Presidential Appointee Positions Requiring Senate Confirmation and Committees Handling Nominations

Publication Date: October 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

Type:

Abstract:

The President submits most nominations to the Senate when the Senate is in session. The executive clerk refers the nomination to the appropriate committee or committees on the day it is received. When making a referral, the executive clerk is guided by Senate Rule XXV, which establishes the subject matters under the purview of each committee and directs that "all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating primarily to [those] subjects" be referred to that committee. The executive clerk is also guided by precedents set by prior referrals and standing orders and unanimous consent (UC) agreements pertaining to referral of nominations.

Most nominations are referred to one committee. For some positions, a nomination or series of nominations to a position are referred to more than one committee, pursuant to a standing order or UC agreement. A nomination may be jointly or sequentially referred to multiple committees.

Joint referral generally occurs when more than one committee has a claim to jurisdiction over the subject matter related to the position. Under joint referral, the committees receive the nomination simultaneously and may consider it concurrently. All committees must report the nomination to the full Senate before it may be considered on the floor.

Sequential referral generally occurs when one committee has predominant jurisdiction over the subject matter related to the position, but other committees have a claim as well. Under this process, a nomination is referred to the committee with predominant jurisdiction first and then is sequentially referred to additional committees. The second referral can be subject to a time limit after which the committee without predominant jurisdiction is automatically discharged from further consideration of the nomination.

This report identifies, by Senate committee, presidentially appointed positions requiring Senate confirmation. For each committee list, positions are categorized as full- or part-time and then grouped by department or agency. Where nominations have been referred to more than one committee, the organizations and titles are noted under each of the committees to which the nominations were referred. The lists also include the lengths of fixed terms, where applicable. Some commissions, councils, and other multi-member entities are required, by their enabling statute, to maintain political balance in some way. This is noted in parentheses where applicable.

The information provided in this report was compiled from the Senate nominations database of the Legislative Information System, data provided on departmental and agency web sites, telephone conversations with agency officials, and the United States Code. Related information may be found in CRS Report 98242, Committee Jurisdiction and Referral in the Senate, by Judy Schneider; and CRS Report RL31980, Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure, by Elizabeth Rybicki.