Expect a New Chairman and Five Member CPSC Next Week
Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced on the Senate Floor (video clip below) that the Senate will consider and vote on the nominations of Elliot Kaye and Joe Mohorovic on Monday, July 28th. President Obama nominated Kaye to serve as the next Chairman and as a Commissioner of the CPSC in March and Mohorovic to serve as a Commissioner last November. Regarding the confirmation votes, Senator Reid stated:
I ask unanimous consent that . . . at a time to be determined by me, in consultation with Senator McConnell, on Monday July 28, the Senate consider [Executive] Calendar Nos. 915, Kaye; 916, Kaye; 913, Mohorovic . . . that there be 2 minutes for debate equally divided between the two leaders or their designees prior to each vote; that upon the use of yielding back of time the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nominations.
In other words, the Senate will quickly consider and vote on Kaye to serve as both a Commissioner and the Chairman and Mohorovic to serve as a Commissioner. The vote is scheduled for 5:30pm on Monday -- just a few days before the August recess.
Notably missing from this announcement is Acting Chairman Bob Adler, who the President renominated in May to serve a second term as a CPSC Commissioner. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved all three nominations on July 15, 2014. Although the current confirmation package does not include Adler, his term does not expire until late October and he can hold over until October 2015.
While no one know what may happen with Adler’s nomination after the August recess, it looks like the CPSC will have a new Chairman and be back up to five Commissioners starting early next week.