Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 324 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Hatch substitute amendment be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 240, S. 886.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Daines substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 234, S. 906.

Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendment be withdrawn, the McCaskill substitute amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 1153 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I further 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 with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 1266 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

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 Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 328, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble 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 unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 329, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble 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 unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 330, submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 4 p.m. on Monday, November 13; 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; further, that following leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Kan nomination; finally, that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the cloture motions filed during today's session ripen following the disposition of the Kan nomination.

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.

Mr. President, the Republican Senate is continuing its important work on behalf of the American people. We are moving forward on legislative priorities that will benefit hard-working families throughout the country. We are also continuing to confirm President Trump's nominees throughout the Federal Government.

Last week, we continued our momentum with the confirmation of well- qualified and talented individuals to serve in the Federal judiciary. This week, the Senate is considering multiple nominations to important agencies. Yesterday, we confirmed officials to the Department of Defense and to the Department of Justice. Soon, they will get to work for the American people.

Next, the Senate will vote to confirm Peter Robb as the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. As I said yesterday, Mr. Robb's experience in employment law will help return the NLRB to its role as an impartial arbiter of labor disputes instead of a political cudgel for union bosses and leftwing special interests, as it was under the Obama administration.

We will then turn to another qualified individual who will help undo some of the damage of the Obama administration. William Wehrum, President Trump's nominee to be the Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, will put his experience to good use for our Nation.

The Office of Air and Radiation is one of the most important parts of the EPA. Unfortunately, under the previous administration, it was also one of the offices with the most significant overreach. This one office was responsible for 95 percent of the annual regulatory burdens that the EPA forced onto our economy, according to one report, reportedly costing the economy at least $41 billion--this one Agency.

So this is an office in desperate need of new leadership from an individual who understands how to implement clean air policies in a balanced way rather than with extreme regulatory overreach. Mr. Wehrum is the right person for the job. With more than three decades of experience in environmental policy, he understands the issues before the EPA and how to address them. He even worked in this particular office before serving as Acting Administrator from 2005 to 2007.

Mr. Wehrum has earned support from many different corners. His former boss at the EPA, Jeff Holmstead, said that ``there is no better person'' to fill this position. The EPA's Deputy Administrator from 2005 to 2009, Marcus Peacock, said that ``Wehrum's understanding of the Clean Air Act may be second to none.'' Even the Natural Resources Defense Council--not exactly a rightwing organization--had this to say about this nominee's previous experience at the EPA, noting that he ``achieve[d] important air pollution reductions.''

``Wehrum, Holmstead, and the Bush EPA,'' the NRDC further wrote, ``deserve credit for these substantial public health and air quality achievements.''

Nominees like Mr. Wehrum will continue the work of this EPA to undo the damage of the Obama administration's overreach in a reasonable manner. For instance, Obama's Office of Air and Radiation was responsible for the administration's dubious energy regulatory scheme, which threatened to punish coal families and ship middle-class jobs overseas.

When Administrator Scott Pruitt came to Kentucky last month, he announced the official withdrawal of that rule. Unlike the previous leadership of the EPA, Administrator Pruitt actually cared enough to come to my home State and hear directly from the men and women impacted by the Agency's regulations. He is someone who will work with us to protect our environment and save Kentucky families from harmful regulations. Mr. Wehrum will work with Administrator Pruitt to help continue this trend at the EPA. I look forward to the Senate advancing his nomination.

Now on another matter, Mr. President, Members of the Senate are continuing to work hard to deliver much needed tax reform for families and small businesses. Yesterday, Senators, members of the administration, and tax reform advocates met here in the Capitol to discuss a mutual vision for relief. They shared the goals of simplicity, fairness, and economic growth. These are the same goals I have, they are the same goals the House wrote into its legislation, they are the same goals the President asked us to consider, and most importantly, they are the goals shared by many Americans across the political spectrum. So we are working together to get this done.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and it will help us create jobs and boost the economy, while closing special interest loopholes at the same time. We can do all of this through tax reform.

Today, the House Ways and Means Committee will continue to mark up its legislative proposal. I would like to once again commend Chairman Brady for his good work on the House plan. The hearings this week are building momentum to accomplish our goals for the American people.

Soon, the Senate Finance Committee, under the leadership of Senator Hatch, will release its own plan for tax reform. Working through an open committee process, the committee will ultimately bring tax reform legislation to the floor. I am exceedingly grateful to Chairman Hatch for his continued leadership of the Finance Committee.

As we continue to advance tax reform, I would urge our Democratic colleagues to join us. In recent years, many prominent Democrats have expressed support for tax reform. Since then, the need for tax reform hasn't changed at all. The American people haven't stopped hurting either. The only thing that changed was the President. So I hope our colleagues will put partisanship aside and work with us in a serious way to help us deliver real relief to families. I hope they will help us take more money out of Washington's pockets and put more money in the pockets of the middle class. That is the aim of this tax reform effort, and we are going to keep working until we accomplish it.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, at 3:45 p.m. today there be 30 minutes of postcloture time remaining on the Robb nomination, equally divided between the leaders or their designees; that following the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate vote on the confirmation of the Robb nomination; and that 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; finally, that there be 2 minutes of debate equally divided prior to the cloture vote on the Wehrum nomination.