Boyle Not Voted Favorably out of Committee but Nomination Stays Alive

Mary Boyle's nomination to be a CPSC commissioner remains alive despite a 14-14 party-line committee vote March 3. The tie means the Senate Commerce Committee will not report her nomination favorably.However, under Senate Resolution 27 of 2021, her nomination is eligible for full Senate consideration.

According to the resolution (bit.ly/3KvEjTl), the committee will report the tie, and then a full Senate vote might occur under some parliamentary machinations:

"[A]fter such notice of a tie vote has been transmitted, the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader may, only after consultation with the Chairman and Ranking Member of the committee, make a motion to discharge such measure or matter, and time for debate on such motion shall be limited to 4 hours, to be equally divided between the two Leaders or their designees, with no other motions, points of order, or amendments in order: Provided, That following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote on the motion to discharge, without any intervening action, motion, or debate, and if agreed to, the measure or matter be placed immediately on the appropriate Calendar."

Committee ranking member Roger Wicker (R-Miss) reiterated Republicans' concerns (PSL, 10/25/21) about her roles, as CPSC executive director, in the 2019 revelation of unauthorized release of information protected by 6(b) and in the early 2020 decision to pull agency staff temporarily from the ports to protect their health due to the pandemic.

President Joe Biden nominated Boyle in mid-2021 (PSL, 7/12/21) with resubmission in January (PSL, 1/10/22), a technicality prompted by the start of a new Congress.