March 12, 2022 - Washington - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Friday released the following statement on Republican actions to block votes on President Biden’s nominees:

“The recent Republican practice of boycotting Senate committee hearings to prevent votes on well-qualified Biden nominees needs to stop. It is a dangerous precedent and is dismissive of the duties for which we were sent to Washington.

“Currently, five nominees to the Federal Reserve Board are awaiting action in the Senate Banking Committee because Republicans will not attend committee meetings to provide a quorum for a vote. As we continue to emerge from the Covid pandemic and face a destabilizing war in Ukraine, now is not the time to play political games with our economy.

“One reason Republicans say they oppose Sarah Bloom Raskin, a key Fed nominee who has twice been confirmed by the Senate, is because she said she will consider the risks of climate change when making decisions that affect our economy. It has become clear that climate change already presents a clear risk to the financial system and the Fed must take action to protect against climate financial risk. This is no valid reason to oppose a nominee.

“Similarly, Republicans blocked a vote on Dilawar Syed to be deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration for nearly a year by boycotting committee votes. The SBA is a critical agency that supports businesses across the country, and the lack of a deputy administrator hampers its day-to-day operations. Syed ultimately took a position in the State Department and the SBA position remains vacant.

“Senators are elected to debate issues and to vote. They’re not elected to skip meetings critical to the functioning of our government. Each of these nominees is clearly qualified to hold the positions for which they were nominated. I encourage my Republican colleagues to stop these political games. If they oppose a nominee, vote no. Don’t hamstring the functioning of our government.”
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein