Grassley Escalates Holds on State Department Nominees Over Agency's Inadequate Responsiveness to Inquiries
WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is escalating his holds on State Department nominees over the State Department's continued failure to respond in a timely, reasonable manner to numerous inquiries beginning in June 2013. Grassley has added a hold on the nomination of Thomas A. Shannon, Jr., to be an Under Secretary of State (Political Affairs). Grassley maintains his hold on two other nominees and released his hold on 20 Foreign Service Officer nominees.
"The continued intransigence and lack of cooperation make it clear that the Department did not care enough about their Foreign Service Officer candidates to 'get in gear' and begin to produce responses to my oversight letters. Accordingly, I have released my hold on these officer candidates and have escalated to Mr. Shannon," Grassley said in his floor statement in placing the latest hold. "The Department of State's refusal to fully cooperate with my investigations is unacceptable. As I have noted before on the floor of the Senate, the Department continues to promise results but there has been very little or no follow-through. The Department's good faith will be measured in documents delivered and witnesses provided. ... the Department must recognize that it has an ongoing obligation to respond to Congressional inquiries in a timely and reasonable manner."
Grassley detailed the numerous inquiries he has made to the State Department since June 2013. The topics include the State Department's use of the Special Government Employee program and private email use that raises concern about the proper handling of classified information, as well as compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, which is the Judiciary Committee's exclusive jurisdiction in the Senate; federal archiving law compliance; and several State Department Inspector General and whistleblower reports that suggest that the State Department does not hold its own employees accountable for human trafficking and prostitution violations.
In addition to Shannon, Grassley maintains his holds on the nominations of Brian James Egan as Legal Adviser and David Malcolm Robinson to be assistant secretary for Conflict and Stabilization Operations and Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization.
Last week, the Senate confirmed 632 State Department nominees, a number vastly larger than the number subject to Grassley's holds.
Grassley's statement for the Senate record on his new hold is available here.
-30-
