Amid Partisan Standoff, Bush Submits 3 Nominees to Election Commission [View All]

[maddezmom]

Source: NYT

By MICHAEL LUO
Published: May 7, 2008
President Bush on Tuesday submitted three new nominees to the Federal Election Commission, a move that could help end a political impasse that has left the agency paralyzed in the midst of a heated presidential campaign.

The regulatory agency, which monitors compliance with federal election laws, for months has had only two commissioners out of a usual complement of six, leaving it without a quorum and powerless to act on complaints, issue advisory opinions and police the record spending in this year’s presidential campaign.

The standoff centered on objections by Senate Democrats to the nomination of Hans von Spakovsky, a former Justice Department official. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans demanded that Mr. Spakovsky be voted on in a package with other nominees, something Democrats refused to do.

The White House declined on Tuesday to withdraw Mr. Spakovsky’s nomination, but a spokeswoman, Emily Lawrimore, said Republican officials were now willing to allow each of the nominees to be voted upon separately.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/washington/07fec.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss