Floor Statements

Mr. President, for the information of all of our colleagues, including our newest colleague from Alabama, who is going to have a very long first day here, if all time is used postcloture on the Price nomination, the Senate will have two votes at 2 a.m. Senators should be prepared to stay in session and take those votes tonight. If an agreement is reached to yield back time and to cast those votes earlier, we will notify Members the moment such an agreement might be reached.

I thank my friend from Maryland.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote on the nomination.

I move to table the motion to reconsider.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived.

Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, the Senate will debate the Mnuchin nomination tomorrow. The next series of votes will occur on Monday at around 7 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, following leader remarks on Monday February 13, there be up to 7 hours of debate remaining on the Mnuchin nomination; and that following the disposition of the Mnuchin nomination, the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 17, David Shulkin to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs. I further ask unanimous consent that there be 10 minutes of debate on the nomination, equally divided in the usual form, and that following the use or yielding back of time, 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; 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; finally, that following leader remarks on Tuesday, February 14, the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 10, Linda McMahon to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration. I further ask unanimous consent that the time until 11 a.m. be equally divided in the usual form; and that following the use or yielding back of time, 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, the next vote will be the last vote of the evening, and we will be back voting Monday night.

Mr. President, I would like to begin this morning by directing some remarks to the Chair. I would like to recognize an important milestone of his, but let me start off this way.

The President pro tempore is something of a legend in the Beehive State. He is a published author. He has gold and platinum albums hanging on the wall, and he is a great fighter for his home State.

It is not hard to see why Utahns keep sending him back. It is not hard to see why they chose to make him the longest serving Senator in Utah history.

Senator Hatch has come a long way from the grinding poverty of his childhood, and just recently, he passed yet another significant milestone. He became the longest serving Republican Senator in American history. Now, that is impressive.

Yet, given what we all know about our colleague, it isn't all that surprising. Senator Hatch is almost always in the mix on the most consequential issues of the day. He has been a leading voice on everything from labor law to judicial nominations, religious freedom to tax reform. This expansive policy expertise helps explain why his colleagues chose him to serve as chairman of three major committees: HELP, Judiciary, and today the powerful Finance Committee.

Senator Hatch remains as much of a key player as ever in advancing the Senate's agenda. His guidance will be crucial as we continue to move forward with repealing and replacing ObamaCare, as we turn to tax reform, and as we consider the President's Supreme Court nominee.

The tasks before us are as diverse as they are challenging, but I know our colleague from Utah is up to the charge.

The man known as ``Honest Orrin'' is one of the kindest and most gracious guys you will ever meet. He is a man of deep faith and principled conviction.

But Senator Hatch is anything but a pushover. He is a fighter for Utah and for the Nation. He is a proud conservative. He has simply learned the art of disagreeing--sometimes strongly--without being disagreeable. That is how you build friendships with both Robert Bork and Ted Kennedy. That is how you establish yourself as one of the most productive legislators in modern history, as Senator Hatch has.

He isn't slowing down any time soon. He is actually getting more done than ever. He just passed dozens of bills out of the Senate last Congress, and many of them became law. Now our friend, the Finance Committee chairman, is in a unique position to continue having an impact on a range of issues, and I am sure he will.

I hope he still finds some time to keep up with his songwriting career. You should listen to his stuff. It is good. He has penned everything from a love song on the ``Ocean's Twelve'' soundtrack to his world-famous Hanukkah song. Senator Hatch would want me to remind you that it ranked somewhere between the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga on the hit charts. ``Everyone,'' he says, ``loves my music''--everyone.

You have to admire that confidence.

We look forward to seeing the great things he will be able to achieve for Utahns, for the country, and for the music industry in the years to come.

It has been my distinct privilege to recognize our colleague in the Chair today. I would ask colleagues to join with Senator Hatch's family--his wife of nearly 60 years, Elaine, their 6 children, 23 grandchildren, and 19 great grandchildren--in marking this important milestone.

Mr. President, it was great to see our now-former colleague, Senator Sessions, confirmed as the Nation's 84th Attorney General yesterday. We all had to watch as he was subjected to a terrible campaign of unfair and deeply personal attacks. He endured it all with grace, though, and with the same considerable dignity, respect, and courtesy we have long

known Senator Sessions for. We are going to miss him in the Senate, but we couldn't be more proud of him as he begins this new position.

Mr. President, of course the departure of one Senator typically heralds the arrival of a new one. Today is no different. I hope colleagues will join me in welcoming Alabama's newest Senator later today, Luther Strange, who will be sworn in this afternoon.

You won't have much trouble finding him. He will be the tallest guy around here. Now, you would expect nothing different from a former college basketball player. Senator Thune and Senator Cotton last night were somewhat distressed by the notion that they would be replaced by an even taller Senator, and that will happen later today.

Luther Strange, like the man who preceded him, is a devoted Eagle Scout. He shares his interest in the law too. He even argued successfully before the Supreme Court. It is notable experience to bring to any job, especially this one, and especially at a time when we are actively involved in the process of considering a new--and superbly qualified--nominee to the Court.

We are looking forward to the contributions that Alabama's newest Senator will make. He will have the chance to get started right away. We have important work to do, and that starts with confirming more of the qualified Cabinet nominees who are before us.

Mr. President, the nominee currently before us is the President's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary, Congressman Tom Price, a physician. Dr. Price knows more about health care policy than just about anyone. He doesn't just understand health care policy as a policymaker--although he does deeply--he also understands it as a practicing physician. He gets the real-world impact.

He has a clear-eyed view about Washington's capacity to do great harm, even with the best of intentions, just as he is excited about his potential to do great good.

He can start having a positive impact almost as soon as he is confirmed. He can start bringing stability to the health care markets ObamaCare has harmed. He can start bringing relief to the families ObamaCare has hurt. I know he is ready to get to work with Congress to move toward truly patient-centered health care--care that prioritizes the needs of patients over the needs of Washington.

The American Medical Association supports him and says: ``[H]is service as a physician, state legislator and member of the U.S. Congress provides a depth of experience to lead HHS.''

The Association of American Medical Colleges supports him and says: ``[H]e will bring a thoughtful, measured approach to tackling the wide range of issues affecting the nation's health.''

And the Healthcare Leadership Council couldn't be more enthusiastic. ``It is difficult,'' they said, ``to imagine anyone more capable of serving his nation as the Secretary of Health and Human Services than Congressman Tom Price.''

That is high praise. It also happens to be accurate.

The American people need Dr. Tom Price applying his practical knowledge as a doctor and as a legislator at the Department of Health and Human Services, an agency in great need of new leadership.

This job is a big one. There is no doubting that. It requires overseeing some of the Nation's most important programs, like Medicare and Medicaid, and helping to protect public health at the CDC and helping to find cures at NIH and helping to ensure at the FDA that those cures can make it to the patients.

It is a big job, but Tom Price is the right man for it. We shouldn't wait a moment longer to confirm him. As soon as we do, we will turn to the nomination of Steve Mnuchin to lead the Department of the Treasury.

Mr. President, I will have more to say about Mr. Mnuchin tomorrow, but let me say this. For the last 8 years, Americans had to endure an economy that failed to live up to its potential. Part of the problem was the regulatory avalanche of the last administration. It is time to finally move toward a modern regulatory framework instead, one that appropriately manages risks while promoting growth and job creation. The President has started providing relief already that will move us toward that goal. Steve Mnuchin can help do more.

He also has an important role to play in the effort to make our tax system simpler and more conducive to the kind of economic growth and job creation we should all want. It won't be easy to get that done. We need someone like Steve Mnuchin working with both parties to make it happen.

The Treasury nominee is smart, capable, and he has impressive private sector experience. We need him confirmed as soon as possible so he can begin to tackle these challenges and reverse the last 8 years of economic heartache.

Mr. President, President Trump's outstanding Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch has earned high praise from all across the political spectrum.

Some of it has come from unlikely corners, whether Democratic Senators, left-leaning publications, President Obama's own legal mentor, even his former top Supreme Court lawyer. We have heard from those Gorsuch has taught. We have heard from many who have worked alongside him. In fact, just a few days ago we received a letter from several of his former law colleagues. So let me share some of that with you now. The letter began:

We are Democrats, Independents, and Republicans.

Many of us have served in government, some during

Republican and some during Democratic administrations; some

of us have served in both. We have clerked for Supreme Court

justices and appellate and district court judges appointed by

Democratic and Republican presidents. We represent a broad

spectrum of views on politics, judicial philosophy, and many

other subjects as well. But we all agree on one thing: Our

former colleague, Neil M. Gorsuch . . . is superbly qualified

for confirmation.

He is a man of character, decency, and accomplishment, [one

who represented all of his clients] without regard to

ideology [and one] who merits this appointment.

Clearly, it is not going to be easy to paint Judge Gorsuch as anything but extremely qualified and exceptionally fair, but that hasn't stopped some on the left from trying. They started musing about blocking any nominee before the President had even nominated anyone. It is a good reminder that much of the opposition we are seeing from far left groups and Democratic Senators isn't so much about Judge Gorsuch as it is about their dissatisfaction with the outcome of the election.

As a Washington Post headline recently declared, ``Democrats' goal with court nomination: Make it a referendum on Trump.''

``[P]rominent Senate Democrats,'' the article read, are ``giving the nominee's 10-plus years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit almost secondary consideration.'' It seems they believe their best, and perhaps only, bet to bring down this highly qualified judge is by ``inject[ing] Trump into the process.''

The very next day, the New York Times ran an article about Democrats' apparent hope that this Supreme Court fight will be ``More About Trump Than Gorsuch.'' In other words, our Democratic colleagues are finding it hard to oppose Judge Gorsuch on the merits, so they are trying to divert attention and invent new hurdles for him to surmount. That is the playbook. Sure enough, we see them running the play.

Consider the assistant Democratic leader's speech the other day. It was supposedly about Judge Gorsuch. He sure had a lot to say about President Trump, about things President Trump has done, about things President

Trump might do, about refighting old battles but precious little about the qualifications of the actual nominee before us, and precious little about the increasing number of accolades he has been receiving, especially from well-known folks on the political left. I mentioned several a moment ago.

Now we can add another to the list: Alan Dershowitz, the famous constitutional scholar and longtime Harvard law professor. Dershowitz described Gorsuch as ``highly credentialed and hard to oppose'' and dismissed the idea that he would be caricatured as some sort of ``extreme right-wing [ideologue].'' ``[T]hat doesn't seem to fit what I know about him,'' Dershowitz said, adding that Gorsuch will ``be hard to oppose on the merits.'' Indeed, he will.

That is precisely why our Democratic colleagues are making the debate on his nomination about other things and other people. That is also why they are arguing that there are special hurdles for Judge Gorsuch to clear--hurdles they are forced to admit were not there for the first- term nominees of Democratic Presidents.

When even a leftwinger like Rachel Maddow can't help but admit that Judge Gorsuch is ``a relatively mainstream choice,'' when even Maddow characterizes a Democratic attempt to filibuster his nomination as ``radical,'' it is hard to argue otherwise. That will not stop many on the far left from trying.

I invite Democrats, who spent many months insisting ``we need nine,'' to now follow through on that advice by giving this superbly qualified nominee fair consideration and an up-or-down vote. It is time to finally accept the results of the election and move on so we can all move our country forward.

That would also apply to other nominations before the Senate. Just before the election, the Democratic leader said he believed the Senate has a ``moral obligation, even beyond the economy and politics, to avoid gridlock.'' Put simply, he said: ``We have to get things done.'' Yet just a few months later, Democratic obstruction has reached such extreme levels that the smallest number of Cabinet officials have been confirmed in modern history at this point in a Presidency. It is a historic break in tradition, a departure from how newly elected Presidents of both parties have been treated in decades past.

In fact, by this same point into their terms, other recent Presidents from both sides of the aisle had more than twice as many Cabinet officials confirmed as President Trump does now. President Obama had 12 Cabinet officials confirmed at this point in his term, President George W. Bush had all 14 Cabinet nominees confirmed at this point, President Clinton had 13, and President Trump has a mere 4.

It seems this gridlock and opposition has far less to do with the nominees actually before us than the man who nominated them, just like we are seeing with President Trump's outstanding Supreme Court pick. The Democratic leader and his colleagues are under a great deal of pressure from those on the left who simply cannot--cannot--accept the results of a democratic election. They are calling for Democrats to delay and punt and blockade the serious work of the Senate at any cost. They would like nothing more than for Democrats to continue to resist and prevent this President from moving our country forward.

Unfortunately, many of our friends across the aisle have given in to these groups' calls for obstruction, and some have even gone to unprecedented lengths to delay for delay's sake. They have forced meaningless procedural hurdles, they have stalled confirmation votes as long as possible, they have postponed hearings, and they have even boycotted committee meetings altogether. Their excuses are ever- changing, and some border on the absurd. ``We don't like the seating arrangement,'' they say. ``We can't be late to a protest,'' they argue. There was even some excuse about a YouTube video.

Look, enough is enough. The American people elected a new President last November. Democrats don't have to like that decision, but they do have a responsibility to our country. The American people want us to bring the Nation together and move forward. It is far past time to put the election behind us and put this President's Cabinet into place, just as previous Senates have done for previous newly elected Presidents of both parties.

Mr. President, now I wish to say a few words about one nominee whom we will be voting on tomorrow. The nominee for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, is a well-qualified candidate who has earned the support of 20 Governors and several education groups from across the Nation. As Education Secretary, she will be our students' foremost advocate, working to improve our education system so that every child has a brighter future.

Importantly, she also understands that our teachers, students, parents, school boards, and local and State governments are best suited to make education decisions--not Washington bureaucrats. I have every confidence that Mrs. DeVos will lead the Department of Education in such a way that will put our students' interests first, while also strengthening the educational opportunities available to all of America's children.

I urge colleagues to join in confirming Betsy Devos so that she can begin the very important work before her without further delay.

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

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I move to instruct the Sergeant at Arms to request the attendance of absent Senators, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I have one request for a committee to meet during today's session of the Senate. It has the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders.

Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committee is authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Committee on Finance

The Committee on Finance is authorized to meet during the

session of the Senate on Monday, February 6, 2017, in S-216,

the President's Room of the U.S. Capitol, during a vote on

the Senate floor, currently expected to occur circa 6 p.m.

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

Mr. President, ``Now is the time to put country before party.'' That was an observation by the Democratic leader just yesterday on the Senate floor. Our friend from New York makes a good point, and I am hopeful it is a principle his own caucus will follow in the days to come.

We are no longer in the midst of a contentious Presidential election. We have a new President, and that President has now put forth an exceptional Supreme Court nominee and a number of well-qualified Cabinet nominees. Yet, more than 2 weeks into his term, President Trump has the fewest Cabinet Secretaries confirmed at this point than any other President since George Washington.

The President deserves to have his Cabinet in place. The American people deserve that as well. I would remind our Democratic colleagues of the things they themselves have said when the shoe was on the other foot.

Here is what their last Vice Presidential candidate, our colleague from Virginia, had to say: ``I think we owe deference to a President for choices to executive positions.'' So yes, ``Now is the time,'' as the Democratic leader said, ``to put country before party.''

One way to do so is by ending the unprecedented delay we have seen by Democrats on the President's Cabinet appointments. Our colleagues will have an opportunity to chart a different path later this afternoon and the rest of the week as we vote to confirm more nominees.

This afternoon we will vote on the President's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. I look forward to confirming her to this important position so that she can get to work on behalf of America's students and schools.

As I said yesterday, this well-qualified candidate has earned the support of several education groups and nearly two dozen Governors from across the Nation. She understands that teachers, students, parents, school boards, and State and local governments, not Washington bureaucrats, are best suited to make education decisions for our kids. And I know she is committed to improving our education system so that every child--every child--has a brighter future.

After we confirm Mrs. DeVos, the Senate will turn to another well- qualified Cabinet nominee, our own colleague, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. We all know Senator Sessions, and we know him to be a man of his word. We know he is a man who believes in the rule of law. We know him as someone who is willing to work with anyone, regardless of party, as he did when he teamed up on legislation with Democratic colleagues such as Senator Durbin and our late colleague, Ted Kennedy.

I would remind Democratic colleagues that Republicans did not filibuster when a newly elected President Obama put forward his own Attorney General nominee, Eric Holder. In fact, the nominee who will soon be before us, Senator Sessions, crossed the aisle to vote for Eric Holder; this, despite the fact that the Holder nomination in the Republican conference here in the Senate was one steeped in considerable controversy.

What a contrast with the way the Democrats are now treating our colleague's own nomination now. They are looking to waste even more time for its own sake today. It has been unfortunate to hear the attacks that some on the far left have directed at our friend over the past few weeks, but I am pleased the American people have had the opportunity to learn the truth about Senator Sessions and to see for themselves how qualified he is to lead the Justice Department.

We can expect that Senator Sessions in his new role will continue fighting to protect the rights and freedoms of all Americans as he also defends the safety and security of our Nation.

Tomorrow I will have more to say about Senator Sessions and the impact that he has had on each of us here in the Senate, but for now, I would encourage colleagues to finally come together and show him and each of the remaining nominees the fair consideration they deserve.