Mike Dunford was a graduate student in the Department of Zoology at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, where he studied evolution. Life as an army spouse has since moved him on to Pensacola, where he's currently trying to figure out what to do next. While he's doing that, he writes stuff here, although not usually in the third person. He's also a contributer to UPDATE: 4 Mar 09 There are now reports that Senator Menendez is not the only Senator holding up these nominations. I've got a new post up with the updated information and new suggestions for ways you can help.
The Washington Post is reporting that Senate votes to confirm Jane Lubchenco as NOAA Administrator and John Holdren as Science Advisor are currently being obstructed by a Democratic Senator. Quoting multiple unnamed sources, the Post says that New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez has placed an "anonymous hold" on the nominations in order to try to gain leverage for some issues related to Cuba that he's interested in.
Menendez's office, the Post reports, refused to confirm or deny the reports, saying only that it's their "policy" not to "speculate or comment" on matters related to anonymous holds. They also report, however, that a spokesman for Harry Reid said "We will work to try to address any concerns that he [Menendez] may have."
This is completely unacceptable. David Vitter might have been a jerk during last month's confirmation hearing, but even he declined to try to delay confirmation for these nominees. Both of these positions are important parts of the Obama Administration's environmental policy team. They are not unimportant positions, and both the nominees and the positions themselves deserve far more respect than Menendez is displaying. These people have agreed to serve their country. They should not be treated as pawns in whatever unrelated game the Senator is trying to play.
Please take a couple of minutes and contact Menendez's office. Tell him that science policy is too important to use as a pawn in whatever game he's playing. If you can, you should also contact the Majority Leader's office. Remind Senator Reid that science and the environment are important issues, and that you know he can, if he so chooses, push the nominations through over the hold. Contact your own senators, too, and ask them to bring whatever pressure they can on Menendez and Reid.
In his Inaugural Address, President Obama talked about restoring science to its rightful place. We can debate just what that should mean, but I'm sure we can all agree that the rightful place of science in public policy is not as a disposable pawn in an unrelated political game.
Contact information for the various Senators can be found below the jump.
The Senators use form based email that asks for an address. I suspect that emails from addresses within the Senator's home state are read much more quickly than out of state emails. (And that there's a good chance that the out of state emails are not read at all.) Apropos of nothing, I'm going to include the addresses for the Senator's home state offices, as well as the information for their DC office.
To contact your own Senators: go to this link, and scroll down until you find the ones that represent your own state.
To contact Senator Menendez (the reported originator of the hold):
Email
DC Office:
317 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202.224.4744
202.228.2197 fax
NJ Offices:
One Gateway Center,
Suite 1100
Newark, New Jersey 07102
973.645.3030
973.645.0502 fax
208 White Horse Pike, Suite 18
Barrington, New Jersey 08007
856.757.5353
856.546.1526 fax
Majority Leader Harry Reid:
Email
DC Office:
522 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3542
Fax: 202-224-7327
Nevada Offices:
Lloyd D. George Building
333 Las Vegas Boulevard
South, Suite 8016
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Phone: 702-388-5020
Fax: 702-388-5030
600 East William St, #302
Carson City, NV 89701
Phone: 775-882-REID (7343)
Fax: 775-883-1980
Bruce R. Thompson
Courthouse & Federal Bldg
400 S. Virginia St, Suite 902
Reno, NV 89501
Phone: 775-686-5750
Fax: 775-686-5757
Politics
Environment
Comments
What. A. Moron.
Posted by: John S. Wilkins | March 3, 2009 9:04 AM
Sen. HARRY REID, Benedict Arnold of the Senate? DEMAND REINSTATEMENT OF A MANDATORY E-VERIFY IN MARCH DEADLINE!
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has condemned himself along with other politicians, as the killer of E-verify in the stimulus package. E-Verify is a powerful tool, to combat illegal labor in the workplace. The giant business magnet of attracting illegal immigrants, would finally be eradicated to a dull ache. The billions of dollars spent to underwrite free health care, education, incarceration and a whole cornucopia of government financial benefits hidden from the public awareness. This is yet another corporate welfare that American taxpayers support without representation?
Harry Reid is the worst type of Benedict Arnold, who erased E-verify, but tells the people of Nevada he supports it's enactment? Others traitors in this clever secretive ploy are--Speaker Pelosi (D-CA),Gutierrez (D-IL),Feinstein (D-CAL),Menendez (D-NJ), Baucus (D-MT),Lofgren (D-CA), Emanuel D-Chief of Staff) and others who hide behind closed doors. In the next election show them the street.
Posted by: Brittancus | March 3, 2009 11:31 AM
Posted by: Well, I wrote him | March 3, 2009 1:15 PM
Well, politics is a funny business. Holding up a science adviser in order to influence foreign policy may not play well in theoretical discussions of government, but anything that saves us from a quack like Holdren is good.
Despite what goes into the sausage, sometimes when you fry it up and put on some horseradish, it's delicious!
Posted by: Harry Eagar | March 3, 2009 1:30 PM
you people from outside new jersey have no idea how petty our politicians can be. most wind up in jail, i can't wait for the day that menendez gets his 'perp walk'.
Posted by: jim | March 3, 2009 7:08 PM
I have no opinion on the qualifications of the two nominees, but I abhor the idea that any Senator can hold nominees hostage for something entirely unrelated.
What that says to me is that the Senator placing the "hold" is not interested in the welfare of the country, just his own agenda. No matter how "worthy" that agenda might be, it's small-minded to hijack one for the other.
Posted by: Donna B. | March 4, 2009 3:32 AM
Holds & philibusters were good enough 4-5 years ago for Bush's judicial nominees.
Posted by: Turnabout | March 4, 2009 4:20 AM