Ex-officials decry Senate's holds on State nominees
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Thursday, October 22, 2009
Nine former U.S. assistant secretaries of state have written to Senate leaders warning that U.S. relations with the Western hemisphere "are being damaged" because of a dispute that has blocked the confirmation of two key diplomatic appointees to the region.
The nine signatories served as assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere under Republican and Democratic presidents dating to 1976. While they noted that they had "not always agreed on policies," they said they believed that U.S. interests on matters including immigration, energy, trade and narcotics would suffer without an assistant secretary of state in place.
President Obama's nominee for the post, Georgetown University professor Arturo Valenzuela, has been blocked by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) in a protest over U.S. policy in Honduras.
In their letter to Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), the former officials said the inaction "sends a signal, however unwittingly, that the Senate does not consider our hemisphere an important priority."
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