Most of the time the stories that filter out of Capitol Hill are about partisanship and gridlock, like the Senate filibuster Monday against a federal judge nominated by President Obama. But on Tuesday, the House is poised to send President Obama a bill that would streamline the process for Executive Branch nominees.
The bill would end Senate confirmation proceedings for about 200 nominees, bringing the total down to about 1,000 overall.
The plan also includes an effort to cut down on the amount of paperwork needed for nominees - establishing the somewhat-bureaucratic-sounding "Working Group on Streamlining Paperwork for Executive Nominations."
Basically, the bill would set up a better e-document system for nominees to promote a faster and more effective process for the Legislative and Executive branches.
The Senate approved this bill over a year ago - now it is finally reaching the floor of the U.S. House.
Now as for all of the positions that would no longer have to be approved by the Senate - here's the list:
* Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Administration
* Rural Utilities Service Administrator
* Chief Scientists, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
* Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration
* Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs
* Members of the National Security Education Board
* Director of the Selective Service
* Assistant Secretary for Management, Department of Education
* Commissioner, Education Statistics
* Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services
* Assistant Administrator for Grant Programs at FEMA
* Administrator of the U.S. Fire Administration
* Homeland Security Department, Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement
* Chief Medical Officer at Homeland Security
* Assistant Secretaries for Health Affairs, Legislative Affairs & Public Affairs, Homeland Security
* Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Housing and Urban Development
* Justice Department, Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics
* Director of the National Institute of Justice, Justice Department
* Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Justice Department
* Director of the Office for Victims of Crime, Justice Department
* Assistant Secretaries for Administration and Public Affairs at the Department of Labor
* Director of the Women's Bureau, Department of Labor
* Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, State Department
* Assistant Secretary for Administration, State Department
* Deputy Administration, Federal Aviation Administration
* Treasury Department Assistant Secretaries for Public Affairs and Management
* Treasurer of the United States
* Veterans Affairs, Assistant Secretaries for Management, Human Resources and Administration, Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, and for Operations, Security and Preparedness
* Appalachian Regional Commission Co-Chairman
* Two members of the Council of Economic Advisors
* Corporation for National and Community Service Managing Director
* National Council on Disability members
* National Foundation on the Ars and the Humanities members
* Board members of the National Science Foundation
* Deputy Directors at the Office of National Drug Control Policy
* Office of Navajo and Hopi Relocation Commissioner
* U.S. Agency for International Development, Assistant Administrator for Management
* Administrator, Community Development Financial Institution Fund
* St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation Administrator
* Commissioner, Mississippi River Commission
* Governor & Alternate Governor of the African Development Bank
* Governor & Alternate Governor of the Asian Development Bank
* Governors & Alternate Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
* National Board for Education Sciences members
* Members of the National Institute for Literacy Advisory Board
* Board of Trustees of the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development
* Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects
* Public Health Service Commissioned Officer Corps
* National Oceanica and Atmospheric Commissioned Officer Corps
* Chief Financial Officer at NOAA
* Chief Financial Officer at NASA
