Oct 30, 2013 - Archuleta OPM nomination moves after unprecedented cloture vote, Groups extremely disappointed with 18 Senators who voted no

Archuleta OPM nomination moves after unprecedented cloture vote, Groups extremely disappointed with 18 Senators who voted no

WASHINGTON, DC—The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA)—the coalition of 36 preeminent national Latino organizations in the country—released the following statement on today’s unprecedented Senate vote to invoke cloture and the pending confirmation vote on the nomination of Ms. Katherine Archuleta to be the Director of the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

The coalition issued a letter and press statement yesterday informing Senators that any and all votes on Katherine Archuleta would be scored in NHLA's Score Card on the 113th Congress. In advance of the Senate’s final vote on Archuleta’s confirmation, Hector Sanchez, Chair of the NHLA and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement issued the following statement:

“The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) applauds and thanks the 81 United States Senators that voted YES today to cut off debate (motion to invoke cloture) and move Ms. Archuleta’s nomination forward. As an NHLA-endorsed nominee, Ms. Archuleta has gained our respect and confidence. With a highly commendable history of over 30 years in public service to our nation through various positions in local and federal government, as well as in non-profit leadership roles, we know she will bring to OPM a deep passion for public good.

It is NHLA’s intent to score both the cloture vote, and any final confirmation vote, in our NHLA Congressional Scorecard on the 113th Congress. The NHLA Congressional Scorecard rates members of Congress on votes taken in the House and Senate that our membership deems important to the social, economic, and political advancement and quality of life of Hispanic Americans.

It remains disturbing to our coalition that for the first time since its creation in 1978, a few anonymous holds placed on Ms. Archuleta’s nomination forced a vote to invoke cloture just to move her nomination forward to the Senate floor and offer her the vote she deserves. Even more disturbing is the fact that 18 United States Senators voted NO in opposition to moving her nomination forward. Several of these Senators voting NO represent states with very large Latino populations and tens of thousands of federal employees.

Following are the 18 Senators who voted NO on cloture and their Twitter handles:

Ayotte (NH) -- @KellyAyotte
Barrasso (WY) -- @SenJohnBarrasso
Boozman (AR) -- @JohnBoozman
Burr (NC) -- @SenatorBurr
Coburn (OK) -- @TomCoburn
Cornyn (TX) -- @JohnCornyn
Cruz (TX) -- @SenTedCruz
Enzi (WY) -- @SenatorEnzi
Graham (SC) -- @GrahamBlog
Heller (NV) -- @SenDeanHeller
Johnson (WI) -- @SenRonJohnson
Lee (UT) -- @SenMikeLee
McConnell (KY) -- @McConnellPress
Moran (KS) -- @JerryMoran
Risch (ID) -- @SenatorRisch
Roberts (KS) -- @SenPatRoberts
Rubio (FL) -- @SenRubioPress
Vitter (LA) -- @DavidVitter

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda urges the U.S. Senate to confirm Ms. Archuleta quickly so that she may begin the important work of leading the nation’s agency tasked with building an effective world-class Federal civilian work force helping serve the American people.

This is a historic nomination for the Latino community. Ms. Archuleta would be the first Latina to ever head OPM and the highest-ranking Latina appointee to head a federal department.”

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Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole.

In January, the coalition launched its new Latino Appointments Program to identify and support junior to Cabinet-level Latino candidates pursuing presidential and state-level appointments. For more information, please visit www.latinoappointments.org and follow @NHLAgenda.