This may be a watershed moment in American Senatorial History. I can't believe this isn't going to be covered more.
Shelby blocking all Obama nominees over Earmarks
We know it's been bad before, but this is absolutely ridiculous.
From TPM: Shelby Blocks ALL nominees over Earmarks
ccording to the report, Shelby is holding Obama's nominees hostage until a pair of lucrative programs that would send billions in taxpayer dollars to his home state get back on track. CongressDaily laid out the programs Shelby wants to move forward or else:
- A $40 billion contract to build air-to-air refueling tankers. From the report: "Northrop/EADS team would build the planes in Mobile, Ala., but has threatened to pull out of the competition unless the Air Force makes changes to a draft request for proposals."
- An improvised explosive device testing lab for the FBI. From CongressDaily: "[Shelby] is frustrated that the Obama administration won't build" the center, which Shelby earmarked $45 million for in 2008. The center is due to be based "at the Army's Redstone Arsenal."
This could be the end of the fillibuster if used properly. Let's move on it pronto. This is absolutely ridiculous.
Here's Shelby's Washington contacts:
Washington Office:
304 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Telephone: (202) 224-5744
Fax: (202) 224-3416
Email: senator@shelby.senate.gov
Give him a call and let him know how you feel!
UPDATE: Robert Gibbs has begun the Counteroffensive blasting Richard Shelby over this, calling him a poster child for what is wrong with Washington Gibbs and Shelby:
Gibbs goes after Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) over news that he has put a hold on all of Obama's nominees out of home state concerns. "If you needed one example of what's wrong with this town," he says, "if that's not the poster child of how this town works ... it boggles the mind to hold up qualified nominees for positions that are needed because he didn't get two earmarks."
UPDATE II: Shelby Confirms
Sen. Shelby has placed holds on several pending nominees due to unaddressed national security concerns. Among his concerns is that nearly 10 years after the U.S. Air Force announced plans to replace the aging tanker fleet, we still do not have a transparent and fair acquisition process to move forward. The Department of Defense must recognize that the draft Request for Proposal needs to be significantly and substantively changed.
UPDATE III: WH Communications Director, Dan Pfeiffer says Shelby's playing with national security.
WH blasts Shelby playing with National security