Johanns: 'Appalling' for NLRB to ignore court ruling on appointees

By Pete Kasperowicz - 01/30/13 02:13 PM ET

Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) said Wednesday that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) should not be allowed to ignore a court ruling that two of its board members were appointed illegally, and said he could not imagine taking this position as a former Cabinet member.

"As a former member of the Cabinet, it never occurred to me that I had the right to ignore court decisions." he said on the Senate floor. "I can't imagine."

Johanns was President George W. Bush's Secretary of Agriculture.

"I find their action absolutely appalling," Johanns said. "Decisions by the NLRB are felt across the country. And it is not fair for the board to say to the court, go pound sand, which is exactly what they're telling this court."

Johanns was joined on the floor by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), all of whom reiterated their call for Sharon Block and Richard Griffin to resign from the NLRB. Last week an appeals court invalided one of the NLRB's rulings after finding that those board members were improperly appointed by President Obama last year at a time when the Senate was not in recess.

NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce responded by indicating that the Obama administration would appeal the decision, and he said the NLRB "respectfully disagrees" with the outcome.

While an appeal could be heard by the Supreme Court, Johanns said there is no way to read the most recent ruling without realizing that the two board members must go. He also reiterated that all NLRB decisions made with Block and Griffin's involvement should be overturned.

"I personally believe that there is no doubt: If they are not lawfully there, if they're there violating the Constitution, then all of their rulings, all of their regulations, all of their actions as a board are illegal and void," he said.

Johanns has asked the Government Accountability Office to send him a list of every decision the NLRB has made since Block and Griffin joined.

Alexander spoke Tuesday on the Senate floor and made a similar call for the two board members to resign.