A National Security form will ask whether nominees have had mental health problems, criminal records or if they have abused alcohol or drugs. It also covers all the places they have lived, worked, attended school and traveled aboard. Former Clinton cabinet member Alice Rivlin had to report where she had been in the summer of 1952. There is also a White House data questionnaire that deals with the appointees' medical history, lobbying, dealings with foreign governments, tax filings and any domestic help. That last question was added after two people President Clinton wanted for U.S. attorney general, Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood, watched their nominations derailed by questions about their nannies.
Critics wonder whether the questions added by each successive administration are necessary.
Brookings Institution scholar Stephen Hess agreed. Some nominations are held hostage by political disputes between the White House and Senate. Since Republicans took control of the Senate in 1995, there has been a constant feud over the sluggish confirmation pace for federal judges. Most who accept administration appointments now wait an average of nearly nine months for Senate confirmation, according to Mackenzie. Forty years ago, during the Kennedy administration, the average wait was just over two months.