Lieberman: Seeking senate census naysayer

Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) wants to know who has a problem with the nomination of Dr. Robert Groves to be the next director of the Census Bureau.

"I'm troubled by it," he said, in an exclusive interview with FederalNewsRadio.

"It's not unusual for senators to put holds on nominees, but Dr. Groves is a very able nominee, with a strong academic background, and ready to run the census."

Last Thursday, Senate Republicans blocked a motion by Majority Leader Harry Reid to consider Groves' nomination by unanimous consent. By tradition, and under the Senate rules, any senator can anonymously place a hold on a nomination for any reason prior to a final vote.

"Sometimes these holds are placed for reasons totally unrelated to the nominee," said Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. His panel held confirmation hearings several weeks ago for Groves, and unanimously voted to send the nomination to the full Senate for final approval.

"I hope this is resolved quickly, because the clock is running, and the Census Bureau needs a director, and they need one as talented as this nominee."

Lieberman says he has yet to find out which among his colleagues has a problem with the Groves nomination.

"If there's something we can take care of, or the nominee can answer, we'll try to mediate that. If it's not that, I hope that person will make their needs known to the Senate leadership."

Lieberman went on to say, "Generally, I don't like the idea of holds, especially for unrelated reasons. Even if there are concerns about Dr. Groves, bring it out into the sunshine. Let's take it up on the floor. If you have a concern, make your case, and then let's vote."

Last year, senior senators from both parties proposed to ban anonymous holds in the U.S. Senate. The idea has so far failed to gain much support in the upper chamber of Congress.

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On the Web:

Government Executive - GOP stalls confirmation of Census nominee

FederalNewsRadio - Obama's pick for census director moves ahead

FederalNewsRadio - Census nominee: blunt response to mixing politics and the count

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