Floor Statements

Mr. President, on one final subject, the Senate's thoughts this afternoon are with our former colleague, the previous Democratic leader, Senator Reid, who underwent surgery today for a pancreatic tumor. According to his family's statement, the procedure went well, and chemotherapy will follow in the days ahead.

So, Harry, let me say that we are all in your corner, and we wish you the very best in this fight.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 715.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; that no further motions be in order; and that any statements relating to the nomination be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session for a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m., Tuesday, May 15; further, 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. I further ask that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Carson nomination under the previous order. Finally, I ask that the Senate recess following disposition of the Nalbandian nomination until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Madam President, let me begin this morning with gratitude to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Overnight, he completed a sensitive diplomatic mission and returned home from North Korea with three freed American prisoners. The families of these three men, and the entire country, are so grateful.

This episode offers just one more example of the complex, relentless foreign policy challenges that confront our country. Clearly, America was fortunate that our new Secretary of State was prepared to execute his responsibilities from day one. Leadership and expertise matter.

Yesterday, our colleagues on the Intelligence Committee heard from another well-prepared leader, Gina Haspel--President Trump's selection to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Ms. Haspel's testimony showcased the judgment and poise that have defined her 33-year career of selfless service with the Agency. Her testimony confirmed what her gold standard resume and her bipartisan support from seasoned national security leaders had actually already told us: Gina Haspel has the experience, the talent, and the unique skill set to excel in this important job at this important moment.

Since 1985, she served the Nation in clandestine operations around the globe and rose to the highest levels of Agency leadership. True to the best traditions of intelligence professionals, numerous former Directors have lauded her qualifications, notwithstanding whether their service was for Democratic or Republican administrations. Her nomination carries the full-throated endorsement of 53 of our Nation's most respected national security leaders.

Today, more than ever, the value of Ms. Haspel's insights and experiences cannot be understated. Her career has encompassed both the Cold War and the ongoing Global War on Terror. In a moment when our national security demands excellence in each of these areas--great power competition and counterterrorism alike--Ms. Haspel stands uniquely ready to assume the responsibilities of CIA Director as perhaps its most qualified candidate in the Agency's history. As the Intelligence Committee continues its consideration, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this fine nominee. We will all sleep better at night knowing Gina Haspel is on the job.

Madam President, on another matter, today the Senate continues our work to confirm President Trump's well-qualified judicial nominees. Yesterday, we confirmed Kurt Engelhardt to the Fifth Circuit by a significant bipartisan margin.

The nominee now before us, Michael Brennan, is similarly qualified. His nomination carries bipartisan support from the people who know him best, including the endorsement of more than 30 current and former peers in Wisconsin. In the words of one such colleague, Mr. Brennan possesses ``the mind, heart, and soul of a great jurist.'' It is not too surprising, then, that the American Bar Association has awarded Mr. Brennan its highest rating, unanimously--unanimously--``well- qualified.''

I look forward to voting to confirm Mr. Brennan later today. Later, we will be voting to advance two more circuit court nominees: Joel Carson and John Nalbandian. Each possesses their own set of sterling qualifications, each comes recommended widely by those who have worked closely with them, and each deserves to be confirmed by this body and take their place on the Federal bench.

Our friends across the aisle aren't making it easy, but despite the historic obstruction, this Senate will continue to do what it takes to process and confirm the President's fine nominees for these important posts.

Madam President, on one final matter, later today, President Trump is visiting the great State

of Indiana. He is joining Hoosiers to celebrate the new jobs and prosperity our Republican agenda is delivering to communities in Indiana and all over the country. After years of Democratic policies that made life harder for job creators, the United States of America is officially open for business once again.

Surveys show that since President Trump and this Republican Congress were elected, the percentage of small and independent employers feeling confident about expanding their businesses has nearly tripled. The amount that employers spend on wages, salaries, and benefits for American workers grew more in 2017 than in any calendar year of the Obama administration. The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits is the lowest--the lowest--since 1973. Let me say that again. The number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits is the lowest it has been since 1973. Richard Nixon was in the White House back then. Republicans have focused like a laser on getting Washington out of the way. More job opportunities, higher pay, and greater prosperity are already reaching middle-class Americans.

My colleague Senator Young has been sharing some of the great news that awaits the President when he gets to Indiana. He has heard from constituents like Donald from Noblesville. Donald said:

I don't consider myself rich, but applying next year's tax

changes to this year's income, I'll pay over $1,000 less in

taxes next year. Everyone benefits with the new tax cuts.

A Bloomington resident named Cathy said this about her husband's tax reform bonus:

We have never had this happen. It was much appreciated.

First Farmers Bank & Trust is raising wages, writing employee bonus checks, and investing more in development for the communities it serves, with 34 branches all across Indiana.

There are stories like these being written all over the country-- largely because Republicans rolled back job-killing regulations and cut taxes significantly for working families and for small businesses.

Oddly, our Democratic colleagues can't bring themselves to admit this is a good thing. Even when the facts show our growing economy is making life better for middle-class Americans, they try to shrug off the facts and fall back on the same old class warfare rhetoric. Even when people like Donald and Cathy explain how tax reform is helping them, Democrats scoff at their household finances, saying multi-thousand-dollar tax cuts are just ``crumbs.''

Crumbs? Maybe in New York or San Francisco, but in Kentucky, where I come from, working families don't see their tax cuts, bonuses, and pay raises as crumbs. I have a hunch it is the same in Indiana.

It is curious that only one of Indiana's Senators voted to give Hoosiers these tax cuts and these new job opportunities. Indiana's senior Senator voted in lockstep with Democratic leaders to block tax reform from ever taking effect. Instead of working with Republicans and the President to keep the new prosperity coming, he and his colleagues have chosen to obstruct and resist on nearly every subject.

Just the other day, the Democratic leader in the House declared she plans to campaign on repealing the tax reform--that is, the Democratic leader in the U.S. House--campaign on repealing the tax reform. Tax cuts versus tax hikes, that is about as clear a contrast as you can imagine. Fortunately, for Hoosiers, Kentuckians, and all the other communities that are finally growing again after years of atrophy, Republicans will defend the American people's tax cuts and defend their new jobs.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture motions with respect to the Scudder and St. Eve nominations be withdrawn and that the Senate vote on the nominations in the order listed at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 14. I further ask that, if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action. I further ask that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the Senate vote on confirmation of the Carson nomination at 12 noon on Tuesday, May 15; that if cloture is invoked on the Nalbandian nomination, that confirmation vote occur immediately following the disposition of the Carson nomination; and that if either are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, this morning the world has learned that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on his way back from North Korea with three American prisoners after securing their release. Two were detained last year. One had been in captivity since 2015. Following successful discussions, all three are on their way back to the United States with our Secretary of State.

I am hopeful that by approaching our ongoing negotiations with clear eyes, we can build on this progress and pursue a verifiable agreement to dismantle North Korea's nuclear arms. The United States faces a number of threats around the world--from the ambitions of dissatisfied powers such as Iran, China, and Russia to terrorism, cyber attacks, and the proliferation of missiles. In every instance, we need valuable foreign intelligence to inform policymakers and help us protect the American people.

As we speak, our colleagues on the Intelligence Committee are hearing from one of President Trump's nominees to help us confront these challenges. Gina Haspel is a tremendous choice to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. She will bring more direct, hard-earned experience to the role of CIA Director than any leader in the Agency's history. Ms. Haspel is eminently qualified. She is widely esteemed. She is absolutely the right person at the right moment for this position.

First, there are her ample qualifications. Raised in a military family, Ms. Haspel had her sights set on attending West Point until she found out that women were not yet allowed to attend. It was the Army's loss, but my own alma mater, the University of Louisville, was happy to have her. With a knack for foreign languages and a drive ``to be part of something bigger than just me,'' she joined the CIA in 1985.

As a talented clandestine operations officer, Gina Haspel took on a variety of challenging assignments and rose through the ranks. She earned the George H.W. Bush Award for Excellence in Counterterrorism and eventually transferred to the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. Her first day in that role was September 11, 2001.

After this 33-year career, Ms. Haspel will not have to wonder what life is like for the men and women she will be leading. From clandestine missions overseas to the headquarters at Langley, she has lived it herself. It is not surprising that Ms. Haspel has received so much praise from across the political spectrum, including from those who have led the Agency before her. President Obama's former Director, John Brennan, calls her ``an exceptionally well-respected professional.''

President Bush's former Director, General Michael Hayden, said this: ``Her only goal is to live out the agency's mission. . . . [S]he is a wonderful choice.''

In a letter to our colleagues on the Intelligence Committee, a bipartisan group of 53 former national security leaders said her qualifications ``match or exceed those of most candidates put forward in the Agency's 70-year history.''

So Ms. Haspel's skill set is impressive, and it is an ideal match for the very strategic challenges that currently face our country. As Secretary Mattis made clear in his new National Defense Strategy, our Nation must be prepared for a new era of competition between powerful nations. ``We'll continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorists,'' he explained a few months ago, ``but great-power competition . . . is now the primary focus of U.S. national security.''

Ms. Haspel is the perfect candidate to lead the Central Intelligence Agency through both these challenges. Her lengthy and distinguished CIA service spans both the Cold War and the Global War on Terror. As a result, she has firsthand experience gathering foreign intelligence in an era of great-power competition and hard-won expertise in counterterrorism operations and analysis.

In short, her resume could hardly be better tailored for the specific challenges that our Nation faces at this

very moment. As CIA Director, Gina Haspel would help defend the homeland from terrorists and help secure America's position on the world stage.

This excellent nominee possesses the resume, the reputation, and the unique skill set to lead the CIA at this critical juncture. I am glad that my colleagues on the Senate Intelligence Committee have the opportunity to meet with her and thoroughly examine her credentials. I look forward to voting to confirm her soon here on the Senate floor.

Mr. President, on another matter, this week the Senate is in the midst of processing six--six--well qualified nominees for the Federal bench. We have voted to invoke cloture on the nomination of Judge Kurt Engelhardt, and today we will vote to confirm him.

Given his impressive qualifications, Judge Engelhardt's arrival on the bench will not come a moment too soon. Lawyers have described him as ``a wonderful judge'' with ``excellent legal ability'' who is ``very thoughtful and analytical.'' One said: ``[H]e would be great on the Fifth Circuit.''

After Judge Engelhardt, we will vote to advance the nomination of Michael Brennan of Wisconsin, another nominee who has earned the ABA's highest rating of unanimously--unanimously--``well qualified.'' Each nominee on the slate has been vetted by the Judiciary Committee, and each stands ready to serve as a diligent caretaker of the rule of law. Considering and confirming judicial nominations is one of the most important functions of the Senate. We will keep taking care of the people's business.

Mr. President, on one final matter, I wish to recognize a distinguished Kentuckian this morning: our longtime State historian, Dr. James Klotter. At the end of this semester, Jim will depart Georgetown College in Scott County, KY, for a well-earned retirement. Jim is a Kentucky native who has dedicated his entire professional life to preserving and appreciating the Commonwealth's history. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky and set out to examine a wide range of topics throughout our State's history.

As an author, coauthor, or editor, Jim has completed about 20 books, some of them with his wife and frequent collaborator Freda. He has worked to make Kentucky history accessible to students and readers of all ages. To quote Jim and his self-deprecating humor, ``Students can now be sick of Klotter at any level.''

Jim's scholarship has won local, State, and even international recognition. In 2016, the University of Kentucky Libraries honored him with the Medallion of Intellectual Achievement. On a personal note, I owe Jim a debt of thanks for all of his help as I prepared a series of historical speeches focusing on U.S. Senators from Kentucky. I recently finished the final speech in the series, and I couldn't have done it without Jim and his endless expertise.

Although Jim will soon retire from teaching, he will continue his research, his writing, and his service as State historian. I wish him well and look forward to all the great work that I am confident is yet to come.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, at 12 noon, on Thursday, May 10, all time be considered expired on the Brennan nomination and the Senate vote on confirmation with no intervening action or debate; further, that following disposition of the Brennan nomination, the Senate vote on cloture on Executive Calendar No. 729, the Carson nomination; further, that the cloture vote on Executive Calendar No. 777, the Nalbandian nomination, occur at 1:45 p.m.; and that if cloture is invoked on both nominations, debate time run concurrently. Finally, I ask that with respect to the Brennan nomination, if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.