Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 631, S. 3554.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 3321 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I further ask that the Coons substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; the bill as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; the title amendment at the desk be agreed to; and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the message to accompany S. 2152.

I move to concur in the House amendment, and I ask unanimous consent that the motion be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

I now ask for a second reading. In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the upcoming adjournment of the Senate, the President of the Senate, the President pro tempore, and the majority and minority leaders be authorized to make appointments to commissions, committees, boards, conferences, or interparliamentary conferences authorized by law, by concurrent action of the two Houses or by order of the Senate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that H.R. 3460 be discharged from the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and be referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn to then convene for pro forma sessions only, with no business being conducted on the following dates and times and that following each pro forma session, the Senate adjourn until the next pro forma session: Friday November 16, at 3 p.m., Tuesday, November 20, at 10 a.m., and Friday November 23, at 12 noon. I further ask that when the Senate adjourns on Friday November 23, it next convene at 3 p.m. Monday, November 26, and that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Vaden nomination, with the time until 5:30 p.m. equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; finally, that the cloture motions filed during today's session of the Senate ripen at 5:30 p.m., Monday, November 26.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the provisions of S. Res. 700 and do so as a further mark of respect for the late Walter ``Dee'' Huddleston, former Senator from the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Thereupon, the Senate, at 5:32 p.m., adjourned until Friday, November 16, 2018, at 3 p.m.

Mr. President, we continue to welcome our new Senators-elect, who are in town this week for orientation meetings and votes on party leadership. Yesterday evening, the Democratic leader and I had the honor of toasting our future colleagues at our traditional bipartisan welcome dinner.

It is quite a distinguished group. Some of our new colleagues are talented legislators who will simply be relocating from the other side of the Capitol. Some are coming to the Senate as private citizens who have built successful careers outside the world of politics. Some have already served as statewide elected officials and are coming to Washington for the first time.

It is our pleasure to welcome these future Senators and congratulate all of them.

Mr. President, speaking of looking ahead, just a few hours ago our Republican conference came together and chose the leadership team that will serve for the 116th Congress.

Our Republican leadership team will feature faces both new and familiar. We are looking forward to earning our colleagues' trust and working as hard as we can to seize the opportunities that will lie before us this coming Congress.

It is my honor to have been asked by my colleagues to continue serving as leader. I can honestly say that not a day goes by when I am not humbled and honored by this opportunity to serve my colleagues, the institution of the Senate, and our incredible country in whatever measure I am capable.

I know my friend the Democratic leader feels much the same. I want to congratulate him on his election as leader once again. I look forward to working with him and his colleagues to move the ball and to make bipartisan progress for the American people.

Mr. President, now, on to the work that is currently before us: We voted yesterday to advance important legislation that will preserve our national security, ensure our readiness, and expand economic opportunity. The bill before us to reauthorize the Coast Guard funding will ensure that the brave men and women who put themselves in harm's way every single day have access to the resources they need.

America calls on our Coast Guard to protect our ports, to protect our coasts, to safeguard the shipping lanes that enable American commerce, to stem the tide of illegal drugs before they reach our shores, and to brave even the fiercest natural disasters that save American lives. They always answer the call. They are always ready. So it is our obligation as a Congress to keep the Coast Guard authorized and adequately resourced to do the job.

When we pass the legislation before us, we will do just that, and we will do even more because this bill also includes important reforms that will streamline needlessly complicated government regulations and help communities and small businesses harness the great resource that is America's waterways.

In my home State of Kentucky alone, we have 1,900-plus miles of navigable waterways. They support 13,000 jobs. This bill includes a major victory for those Kentuckians and for Americans in a number of other States.

The Vessel Incidental Discharge Act will unwind the confusing, redundant tangle of rules and regulations that States, the EPA, and the Coast Guard have all piled on to vessel owners and barge operators who are, frankly, just trying to make a living. With this legislation, that tangled mess will go away. It will be replaced by a single, efficient, and uniform standard, which the Coast Guard will enforce. It is a commonsense step, and it is something that has been thoroughly bipartisan.

This legislation passed the Commerce Committee on a voice vote. It has actually been reported out several different times, including when the Senate was controlled by Democrats. So I look forward to delivering these important measures for the Coast Guard, for Kentuckians, and for many more Americans when we pass this legislation later today.

Mr. President, we will also vote to advance the nomination of Michelle Bowman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board. Ms. Bowman brings experience as a community banker and as a banking regulator, currently serving as the State Banking Commissioner of Kansas. Her nomination comes before us in a year when the Senate has taken substantive legislative action on behalf of America's community banks and the communities they serve.

As we were reminded when we passed bipartisan reforms to Dodd-Frank a few months ago, smaller lenders provide more than 50 percent of small business loans and nearly 80 percent of agricultural loans nationwide. So it is as important now as ever that these institutions and their needs are represented on the Federal Reserve Board.

By any standard, Ms. Bowman is very well prepared to serve in a seat designated specifically for an expert on community banking. So I urge each of my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm another of the President's well-qualified nominees for Federal service.

I object.

Mr. President, I would like to begin by recognizing the brave fire and rescue personnel who are working around the clock to stop the spread of fires in California. I know all of our colleagues join me in remembering the more than 40 people who have lost their lives to the blaze, in sympathy for their families and in prayer for all of those whose homes, lives, and livelihoods have been thrown into chaos by this disaster.

As these communities begin the task of rebuilding, Americans everywhere will stand with them.

Mr. President, on an entirely different matter, this is an exciting week for the Senate. For one thing, we are beginning to welcome several new Members to our ranks. They may not be sworn in until January, but these new Senators-elect are already arriving in town for orientation events and to vote in their party's leadership elections.

I know I speak for all of my colleagues in issuing each of our future colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, our hearty congratulations and a warm welcome. We are looking forward to working with all of these new colleagues.