Floor Statements

Madam President, yesterday the Senate voted to confirm Kenneth Lee of California to serve as a U.S. circuit court judge for the Ninth Circuit. Yet another well-qualified nominee will now bring impressive legal experience and fine academic credentials to the job of upholding the rule of law as a Federal judge.

Mr. Lee is far from the only nominee to an important position whom the Senate confirmed this week.

On Tuesday we confirmed Michael Truncale of Texas to the Federal bench in the Eastern District of Texas, and today we will consider three more of the President's abundantly qualified picks to fill vacancies in the executive branch and in the judiciary.

First, we will vote on Wendy Vitter of Louisiana, who has been nominated to be a U.S. district court judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Ms. Vitter's impressive legal career includes experience in private practice and a decade in the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, where she handled more than 100 felony jury trials. Ms. Vitter has been favorably reported twice by our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee. I would urge every one of our colleagues to vote to confirm her today.

Following the Vitter nomination, we will turn to Brian Bulatao, nominated to serve as Under Secretary of State for Management. As I have mentioned, the job description is essentially that of chief operating officer at the State Department, ensuring that tens of thousands of diplomats, civil servants, and staff are provided for and a host of important missions around the world can actually be carried out.

Fortunately, we have a strong nominee who is up to the task. Mr. Bulatao is a graduate of West Point and Harvard Business School. After service in the Army, he founded a business and worked in financial management before entering public service as chief operating officer at the CIA.

In Chairman Risch's assessment, he is ``eminently qualified.'' Our colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee certainly agree, having favorably reported his nomination with no opposition.

It has been 11 long months since the Senate first received his nomination--11 months. I am glad that today we will finally be able to put partisan delay behind us and get the nominee confirmed.

Finally, the Senate will vote today on the nomination of Jeffrey Rosen to serve as Deputy Attorney General. As I have discussed earlier in the week, the President has chosen a nominee with a rock-solid legal reputation who served with distinction as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation and who would be a clear asset to the Department of Justice and to the Nation in this new capacity.

So I would urge my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm each of these three well-qualified nominees for Federal service.

Madam President, on another matter, this week I have been discussing the stark contrast between the remarkable opportunity economy that Republican policies have helped to unlock for the middle class and my Democratic colleagues' hard turn toward far-left ideas that would stifle all the progress. Our colleagues across the aisle, particularly over in the House, have given top billing to the legislation that would end Medicare as seniors know it, eliminate every private healthcare plan American families have chosen to meet their needs, and replace all of it--all of it--with a one-size-fits-all, government-run insurance system while piling heavy taxes on the middle class. And, of course, they have touted a proposal to drop an anvil--an anvil--on a high-speed U.S. economy and shove a host of new Federal rules between American citizens and their everyday life choices--all in the name of going ``green.''

Now, most of my colleagues across the aisle know full well what would happen if the supposed Green New Deal actually became reality. They know what winding down our affordable forms of domestic energy and the millions of jobs that support their production would do to a U.S. economy that is currently firing on all cylinders. They know what turning families' own choices about where to live, what to drive, and how to make a living into Washington, DC's official business would mean for the historic levels of job opportunities and the wage growth that we have seen over the past 2 years. All of that would come to a screeching halt.

Remember, our Democratic colleagues tried to claim this outlandish proposal--this truly outlandish proposal--was just a conversation starter from the farthest left fringes. But, then, push came to shove. Then, the

American people really saw the score because we brought the thing up for a vote. Right here on this floor we had the vote, and only 4 out of 47 Senate Democrats actually voted no. Only 4 of the 47 voted against this plan to bring our economy to a screeching halt. Forty-three of our Democratic colleagues couldn't bring themselves--couldn't bring themselves--to vote even against this--not even as Republican policies, taking the exact opposite approach, have helped the U.S. job market to drive unemployment lower than it has been in half a century--lower than it has been in half a century. They want to bring all of that to a screeching halt--not even as 19 different States have hit new record low State unemployment rates in just the year and a half since Republicans passed comprehensive tax reform.

Well, I have good news for the American people. This Republican majority is going to keep fighting for you. We will not let these far- left dreams get in the way of more progress for middle-class families.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 37.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 201.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 23.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 35.