In troduction
This report explains the process for filling positions to which the President makes appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate (PAS positions). It also identifies, for the 111 th Congress, all nominations to executive-level full-time positions in the 15 executive departments. It excludes appointments to regulatory boards and commissions and independent and other agencies, which are covered in other CRS reports. Three distinct stages mark the appointment process: selection, clearance, and nomination by the President; consideration by the Senate; and appointment by the President. There are a number of steps in this stage of the process for most Senate-confirmed positions. The President may sign the commission at any time after confirmation, at which point the appointment becomes official. 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. President Barack H. Obama submitted to the Senate 347 nominations to executive department full-time positions. Of these 347 nominations, 293 were confirmed; 16 were withdrawn; and 38 were returned to the President under the provisions of Senate rules. This report provides, for each executive department nomination that was confirmed in the 111 th Congress, the number of days between nomination and confirmation ("days to confirm"). For confirmed nominations, an average (mean) of 73.2 days elapsed between nomination and confirmation. The median number of days elapsed was 52.0. The second table presented, the list of Appointment Action within each department, relies primarily upon the Senate nominations database of the Legislative Information System (LIS).
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 111th Congress, all nominations to full-time positions requiring Senate confirmation in the 15 executive departments. It excludes appointments to regulatory boards and commissions and independent and other agencies, which are covered in other CRS 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, if the position is located within a state, the President may also consult with Senators who are from his party. 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 Senate, the President may then present the nominee with a signed commission, making the appointment official.
During the 111th Congress, the President submitted to the Senate 347 nominations to executive department full-time positions. Of these 347 nominations, 293 were confirmed; 16 were withdrawn; and 38 were returned to him in accordance with Senate rules. For those nominations that were confirmed, an average of 73.2 days elapsed between nomination and confirmation. The median number of days elapsed was 52.0.
The President made 10 recess appointments to full-time positions in executive departments during the 111th Congress.
Information for this report was compiled from data from the Senate nominations database of the Legislative Information System (LIS) 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.