Senate Nominates US Institute of Peace Board of Directors Member

The U.S. Capitol on Jan. 23, 2023. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

On Feb. 2, the Senate floor voted on the nomination of Joseph Lee Falk to be a member of the U.S. Institute of Peace Board of Directors.

The vote counted 60 yeas, 37 nays, and three abstentions. Two independents, 48 Democrats, and 10 Republicans voted yes. However, 37 Republicans voted no. Two other GOP senators and one Independent did not vote.

According to the White House, in his nominations sent to the Senate on Jan. 3 and Sept. 19, 2022., President Joe Biden nominated Falk to be a member of the U.S. Institute of Peace Board of Directors.

The United States Institute of Peace is a national organization formed by Congress to advance the belief that a world free of violent conflict is possible and essential for U.S. and world security.

On July 29, 2022, Biden announced major leaders who would serve under his administration, including Falk.

Falk, who lives in Miami, Florida, is a mortgage broker and a consultant for the Akerman legal firm. He is a former president and legislative chairman of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.

He is the author of the “Model State Statute Initiative for the Licensing and Education of All Originators,” which led to the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE) of 2008. The legislation requires a national licensing and registration system for mortgage loan originators (MLO) of residential mortgage loans.

Then-President Barack Obama appointed him as a J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board member.

The Fulbright Program offers participants selected for their academic merit and leadership potential the chance to study, teach, and carry out research, as well as exchange ideas and contribute to the solution of common international challenges. The grants are available for U.S. citizens to go overseas and for non-U.S. citizens with no permanent residency in the United States to visit the country.

Falk is also a board member of the Victory Fund, which supports LGBT candidates running for various offices in the United States.

He is a former chairman of SAVE, a Florida-based LGBT advocacy group. According to the group’s website, “SAVE is committed to promoting local, state, and federal policy change by building community consensus and supporting political leaders committed to ending LGBTQ discrimination.”

Falk will be a member of the U.S. Insitute of Peace Board of Directors for four years now that George Moose’s term has expired. Former President George W. Bush nominated Moose for the Peace Board of Directors in 2007.

The Epoch Times reached out for comment to different senators but did not receive a response by press time.