumbents: Full-Time Positions in Independent Agencies
• Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)
• Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)
• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
• Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
• Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency to the District of Columbia (CSOSA)
• Delta Regional Authority (DRA)
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
• Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)
• General Services Administration (GSA)
• Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
• National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities (NFAH)
• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC)
• Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
• Office of Government Ethics (OGE)
• Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (ONHIR)
• Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
• Office of Special Counsel (OSC)
• Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
• Peace Corps (PC)
• Selective Service System (SSS)
• Small Business Administration (SBA)
• Social Security Administration (SSA)
• Trade and Development Agency (TDA)
• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Nominations and Incumbents: Full-Time Positions in the Executive Office of the President
• Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)
• Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
• Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
• Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)
• Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR)
• Nominations and Incumbents: Full-Time Positions in Multilateral Organizations
• African Development Bank (AfDB)
• Asian Development Bank (AsDB)
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
• Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) (IBRD)
• International Joint Commission, U.S. and Canada (IJC)
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• Nominations and Incumbents: Full-Time Positions in Legislative Branch Agencies
• Architect of the Capitol (AOC)
• Government Accountability Office (GAO)
• Government Printing Office (GPO)
• Library of Congress (LOC)

Summary

This report explains the process for filling positions to which the President makes appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate (also referred to as PAS positions). It also identifies, for the 111^th Congress, all nominations to full-time positions requiring Senate confirmation in 41 organizations in the executive branch (28 independent agencies, 6 agencies in the Executive Office of the President (EOP), and 7 multilateral organizations) and 4 agencies in the legislative branch. It excludes appointments to executive departments and to regulatory and other boards and commissions, which are covered in other reports.

The appointment process for advice and consent positions consists of three main stages. The first stage is selection, clearance, and nomination by the President. This step includes preliminary vetting, background checks, and ethics checks of potential nominees. At this stage, the President may also consult with Senators who are from the same party if the position is located in a state. The second stage of the process is consideration of the nomination in the Senate, most of which takes place in committee. Finally, if a nomination is approved by the full Senate, the nominee is given a commission signed by the President and sworn into office.

During the 111^th Congress, President Barack Obama submitted to the Senate 107 nominations to full-time positions in independent agencies, agencies in the Executive Office of the President (EOP), multilateral agencies, and legislative branch agencies. Of these 107 nominations, 92 were confirmed, 1 was withdrawn, and 14 were returned to him in accordance with Senate rules. For those nominations that were confirmed, an average of 93.1 days elapsed between nomination and confirmation.

The President made five recess appointments to full-time positions in independent agencies during the 111^th Congress.

Information for this report was compiled from data from the Senate nominations database of the Legislative Information System at http://www.congress.gov/nomis/, the Congressional Record (daily edition), the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, telephone discussions with agency officials, agency websites, the United States Code, and the 2008 "Plum Book" (United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions).

This report will not be updated.

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Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Independent and Other Agencies During the 111^th Congress

Introduction

This report explains the process for filling positions to which the President makes appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate (PAS positions).¹ It also identifies, for the 111^th Congress, all nominations to full-time positions requiring Senate confirmation in 41 organizations in the executive branch (28 independent agencies, 6 agencies in the Executive Office of the President (EOP), and 7 multilateral organizations) and 4 agencies in the legislative branch. It excludes appointments to executive departments and to regulatory and other boards and commissions, which are covered in other reports.

A profile of each agency tracks the agency's nominations, providing information on Senate activity (confirmations, rejections, returns to the President, and elapsed time between nomination and confirmation) as well as further related presidential activity (including withdrawals and recess appointments). The profiles also identify, for each agency, positions requiring Senate confirmation, the incumbents in those positions as of the end of the 111^th Congress, and the pay levels of those officials.

The Appointments Process

The Constitution (Article II, Section 2) empowers the President to nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint the principal officers of the United States, as well as some subordinate officers.² Officers of the United States are those individuals serving in high-ranking positions that have been established by Congress and "exercising significant authority pursuant to the laws of the United States" (emphasis added).³

Three distinct stages mark the appointment process: selection and nomination, confirmation, and appointment.

Selection, Clearance, and Nomination⁴

In the first stage, the White House selects and clears a prospective appointee before sending a formal nomination to the Senate. There are a number of steps in this stage of the process for most Senate-confirmed positions. First, with the assistance of, and preliminary vetting by, the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, the President selects a candidate for the position. Members of Congress and interest groups sometimes recommend candidates for specific PAS positions. They may offer their suggestions by letter, for example, or by contact with a White House liaison.⁵ In general, the White House is under no obligation to follow such recommendations. In the case of the Senate, however, it has been argued that Senators are constitutionally entitled, by virtue of the advice and consent clause noted above, to provide advice to the President regarding his selection; the extent of this entitlement is a matter of some debate.⁶ As a practical matter, in instances where Senators perceive insufficient pre-nomination consultation has occurred, they have sometimes exercised their procedural prerogatives to delay or even effectively block consideration of a nomination.⁷

During the clearance process, the candidate prepares and submits several forms, including the "Public Financial Disclosure Report" (Standard Form (SF) 278), the "Questionnaire for National Security Positions" (SF 86), and the White House "Personal Data Statement Questionnaire." The Office of the Counsel to the President oversees the clearance process, which often includes background investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Office of Government Ethics (OGE), and an ethics official for the agency to which the candidate is to be appointed.⁸ If conflicts of interest are found during the background investigation, OGE and the agency ethics officer may work with the candidate to mitigate the conflicts. Once the Office of the Counsel to the President has cleared the candidate, the nomination is ready to be submitted to the Senate.

The selection and clearance stage has often been the longest part of the appointment process. There have been, at times, lengthy delays, particularly when many candidates have been processed simultaneously, such as at the beginning of an Administration, or where conflicts needed to be resolved. Candidates for higher-level positions have often been accorded priority in this process. At the end of 2004, in an effort to reduce the elapsed time between a new President's inauguration and the appointment of his or her national security team, Congress enacted amendments to the Presidential Transition Act of 1963.⁹ These amendments encourage a President-elect to submit, for security clearance, potential nominees to high-level national security positions as soon as possible after the election.¹⁰ A separate provision of law, enacted as part of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, lengthens, during presidential transitions, the potential duration of a temporary appointment by 90 days.¹¹ Although this provision might give some additional flexibility to an incoming President, it might also lengthen the appointment process for some positions by, in effect, extending the deadline by which a permanent appointment must be completed.

For positions located within a state (U.S. attorney, U.S. marshal, and U.S. district judge), the President, by custom, normally nominates an individual recommended by one or both Senators (if they are from the same party as the President) from that state. If neither Senator is from the President's party, he usually defers to the recommendations of party leaders from the state. Occasionally, the President solicits recommendations from Senators of the opposition party because of their positions in the Senate. Before making a nomination to a federal position at the state or national level, the President would likely consider how it will fare in the confirmation process.¹²

If circumstances permit and conditions are met, the President could give the nominee a recess appointment to the position (see section entitled "Recess Appointments" below). Recess appointments have sometimes had political consequences, however, particularly where Senators perceived that such an appointment was an effort to circumvent their constitutional role. Some Senate-confirmed positions may also be temporarily filled under the Vacancies Act.¹³

A nominee has no legal authority to assume the duties and responsibilities of the position; a nominee who is hired by the agency as a consultant while awaiting confirmation may serve only in an advisory capacity. Authority to act comes once there is Senate confirmation and presidential appointment, or if another method of appointment, such as a recess appointment or a temporary appointment, is utilized. (For further information on these methods, see section entitled "Recess Appointments" and "Temporary Appointments" below.)

Senate Consideration

In the second stage, the Senate alone determines whether or not to confirm a nomination.¹⁴ The Senate's scrutiny of a nomination has depended largely on the importance of the position involved, existing political circumstances, and policy implications. Generally, the Senate has shown particular interest in the nominee's views and how they are likely to affect public policy.¹⁵ Two other factors have sometimes affected the examination of a nominee's personal and professional qualities: whether the President's party controlled the Senate, and the degree to which the President became involved in supporting the nomination.

Much of the Senate confirmation process occurs at the committee level. Administratively, nominations are received by the Senate executive clerk, who arranges for the referral of the nominations to committee, according to the Senate rules and precedents.¹⁶ Committee nomination activity has generally included investigation, hearing, and reporting stages. As part of investigatory work, committees have drawn on information provided by the White House, as well as information they themselves have collected. Some committees have held hearings on nearly all nominations; others have held hearings for only some. Hearings provide a public forum to discuss a nomination and any issues related to the program or agency for which the nominee would be responsible. Even where confirmation has been thought by most to be a virtual certainty, hearings have provided Senators and the nominee with opportunities to go on the record with particular views or commitments. Senators have used hearings to explore nominees' qualifications, articulate policy perspectives, or raise related oversight issues.

A committee may decline to act on a nomination at any point—upon referral, after investigation, or after a hearing. If the committee votes to report a nomination to the full Senate, it has three options: it may report the nomination favorably, unfavorably, or without recommendation. A failure to obtain a majority on the motion to report means the nomination will not be reported to the Senate. If the committee declines to report a nomination, the Senate may, under certain circumstances, discharge the committee from further consideration of the nomination in order to bring it to the floor.¹⁷

The Senate historically has confirmed most, but not all, executive nominations. Rarely, however, has a vote to confirm a nomination failed on the Senate floor. Usually, unsuccessful nominations fail to be reported or discharged from committee. Failure of a nomination to make it out of committee has occurred for a variety of reasons, including opposition to the nomination, inadequate amount of time for consideration of the nomination, or factors that may not be directly related to the merits of the nomination.

Senate rules provide that "[n]ominations neither confirmed nor rejected during the session at which they are made shall not be acted upon at any succeeding session without being again made to the Senate by the President."¹⁸ In practice, such pending nominations have been returned to the President at the end of the session or Congress. Pending nominations also may be returned automatically to the President at the beginning of a recess of more than 30 days, but the Senate rule providing for this return is often waived.¹⁹

Appointment

In the final stage, the confirmed nominee is given a commission, which bears the Great Seal of the United States and is signed by the President, and is sworn into office. The President may sign the commission at any time after confirmation, at which point the appointment becomes official. Once the appointee is given the commission and sworn in, he or she has full authority to carry out the responsibilities of the office.

Recess Appointments

The Constitution also empowers the President to make a limited-term appointment without Senate confirmation when the Senate is in recess, either during a session (intrasession recess appointment) or between sessions (intersession recess appointment). Recess appointments expire at the end of the following session of Congress.²⁰

Presidents have occasionally used the recess appointment power to circumvent the confirmation process. In response, Congress has enacted provisions that restrict the pay of recess appointees under certain circumstances. Because most potential appointees to full-time positions cannot serve without a salary, the President has an incentive to use his recess appointment authority in ways that allow them to be paid. Under the provisions, if the position falls vacant while the Senate is in session and the President fills it by recess appointment, the appointee may not be paid from the Treasury until he or she is confirmed by the Senate. However, the salary prohibition does not apply

(1) if the vacancy arose within 30 days before the end of the session of the Senate;

(2) if, at the end of the session, a nomination for the office, other than the nomination of an individual appointed during the preceding recess of the Senate, was pending before the Senate for its advice and consent; or

(3) if a nomination for the office was rejected by the Senate within 30 days before the end of the session and an individual other than the one whose nomination was rejected thereafter receives a recess appointment.²¹

A recess appointment falling under any one of these three exceptions must be followed by a nomination to the position not later than 40 days after the beginning of the next session of the Senate.²² For this reason, when a recess appointment is made, the President generally submits a new nomination for the nominee even when an old nomination is pending.²³ These provisions have been interpreted by the Department of Justice to preclude payment of an appointee who is given successive recess appointments to the same position.²⁴

Although recess appointees whose nominations to a full term are subsequently rejected by the Senate may continue to serve until the end of their recess appointment, a provision of the FY2008 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act that is still in effect today may prevent them from being paid after their rejection. The provision reads, "Hereafter, no part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be paid to any person for the filling of any position for which he or she has been nominated after the Senate has voted not to approve the nomination of said person."²⁵ Prior to this provision, similar wording was included in annual funding measures for most or all of the previous 50 years.

Another recent congressional response to the President's use of recess appointments was the decision, during the latter part of the first session of the 110^th Congress, to restructure the Senate's longer recesses into a series of shorter recesses divided by pro forma sessions.²⁶ Premised on the notion that the President can be restricted from making recess appointments during a recess that is no more than three days, the Senate sought to prevent recess appointments by holding pro forma sessions approximately every three days.²⁷ Beginning in November 2007, the Senate agreed to regularly scheduled pro forma sessions during periods that would have otherwise been recesses of duration of a week or longer.²⁸

The Senate did not use the pro forma session practices during the first session of the 111^th Congress. At the end of the second session, however, the Senate structured its 2010 pre-election break as a series of shorter recesses separated by pro forma sessions. In this case, the use of the practice reportedly stemmed from a lack of agreement between the Senate majority leader and the Senate minority leader regarding the disposition of pending nominations over the break:

Under Senate rules, nominations must be returned to the White House if the Senate goes on recess for more than 30 days, forcing the president to resubmit nominations and committees to re-approve any nominees cleared for Senate confirmation.

The chamber sometimes waives those rules, but just before the August recess, it returned 16 controversial nominees to the White House—including five judicial nominations—amid an ongoing tug-of-war between President Obama and Senate Republicans over confirmations.

Because the two sides this week could not agree on which nominees to return to the White House and which to keep active, the Senate will instead officially avoid a lengthy recess by having short pro-forma sessions ... every few days.... Those pro-forma sessions will keep the White House's nominations alive but also block any recess appointments.²⁹

Temporary Appointments

Congress has provided limited statutory authority for the temporary filling of vacant positions requiring Senate confirmation. Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998,³⁰ when an executive agency position requiring confirmation becomes vacant, it may be filled temporarily in one of three ways: (1) the first assistant to such a position may automatically assume the functions and duties of the office; (2) the President may direct an officer in any agency who is occupying a position requiring Senate confirmation to perform those tasks; or (3) the President may select any officer or employee of the subject agency who is occupying a position for which the rate of pay is equal to or greater than the minimum rate of pay at the GS-15 level and who has been with the agency for at least 90 of the preceding 365 days. The temporary appointment is for 210 days, but the time restriction is suspended if a first or second nomination for the position is pending. In addition, during a presidential transition, the 210-day restriction period does not begin until either 90 days after the President assumes office, or 90 days after the vacancy occurs, if it is within the 90-day inauguration period. The act does not apply to positions on multi-headed regulatory boards and commissions or to certain other specific positions which may be filled temporarily under other statutory provisions.³¹

Appointments During the 111^th Congress

During the 111^th Congress, President Barack Obama submitted to the Senate 107 nominations to full-time positions in independent agencies, agencies in the Executive Office of the President (EOP), multilateral agencies, and legislative branch agencies. Of these nominations, 92 were confirmed, 14 were returned to the President, and 1 was withdrawn. The President made five recess appointments during this period to positions in organizations covered in this report. Table 1 summarizes the appointment activity.

Average Time to Confirm a Nomination

The length of time a given nomination may be pending in the Senate varies widely.³² Some nominations are confirmed within a few days, others may not be confirmed for several months, and some are never confirmed. This report provides, for each independent agency nomination confirmed in the 111^th Congress, the number of days between nomination and confirmation ("days to confirm"). The mean (average) number of days taken by the Senate to confirm a nomination to a position covered by this report was 93.1.³³ The median number of days taken by the Senate to confirm a nominee was 65.5.³⁴

Organization of this Report

Agency Profiles

The agency profiles provide data on presidential nominations and appointments to full-time positions requiring Senate confirmation, and Senate action on the nominations. Data on appointment actions during the 111^th Congress appear in two tables for each agency, "Incumbents in Full-time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress" and "Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress."³⁵ As noted, some agencies had no nomination activity during this period of time.

The first of these two tables identifies, as of the end of the 111^th Congress, each full-time PAS position in the department, its incumbent, and its pay level.³⁶ For most presidentially appointed positions requiring Senate confirmation, the pay levels fall under the Executive Schedule, which, as of January 2011, ranged from level I ($199,700) for Cabinet-level offices to level V ($145,700) for the lowest-ranked positions. An incumbent's name followed by "(A)" indicates an official who was, at that time, serving in an acting capacity. Vacancies are also noted in the first table.

The nomination action table provides, in chronological order, information concerning each nomination. It shows the name of the nominee, position involved, date of nomination, date of confirmation, and number of days between receipt of a nomination and confirmation. The numbers of days shown in the tables in this report include days during the longer recesses around August and between sessions of Congress. Some nominees identified in this report were nominated more than once for the same position. This was typically because the President submitted a nomination following a recess appointment (recess appointments are also included in the table). When a nominee is awaiting Senate action and he or she is given a recess appointment, a follow-up nomination is usually submitted to comply with the requirements of 5 U.S.C. §5503(b) (see section entitled "Recess Appointments," above).

The nomination tables that have more than one nominee to a position also give statistics on the length of time between nomination and confirmation. Each nomination action table provides the average "days to confirm" in two ways: mean and median. While the mean is a more familiar measure, it may be influenced by outliers in the data, while the median does not tend to be influenced by outliers. In other words, a nomination that took an extraordinarily long time might cause a significant change in the mean, but the median would be unaffected. Presenting both numbers is a better way to look at the central tendency of the data.

Additional Appointment Information

Appendix A presents a table of all nominations and recess appointments to positions in independent and other agencies, organized alphabetically by last name and following a similar format to that of the agency-by-agency nomination action tables. It identifies the agency involved and the dates of nomination. The table indicates if and when a nomination was confirmed, withdrawn, or returned. The mean and median numbers of days taken to confirm a nomination are also provided.

Appendix B provides a table with summary information on appointments and nominations by four agency categories: independent executive agencies, agencies in the Executive Office of the President (EOP), multilateral organizations, and agencies in the legislative branch. For each of these categories, the table provides the number of positions, nominations, individual nominees, confirmations, nominations returned, and nominations withdrawn. The table also provides, for each of the four categories, the mean and median number of days to confirm a nomination.

Appendix C provides a list of department abbreviations.

Nominations and Incumbents: Full-Time Positions in Independent Agencies

Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

ARC Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

BBG Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

CIA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

CNCS Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency to the District of Columbia (CSOSA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

No CSOSA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Delta Regional Authority (DRA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

DRA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

EPA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

FHFA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

FMCS Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

General Services Administration (GSA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

GSA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

MCC Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

NASA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

NARA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities (NFAH)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

NFAH Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

NSF Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC)

Incumbents in Full-time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

NBRC Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

ODNI Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Office of Government Ethics (OGE)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

No OGE Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (ONHIR)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

No ONHIR Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

OPM Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Office of Special Counsel (OSC)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

OSC Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

OPIC Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Peace Corps (PC)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

PC Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Selective Service System (SSS)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

SSS Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Small Business Administration (SBA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

SBA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Social Security Administration (SSA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

SSA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Trade and Development Agency (TDA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

TDA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

USAID Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Nominations and Incumbents: Full-Time Positions in the Executive Office of the President

Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

CEA Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

CEQ Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

OMB Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

ONDCP Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

OSTP Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

OUSTR Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Nominations and Incumbents: Full-Time Positions in Multilateral Organizations

African Development Bank (AfDB)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

AfDB Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Asian Development Bank (AsDB)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

AsDB Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

EBRD Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

IADB Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) (IBRD)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

IBRD Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

International Joint Commission, U.S. and Canada (IJC)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

IJC Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

IMF Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Nominations and Incumbents: Full-Time Positions in Legislative Branch Agencies

Architect of the Capitol (AOC)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

AOC Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

GAO Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Government Printing Office (GPO)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

GPO Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Library of Congress (LOC)

Incumbents in Full-Time PAS Positions, as of the End of the 111^th Congress

No LOC Nomination Action During the 111^th Congress

Appendix A. Summary of All Nominations and Appointments to Independent and Other Agencies

Appendix B. Nomination Action by Agency Type, 111^th Congress

Appendix C. Agency Abbreviations

Independent Agencies

ARC—Appalachian Regional Commission

BBG—Broadcasting Board of Governors

CIA—Central Intelligence Agency

CNCS—Corporation for National and Community Service

CSOSA—Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia

DRA—Delta Regional Authority

EPA—Environmental Protection Agency

FHFA—Federal Housing Finance Agency

FMCS—Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

GSA—General Services Administration

MCC—Millennium Challenge Corporation

NARA—National Archives and Records Administration

NASA—National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NFAH—National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities

NSF—National Science Foundation

NBRC—Northern Border Regional Commission

ODNI—Office of the Director of National Intelligence

OGE—Office of Government Ethics

ONHIR—Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation

OPIC—Overseas Private Investment Corporation

OPM—Office of Personnel Management

OSC—Office of Special Counsel

PC—Peace Corps

SBA—Small Business Administration

SSA—Social Security Administration

SSS—Selective Service System

TDA—Trade Development Agency

USAID—United States Agency for International Development

Executive Office of the President (EOP)

CEA—Council of Economic Advisers

CEQ—Council on Environmental Quality

OMB—Office of Management and Budget

ONDCP—Office of National Drug Control Policy

OSTP—Office of Science and Technology Policy

OUSTR—Office of U.S. Trade Representative

Multilateral Banking Organizations

AfDB—African Development Bank

AsDB—Asian Development Bank

EBRD—European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

IADB—Inter–American Development Bank

IBRD—International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

IJC—International Joint Commission, U.S. and Canada

IMF—International Monetary Fund

Legislative Branch Agencies

AC—Architect of the Capitol

GAO—Government Accountability Office

GPO—Government Printing Office

LC—Library of Congress

Acknowledgments

[author name scrubbed], Reference Assistant, assisted in the collection of data used in this report. [author name scrubbed], Analyst in American National Government, provided some of the information in this report.

Footnotes

1.	The acronym is defined as "Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation" in the 2008 "Plum Book" (U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, 110th Cong., 2nd sess., committee print, November 12, 2008 (Washington: GPO, 2008).
2.	A historical and contemporary overview of the appointment power is found in [author name scrubbed], "Appointment Powers," in his Constitutional Conflicts between Congress and the President, 4th ed. (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1997), pp. 22-48.
3.	Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 126 (1976). For further information on the distinction between officers and employees of the United States, as well as the distinction between principal and inferior officers, see CRS Report R40856, The Debate Over Selected Presidential Assistants and Advisors: Appointment, Accountability, and Congressional Oversight, by [author name scrubbed] et al., pp. 44-49.
4.	The White House process for clearing individuals for nominations differs from the process that individuals undertake to obtain a formal security clearance to be eligible for access to classified information.
5.	The Council for Excellence in Government's Presidential Appointee Initiative, A Survivor's Guide for Presidential Nominees, The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., November 2000, pp. 31-32.
6.	See, for example, Michael J. Gerhardt, The Federal Appointments Process: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis (Durham: Duke University Press, 2003), pp. 29-34.
7.	See, for example, ibid., pp. 152-153.
8.	Additional information about the selection and clearance process for nominees to executive branch positions can be found in a November 2012 study which was conducted pursuant to the enactment of P.L. 112-166, the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act. See Working Group on Streamlining Paperwork for Executive Nominations, Streamlining Paperwork for Executive Nominations: Report to the President and the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, November 2012, at http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/download/report-of-working-group-on-streamlining-paperwork-for-executive-nominations-final.
9.	3 U.S.C. §102 note.
10.	P.L. 108-458, §7601; 118 Stat. 3856.
11.	5 U.S.C. §3349a(b).
12.	For more information on the role of home state senators in the nomination of individuals to fill U.S. district and circuit court judgeships, see CRS Report RL34405, Role of Home State Senators in the Selection of Lower Federal Court Judges, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].
13.	P.L. 105-277, Div. C, Title I, §151; 5 U.S.C. §§3345-3349d. For more on the Vacancies Act, see CRS Report 98-892, The New Vacancies Act: Congress Acts to Protect the Senate's Confirmation Prerogative, by [author name scrubbed]. Rosenberg has since retired from CRS; questions about the report's content can be directed to Vivian Chu, Legislative Attorney.
14.	For further information on this stage of the appointment process, see CRS Report RL31980, Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure, by [author name scrubbed]; and CRS Report RL31948, Evolution of the Senate's Role in the Nomination and Confirmation Process: A Brief History, by [author name scrubbed]. Palmer has since retired from CRS; questions about the report's content can be directed to [author name scrubbed], Analyst on the Congress and Legislative Process.
15.	G. Calvin Mackenzie, The Politics of Presidential Appointments (New York: The Free Press, 1981), pp. 97-189.
16.	Formally, the presiding officer of the Senate makes the referrals. For more information, see Floyd M. Riddick and Alan S. Frumin, Riddick's Senate Procedure: Precedents and Practices, 101st Cong., 2nd sess., S.Doc. 101-28 (Washington: GPO, 1992), pp. 1154-8; and CRS Report RL31980, Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure, by [author name scrubbed], pp. 2-3.
17.	For more information, see CRS Report RL31980, Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure, by [author name scrubbed], pp. 6-7.
18.	The rule may be found in U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Senate Manual, 110th Cong., 2nd sess., S. Doc. 110-1 (Washington: GPO, 2008), p. 58, Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
19.	For an example of a waiver of the rule, see Sen. Harry Reid, "Nominations Status Quo," Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 153, December 19, 2007, p. S16061.
20.	U.S. Constitution, Art. II, §2, cl. 3.
21.	5 U.S.C. §5503(a).
22.	5 U.S.C. §5503(b).
23.	For further information, see CRS Report RS21308, Recess Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions, by [author name scrubbed]; and CRS Report RL33009, Recess Appointments: A Legal Overview, by [author name scrubbed].
24.	15 Op. O.L.C. 93 (1991). See also 6 Op. O.L.C. 585 (1982); 41 Op. A.G. 463 (1960).
25.	P.L. 110-161, Div. D, Title VII, §709; 121 Stat. 2021.
26.	A pro forma session is a short meeting of the House or Senate during which little or no business is conducted.
27.	The Constitution does not specify how long the Senate must be in recess for the President to have the ability to make a recess appointment. Over time, the Department of Justice, through Attorneys General and Office of Legal Counsel opinions, has offered differing views on this issue, and no settled understanding on these questions appears to exist. One view, which was discussed by Attorney General Daugherty in a 1921 opinion, implied that a linkage might be established between the meaning of "the Recess of the Senate," for Recess Appointments Clause purposes, and the meaning of "adjourn for more than three days" for purposes of the Adjournment Clause (see 33 Op. A.G. 20, at 24-25 (1921)). In 1993, a brief submitted by the Department of Justice in the case of Mackie v. Clinton articulated this argument more fully (Mackie v. Clinton, Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Defendants' Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, at 24-26, Civ. Action No. 93-0032-LFO, (D.D.C. 1993)).
28.	For further information, see CRS Report RS21308, Recess Appointments: Frequently Asked Questions, by [author name scrubbed]; CRS Report R42329, Recess Appointments Made by President Barack Obama, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]; and CRS Report R42329, Recess Appointments Made by President Barack Obama, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].
29.	Brian Friel, "Senate to Block Recess Appointments," CQ Today Online News, September 29, 2010, available at http://www.cq.com/doc/news-3743961?wr=bGFldXRDRDVoeG9ZMzFpS0g4Y3pRdw.
30.	P.L. 105-277, Div. C, Title I, §151; 112 Stat. 2681-611; 5 U.S.C. §§3345-3349d.
31.	For more on the Vacancies Act, see CRS Report 98-892, The New Vacancies Act: Congress Acts to Protect the Senate's Confirmation Prerogative, by [author name scrubbed].
32.	The methodology used in this report to count the length of time between nomination and confirmation differs from that which was used in some earlier CRS reports prior to the 110th Congress. The statistics presented here include the days during which the Senate was adjourned for its summer recesses and between sessions of Congress. The change was instituted in the reports covering the 110th Congress, and it reduces the direct comparability of statistics in this report with those of the earlier research. Reasons for the change include the conversion of traditionally long recesses into a series of short recesses punctuated by pro forma sessions during the 110th Congress; the fact that although committees may not be taking direct action on nominations in the form of hearings or votes, they are likely still considering and processing nominations during recesses; and a desire to be consistent with the methodology used by many political scientists, as well as CRS research on judicial nominations. In addition, an argument could be made that the decision to extend Senate consideration of nominees over the course of a recess is intentional, and the choice to extend this length of time is better represented by including all days, including long recesses. A more detailed explanation of this methodological change is located in Appendix E of CRS Report R41776, Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions in Independent and Other Agencies During the 110th Congress, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].
33.	See Appendix B for a further breakdown.
34.	The median is the midpoint of the range of all the numbers when arranged numerically. The median is less sensitive to outliers than the mean.
35.	This report was compiled from data from the nominations file of the Senate Executive Files database of the Legislative Information System (LIS), available at http://www.congress.gov/nomis/; the "Plum Book" (U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, 110th Cong., 2nd sess., committee print, November 12, 2008 (Washington: GPO, 2008) and telephone discussions with agency officials. Information concerning position incumbents was also drawn from nomination and confirmation data supplemented by information from the following two federal agency directories: The Leadership Library on the Internet, Federal Yellow Book, at http://www.leadershipdirectories.com/fyb.htm (New York: Leadership Directories, Inc); and CQ Press, 2008/Fall Federal Staff Directory, 46th ed. (Washington: CQ Press, 2008).
36.	The data collected on incumbents at the end of the 111th Congress were collected as of the Senate's last day of business on December 22, 2010. Beginning on December 23, agency officials were contacted and the lists of incumbents were finalized.