Bush calls on Senate to confirm nominees

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush used his weekly radio address Saturday to call on the Senate to confirm his nominees for top government positions.

Bush criticized the Senate for delaying the appointment of more than 180 of his nominees for high-ranking federal positions, a White House-furnished transcript of his weekly radio address showed.

"More than 180 of my nominees are waiting for confirmation. Some have been waiting for more than a year," the Republican president said of the Democrat-controlled Senate's foot-dragging. "As a result, careers have been put on hold, families have been placed in limbo and our government has been deprived of the service of these fine nominees."

Several of Bush's nominees are for high-level posts with the Federal Reserve and the Federal Aviation Administration, two government departments Bush said could benefit from additional help.

Bush said such delays, including that of Judge Mark Filip as the Department of Justice's new deputy attorney general, are "irresponsible."

"These delays are irresponsible, they undermine the cause of justice, and I call on the United States Senate to give these nominees the up or down vote they deserve," the president said.