Commentary: Today, for the second time this year, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a longtime advocate for Senate reform, made an official request on the Senate floor for a vote on Roberta Jacobson's long-stalled nomination to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) objected on behalf of himself and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), meaning Udall's request was blocked.
Jacobson's nomination has been on hold for almost seven months in large part due to a few senators' objections to her role in the Obama administration's Cuba policy. A career State Department official, Jacobson helped carry out President Obama's initiative to re-open relations with Cuba. In a speech on the Senate floor following his request for a vote, Udall said that without an ambassador in place, the indispensable relationship we share with our southern neighbors may stall at a time when our mutual economic, security, and cultural interests require our bond to be stronger than ever.
“What we need now is an up or down vote. And once again, we fail to get one,” Udall said after Risch objected to his request. “It’s hard to explain this dysfunction when I talk to my constituents in New Mexico. They don’t understand this kind of dysfunction. They don’t understand it, neither do I frankly. We are a border state, this is a critical position. It’s critical to our security, it’s critical to our economy.”
Udall spoke on the floor just a few hours after joining Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Martin Heinrich (D–N.M.), and United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Javier Palomarez at a bipartisan press conference on the U.S. Capitol grounds to urge action on Jacobson's confirmation.
Udall said the obstruction of Jacobson's confirmation — a qualified nominee with bipartisan support — parallels Senate Republicans’ refusal to consider the president’s expected nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, which he called "just another example of how our democracy is being taken away from the people.”
But it is only the latest example of how the Senate is broken, he added: “I pushed for reform of the Senate rules in the last two Congresses. And we did change the rules to allow majority votes for executive and judicial nominees to the lower courts. But that does no good if they remain blocked, and that is what is happening in this Congress. This line gets longer and longer of perfectly qualified nominees denied a vote, denied an opportunity to be heard.”
“Just when you think things can’t get any worse, they do,” Udall continued. “Now a seat on the Supreme Court is empty, and the Majority Leader is actually arguing that it should stay empty for over a year, no matter who is nominated by the president. This isn’t governing — this is a failure to do one’s job.”
“Is it any wonder that the American people are frustrated? Fed up with political games, with obstruction in the Senate, with special deals for insiders and campaigns that are being sold to the highest bidder?”
In his speech, Udall also discussed several steps that Congress can take to fix dysfunction in Congress and restore power to the voters, including overturning Citizens United, reforming congressional redistricting and replacing the Federal Election Commission with a new watchdog empowered to enforce campaign finance laws,a proposal he introduced earlier this week.
Below are Udall's remarks as prepared for delivery:
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to Executive Session to consider the following nomination: Calendar No. 365, that the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
Mr. President, my good friend, Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona, appeared earlier and also spoke on the issue that I’m going to speak about today. That issue is the ambassadorship to Mexico and the woman who has been nominated by President Obama, Roberta Jacobson. Senator Flake made a very strong case. It has been a pleasure working with him on this in a bipartisan way. We believe this nomination has really strong bipartisan support, and we look forward to working together to get this to the floor and get an up or down vote.
I rise, once again, to urge support for Roberta Jacobson. She is a dedicated public servant. She is more than ready to be our ambassador to Mexico. The LA Times has called Roberta Jacobson “among the most qualified people ever to be tapped to represent the U.S. in Mexico.”
We have a distinguished candidate, a career member of the senior executive service ready to serve. We have strong support for her on both sides of the aisle. What we need is an up or down vote, and once again, we fail to get one. It’s hard to explain this dysfunction when I talk to my constituents in New Mexico. They don’t understand this kind of dysfunction. They don’t understand it, neither do I frankly. We are a border state, this is a critical position. It’s critical to our security, it’s critical to our economy.
Earlier today, Senators Flake, Klobuchar, Heinrich and I met with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce about the urgent need to confirm this nomination. Our business leaders in New Mexico, Arizona — and every other state in our country — are telling us they need an ambassador in Mexico City.
We have ongoing border-related business issues that need attention. From time to time we will call on the Mexican government to take some action, to work with us on coordinating with ports of entry, infrastructure, and other important issues. We are at a disadvantage without an advocate for America in Mexico City. It’s very frustrating, and this is not the first time we’ve faced this kind of dysfunction.
I pushed for reform of the Senate rules in the last two Congresses. And we did change the rules to allow majority votes for executive and judicial nominees to the lower courts. But that does no good if they remain blocked, and that is what is happening in this Congress. This line gets longer and longer of perfectly qualified nominees denied a vote, denied an opportunity to be heard.
Roberta Jacobson was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee months ago with bipartisan support. Yet the weeks go by, and still we wait. What is holding up her nomination? It isn’t her qualifications, that isn’t the problem. A big part of the problem is presidential politics — and policy differences with the administration over her work with Cuba.
This year, we re-opened diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. As the Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roberta helped negotiate on behalf of the administration.
After over 50 years of a failed policy towards Cuba, we have opened a 21st century relationship with the people of Cuba. One that is already seeing change as more Cubans enter the private sector. And more Americans, who are our best diplomats, continue to increase their engagement with the Cuban people. I congratulate the president for leading this historic change.
Some disagree. I understand that. But their objection is with the president’s Cuba policy. We are talking about Mexico, and an important position that has been unfilled since last summer. Because a few senators would rather return to the failed policies of yesterday and are using Roberta to make that political point.
Now a seat on the Supreme Court is empty, and the Majority Leader is actually arguing that it should stay empty for over a year, no matter who is nominated by the president. This isn’t governing — this is a failure to do one’s job.
Is it any wonder that the American people are frustrated? Fed up with political games, with obstruction in the Senate, with special deals for insiders and campaigns that are being sold to the highest bidder? They see this obstruction as just another example of how our democracy is being taken away from the people.
Mr. President, each year we have a Student Leadership Institute in my state. High school juniors and seniors attend. To learn about and discuss the challenges affecting our state and nation. I always look forward to meeting with these bright young people. They are smart and committed. And they raise thoughtful points about how government works — and how sometimes it doesn’t work.
One thing we talked about this year was how important it is to listen. That is one of the most underrated virtues — especially in politics — stating your views but also listening to others. I am always optimistic when I see students engaged in that process. I only wish we could see more of it in Washington.
The art of politics is standing your ground — but also finding common ground, and listening to the American people. Our democracy depends on every voice being heard and on every vote being counted. We are losing that. We have to get it back or we will continue to pay a heavy price because we can be sure of one thing: beyond all the money, beyond all the special interests, these students — and all Americans — deserve to be heard. They deserve a democracy that works.
Campaigns should be about the best ideas — not the biggest checkbooks or rigged districts.
The U.S. Supreme Court created a Wild West of campaign finance regulations with their decision in Citizens United and 2014’s McCutcheon decision. They opened up a fire sale of Super PACs trying to buy elections nationwide.
We are seeing the results, from the Iowa caucuses to local elections in Las Cruces, New Mexico. We need to overturn those bad decisions. That’s why I’ve led efforts to amend the Constitution, to restore power to Congress — and to the states — to pass common-sense campaign finance laws.
We need to listen to the voters — not to billionaires hiding in dark corners. That is why earlier this week, I introduced legislation to abolish the broken Federal Election Commission.
Congress created the Federal Election Commission to fight political corruption after Watergate. But today, partisan gridlock leaves the agency powerless and dysfunctional. It fails to even enforce the few campaign finance laws remaining on the books.
The Federal Election Administration Act would create a new agency with five members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. A chair would lead the agency and the remaining members would equally represent both political parties. It is modeled after a bipartisan proposal previously introduced by Senator John McCain and former Senator Russ Feingold.
Super Tuesday was just two days ago. Once again, we are seeing record spending — including millions of dollars in undisclosed dark money. Without a strong watchdog looking over their shoulders, Super PACs and billionaire donors have free rein to push the limits.
It’s clear that the FEC has outlived its usefulness. We need a new agency, one with the power and the will to crack down on campaign finance violations.
Mr. President, the Supreme Court has put billionaires and other special interests on a galloping horse. They are running away with our democracy, running away with our elections.
We have created a dark money, special interest, gerrymandered train wreck. And the losers are the American people.
That’s why I have also introduced the Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act, because part of that train wreck is the secretive and highly partisan congressional redistricting process, and we need to end it.
The president highlighted this issue in his State of the Union address, saying “We've got to end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters and not the other way around.”
In most states today, congressional maps are drawn behind closed doors by partisan lawmakers. Their aim is to keep incumbents in office. And they do. Pick almost any district in the country, and you’ll see that almost every one is skewed to favor one party or the other.
We can end the gerrymandered status quo. Redistricting commissions should be independent. They should be led by citizens — not politicians. Arizona and California voted for reform, and they’re already bringing new faces to Congress.
The American people deserve fair elections. Elections that are free of unlimited and hidden special interest money and free of rigged district lines.
Next year, I will meet again with students in my state. We will talk about leadership, about challenges, and about how government works. I hope that I will be able to say to them we have moved forward, we have reformed a broken system.
I hope that I can say to them: We have done our job and made sure that voters, not powerful elites, have their say.