By
Benny Polacca
Photo caption: The 7th Osage Nation Congress meets for its Hun-Kah Session. CODY HAMMER/Osage News
The Seventh Osage Nation Congress will consider several individuals for confirmation to serve on various boards during the 2021 Hun-Kah Session.
On April 12, Congressional Speaker Angela Pratt announced a list of individuals appointed by Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear to serve on respective boards for three-year terms. She said those individuals completed Congressional Office questionnaires seeking personal and professional background information as part of the vetting process.
The Congressional committees will receive the respective board appointee questionnaires for initial consideration of their resume/ professional information before those Congressional committees pass motions to refer the appointees to the 12-member Congress for confirmation votes. The individuals may also participate in interviews with the committees, which are conducting videoconference meetings throughout the session.
According to Pratt, the following individuals are appointees now being considered for board/ commission service:
– Justin Mays, Gaming Enterprise Board
– Julie O’Keefe, Foundation Board
– George Stabler, Traditional Cultural Advisors Committee
– Julie Malone, Gaming Enterprise Board
– Belle Wilson, Election Board
– Ladd Oldfield, ON Ranch Board
– Nancy Pillsbury-Shirley, Foundation Board
During the Congressional session, the individuals will be subject to initial consideration by respective Congressional committees, which will vote on further action including referring the appointed individual to the entire Congress. According to the Congressional rules: “Once reported (that the appointee is qualified by education and experience), any member of Congress may move during the ‘Motions’ portion of a Session for a nominee interview to be placed on an agenda, or alternatively may move for confirmation consideration of the nominee to be placed on an agenda. The motion is subject to amendment and requires an affirmative majority vote of the members present to pass. Should either of the motions fail, the motion may be reasserted any day until the day before the last regular day of Session.”
Also, according to the rules: “As provided in the Constitution, the Congress may decline to consider a nominee or a re-nomination by failing to move the nomination forward for consideration by the day before the last day of the regular session prior to which the nomination was made. If this occurs, the nomination is deemed rejected and the provisions of the constitution and laws regarding failure of the Congress to confirm an appointee apply.”
For more information on the Legislative Branch, filed legislative bills/ resolutions and committee meetings, visit: https://www.osagenation-nsn.gov/who-we-are/legislative-branch
Original Publish Date: 2021-04-15 00:00:00
