Dava Newman Has Been Confirmed
Keith’s note: Dava Newman has been confirmed by the Senate as Deputy Administrator of NASA.
Statements on Senate Confirmation of Dava Newman as NASA Deputy Administrator, NASA
“I am delighted with the Senate confirmation of Dr. Dava Newman to be the Deputy Administrator of NASA. I am personally ecstatic to welcome her aboard at such a busy and exciting time as we continue to make extraordinary strides on our Journey to Mars.”
NASA May Get New Deputy Administrator Next Week, Space Policy Online
“Senate Democrats announced today that agreement has been reached for the Senate to consider Dava Newman’s nomination to be NASA Deputy Administrator on Monday, April 27. Newman would replace Lori Garver, who left the agency in September 2013. The Senate Democrats’ website says that 30 minutes of debate on the nomination will begin at 5:00 pm ET divided equally between the parties. If all that time is used, the vote would occur at 5:30 pm ET. The Senate has been gridlocked on approving nominations for weeks because of a dispute between Republicans and Democrats over abortion language in a bill on human trafficking that held up a vote on the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General.”
Is Dava Newman’s Nomination In Limbo?, earlier post
“With impending food fights in the Republican-led Congress, such routine things as nominations may be stalled – or (worse) may become opportunities to score partisan points agains the Administration – with the nominee taking the brunt of the negative energy.”
– Earlier posts
She is worthy – and Keith you can edit this or kill this if you have to… but its a God Damn shame when NASA is used a frigging pawn.
Both sides do this crap – its politics – and that is why we cannot have nice things anymore.
So Lori Garver left NASA in Sept 2013 it then took the Administration 13 months to nominate someone, and the Democrat Senate didn’t bring her to a vote. Yet the Republican lead Senate seems to be moving quite fast in nominations. They are now projected to confirm Dava in just under 4 months after taking control of the Senate. At least some efficiency has returned to the Senate.
While I see your argument I will say that there was what I would personally perceive as politics slow rolling this. While you can happily complain about many of the problems of the Democrat controlled senate (which I would agree with you on most (but not all)) that does not justify how this nomination flowed in my view.
Next up – Earth Science – if house republicans cut it by a half billion I am fine with that, we have 15 other federal government agencies prophesying about whatever the term of the day is – however lets take that 500 million and roll it into Planetary and Helio.
While the budgeting process is not that easy (move from X to Y (you have to program what you are going to spend the $ on)) I would love to be a fly on the wall when Jim Green was told he would get a bump. Honestly that is the best way to reform NASA, specifically SMD. Reform how we program out with the studies. Allow the divisions to be more agile to funding and programming.
Not another dime to Astrophysics until JW is done.
JMO
PS sorry for the diatribe just struck a chord.
Did you read anything in the articles? Republicans deliberately shoved divisive anti-abortion health funding language in an otherwise bipartisan bill on human slavery, then, when they didn’t get their way, they linked it to the confirmation of a new AG, holding up all other nominations for nearly 6 months just over that one bill.
And that has been their practice for years now, resulting in things like a third of embassies without ambassadors. Efficiency? On what planet? Modern Republicans are more destructive and obstructionist in a single term than entire centuries of previous Congresses.
I suppose you must have been incommunicado during the GW Bush years. Just google “democrat delay on bush appointments” or go to http://www.politifact.com/t…
From the article you linked: “Obama’s nominees waited 131.5 days, compared to 18 days for nominees of George W. Bush.”
Additionally there were 68 nominations blocked by Senate before Obama, 79 (so far) during Obama’s terms. Read that again, Republicans have blocked more nominations in 6 years than the entire 200+plus previous years of Congressional history.
GWB had 9 out of 179 nominees blocked.
Then throw in that filibusters are constantly setting records, with the use by Republicans doubling compared to Dems under GWB. (And that number is actually low, since it doesn’t include the behind the scenes threats of filibusters during negotiations.) Effectively, Republicans have changed the structure of government. Whereas in most of history of Congress, a normal 51/49 votes is enough, now anything bigger than renaming a post-office requires a full 60 vote super-majority. That’s not how the system was meant to work. It’s a fundamental (and deliberate) breaking of the system.
I suppose you missed this as well “
Measured one way — from nomination to confirmation — Obama’s claim is off base.
According to CRS, the average number of days from nomination to
confirmation for first-term circuit court nominees — which include the
D.C. Circuit — was 240.2 for Obama. That was shorter than the 277 days faced by the nominees of George W. Bush.”