Senate leaves top DoD, VA nominations hanging

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Senate leaves top DoD, VA nominations hanging
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 24, 2009 11:02:09 EST

The Senate shut down for the holidays without acting on nominations for four key Pentagon posts and the top health care job at the Veterans Affairs Department.

Defense Department posts left in limbo by the Senate on Thursday include Clifford Stanley’s nomination to be undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and Erin Conaton’s nomination to be undersecretary of the Air Force.

Stanley is a retired Marine Corps major general who, if confirmed, will be the Obama administration’s point man on revising the military’s ban on open service by homosexuals. Conaton has been staff director of the House Armed Services Committee, closely allied with its chairman, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., a leading voice on national security policy for House Democrats.

Also left on the executive calendar of pending nominations that were approved by a committee, but not by the full Senate, is Frank Kendall III to become principal deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, and Terry Yonkers to become an assistant Air Force secretary.

The four defense nominees were approved Dec. 2 by the Senate Armed Services Committee.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/military_senate_nominations_122409w/