{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11833", "2000-12-15", 106, 2, null, null, "RECESS APPOINTMENTS", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S11833", "S11834", "[{\"name\": \"Trent Lott\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Robert C. Byrd\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Frank R. Lautenberg\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "146 Cong. Rec. S11833", "Congressional Record, Volume 146 Issue 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]\n[Senate]\n[Pages S11833-S11834]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                          RECESS APPOINTMENTS\n\n  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, one note on these nominations and\nappointments:\n  I understand that United States Presidents have for years had the\nability to recess appoint nominations. I know of many instances going\nback at least to the 1950s. I also understand that many majority\nleaders--including Senator Byrd and Senator Mitchell--have had words of\ncaution for Presidents of the United States when they were majority\nleader with respect to recess appointments. I know that this majority\nleader, as well as Senator Byrd, are very much concerned about recess\nappointments--especially appointments to the Federal judiciary--\nduring a period of time after we adjourn sine die, or at the beginning,\nfrankly, of the year right as we go into the new administration.\nCongress has seen this area to continue to erode. I think we need to\ndeal very aggressively with it. The Vacancy Act that Senator Byrd has\nworked on is something about which we need to be very serious. I hope\nthis administration will heed these words of caution and understand the\nconcerns of the whole Senate.\n  I yield the floor.\n  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?\n  Mr. LOTT. I would be glad to yield the floor before we return it to\nSenator Lautenberg, if I might.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey has the floor.\n  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, you do that job perfectly with\ndiligence, for the record.\n\n[[Page S11834]]\n\n  I am happy to yield. In fact, I would be afraid not to yield to our\ndistinguished Senator, my friend from West Virginia.\n  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator. I will\nnot speak long.\n  Mr. President, the distinguished majority leader has made reference\nto recess appointments. Let me read what is in the Constitution. I read\nfrom section 2 of article II of the Constitution:\n\n       The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies\n     that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting\n     Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next\n     Session.\n\n  Having been the majority leader in the Senate earlier in my years\nhere, I have been very careful to caution Presidents not to make recess\nappointments during the recess of the Senate unless there is indeed an\nemergency that arises.\n  That is the purpose of this. That provision in the United States\nConstitution is not put in there to enable any President, Republican or\nDemocrat, to play games with the Senate, or to attempt to do a one-\nupmanship simply because the Senate is out of session.\n  I hope that Presidents, Democratic and Republican, will be very\ncareful in filling a vacancy that ``may happen'' during a recess. That\nis the way the Constitution reads.\n\n  I hope there is no effort to take advantage of those words by\nappointing someone to fill vacancies that have been in existence for\nsome time. I especially hope that no administration will attempt to\nfill a Federal judgeship during the recess of the Senate. After all, a\nFederal judgeship is an appointment for life. That is not an\nappointment just until the end of the next session. Federal judgeships\nare, through the Constitution, for life tenure if they conduct\nthemselves appropriately while in office.\n  I want to say this: I am opposed to judgeship appointments during a\nrecess. I hope that any President will proceed very cautiously and not\nattempt to take advantage of the situation by appointing judgeships\nduring the recess of the Senate.\n  How long will this Senate be in recess?\n  Mr. LOTT. I say to the Senator from West Virginia, I believe we will\nbe in recess slightly over 2 weeks, probably 17 days, until the new\nCongress comes in on January 23.\n  Mr. BYRD. I can only see through my own eyes, but I don't consider\nthat to be too long a time to await the appointment of a Federal\njudgeship or any other office, unless it should be Secretary of Defense\nor perhaps Secretary of State. But it is certain that there is no need\nto fill judgeships during this 2 weeks, or whatever it is. We will be\nback here. I will not support any administration, Democratic or\nRepublican, that attempts to fill Federal judgeships while the Senate\nis in recess. I think that is playing politics. We all play politics\nsome, but we are fooling around a little too deeply with the fountain\nof politics. I hope we don't poison that well by attempting to pull a\nfast one here. Is that what the Senator is talking about?\n  Mr. LOTT. I understand, of course, that is a possibility. We have not\nbeen notified of any recess appointments or any Federal judicial\nappointment during this recess period. However, I note it has been done\nin the past, and there has been some suggestion it could occur during\nthe next 6 weeks before the next Inauguration.\n  I want to check on exactly what would be the situation. I understand\neven a Federal judge's term would expire, depending on when it\nhappened, at the end of the Congress, but there would be tremendous\npressure then to reappoint that person. I agree with the Senator that\nany appointment of a Federal judge during a recess should be opposed,\nregardless of who they are or whether it is Republican or Democrat. I\ncommit myself now to remember that when there is a Republican\nadministration, as well as a Democratic administration.\n  I do know there were Federal judges back in the early 1950s appointed\nby President Eisenhower. That was a mistake then, and it would be one\nnow. I understand that could be contemplated. This word of caution on\nyour behalf and on mine on behalf of the Senate, hopefully, will cause\nthat not to happen.\n  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, if the distinguished majority leader will\nyield further.\n  Mr. LOTT. I am happy to yield to the Senator.\n  Mr. BYRD. I presume to offer the majority leader a suggestion, what I\nwould do if I were in his place. I would write to the President and\nurge that no such recess appointment be made, and put it in writing,\nmake a record of it. Furthermore, if I were the majority leader, I\nwould talk with the administration.\n  Mr. LOTT. I appreciate that.\n  Mr. BYRD. I am not trying to tell the Senator what to do, but this is\na serious thing with me. As for the politics of it, I am not talking\nDemocratic politics or Republican. But there is such a thing as comity\nbetween the executive branch and the legislative branch. There is such\na thing as the Constitution, and I happen to hold a copy in my hand\nright now. There is also such a thing as the prerogatives of the\nSenate. I try to defend those prerogatives.\n  The Senator made a comment about recess appointments. I hope he will\nget some assurance. If there is any doubt in his mind--any doubt--that\nthis administration or any other is going to try to make a recess\nappointment, especially of a Federal judgeship, while the Senate is out\nfor these two or three weeks. I hope the Senator will get a commitment\nout of the administration, if he can, that that will not happen.\n  That is going pretty far, in my judgment--to appoint a Federal judge\nfor life ``during good behavior.'' I don't know whether there have been\njudges appointed during a recess of the Senate in the face of this\nprovision which I have just read, to wit:\n\n       The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies\n     that may happen during recess of the Senate by granting\n     commissions which shall expire at the end of their next\n     session.\n\n  That is all I have to say. I have been concerned about that, I say to\nthe distinguished majority leader. I have worked with the distinguished\nSenator from Tennessee, Mr. Thompson, and his committee, and a former\nSenator, who was the ranking member of that committee, John Glenn. We\nhammered out some legislation. I was concerned about the fact that the\nadministration was appointing people who stayed in those positions for\na year, for 2 years, for longer than 2 years, so we hammered out\nlegislation and passed it in the Senate--the Vacancies Act.\n  About 6 months ago, I asked Senator Thompson how the law was working.\nHe indicated he would get back to me in answering my question at some\npoint.\n  I just happened to be here on this floor, during the comments of the\nmajority leader and I can't stress too greatly my concern about recess\nappointments of Federal judges.\n  I hope the majority leader, if he will pardon my presumptuousness,\nwill try to get some understanding with the administration about that.\nThat is the way I always did when I was majority leader: I got some\nunderstanding.\n  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I say to the distinguished Senator from West\nVirginia, that is very good counsel. I will do that on a personal\nbasis. I will also follow an example that I believe has been carried\nout in the past by Senator Byrd, maybe even by Senator Dole: In\nwriting, get an understanding or some clarification. I will do that\nletter, and it will include this colloquy which just occurred.\n  I thank the Senator for his comments, and I yield the floor.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11833"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 7.073045009747148, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}