Floor Statements

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

I move to table the motion to reconsider.

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

Mr. President, the Senator has impugned the motives and conduct of our colleague from Alabama, as warned by the Chair.

Senator Warren said Senator Sessions ``has used the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by Black citizens.''

I call the Senator to order under the provisions of rule XIX.

I object.

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.

Here is what transpired. Senator Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.

I yield the floor.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I say to the Senator from Hawaii, I have a very short statement, if I could do that.

Mr. President, we came together yesterday to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education so she could get to work improving our schools and putting students first.

We will come together to confirm Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services so he can get to work helping to provide relief from ObamaCare and stabilizing the health care markets.

We will come together to confirm Steve Mnuchin as Secretary of the Treasury, too, so he can get to work continuing the President's efforts to relieve the regulatory pressure on America's economy and American job creation.

We will also come together later today to confirm a new Attorney General. We all know our colleague from Alabama. He is honest. He is fair. He has been a friend to many of us on both sides of the aisle. It has been tough to watch all this good man has been put through in recent weeks. This is a well-qualified colleague, with a deep reverence for the law. He believes strongly in the equal application of it to everyone.

In his home State, he has fought against the forces of hate. In the Senate, he developed a record of advocacy for crime victims but also for the fair and humane treatment of those who break our laws, both when they are sentenced and when they are incarcerated.

Jeff Sessions has worked across the aisle on important initiatives. He is, in the words of former Democratic Vice-Presidential Candidate Joe Lieberman, ``an honorable and trustworthy person, a smart and good lawyer, and a thoughtful and open-minded listener,'' someone who ``will be a principled, fair and capable Attorney General.''

Our colleague wants to be Attorney General for all Americans. Later today, we will vote to give him that chance, and I will have more to say about our friend and colleague at that time.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I just wanted to congratulate the Senator from South Carolina for a very, very meaningful and effective presentation on behalf of our colleague, Senator Jeff Sessions.

Mr. President, I ask to proceed on leader time.

Mr. President, I would like to say a word about the nominee we are about to confirm. We have long known our colleague from Alabama as Senator Sessions--and soon Attorney General Sessions--but it wasn't always this way. There was a time when the distinguished Senator from Alabama was known simply as ``Buddy.'' Buddy--the product of a small town called Hybart, the son of a country store owner, the inheritor of modest beginnings.

Senator Sessions' parents grew up in the Depression. They taught their son the value of a dollar and the importance of hard work. If our colleague wasn't at school or football practice, you were likely to find him at his dad's store lending a hand to customers. As anyone from a small town can attest, that little store served as far more than just a place to buy goods. It was also a local gathering place, a place where people were liable to share their hopes and concerns, and their dreams too.

This is where Jeff Sessions developed his core values. It is where he developed an appreciation for the everyday struggles of working people. It is where he learned the importance of listening first, of standing up for what matters, of putting others' needs before one's own. It made him a better person. It made him a pretty good politician too.

Senator Sessions is the kind of guy who, with just one conversation, can make you feel as if you have known him your entire life. He is usually the first to arrive at constituent events and the last to leave. He has also made it a priority to travel annually to every county in Alabama--all 67 of them.

His staff will tell you it is these trips home when Senator Sessions is really in his element. Driving across Alabama, from sunup to sundown, milkshake in hand, or maybe a Blizzard from Dairy Queen, Heath bar flavor, thank you very much, that is Senator Sessions.

Now, it is not hard to see why Alabamians keep sending him back to Washington. Last time out he scooped up a modest 97 percent of the vote.

Part of Senator Sessions' secret to success is simple enough; he is just a likable guy.

Our colleague is one of the most humble and most considerate people you will ever meet. He is a true Southern gentleman. He is pretty funny too. His staff would certainly agree. They still remember the time he accidentally ran his suit coat through the paper shredder. They saved the evidence too. Let's hope that one makes it into his archives.

Sessions' alums call this man a mentor. They remain ever grateful for his focus on their own development. I know they are going to miss grabbing a burger and fries with him at Johnny Rockets.

They are really going to miss his wife Mary as well. We will around here too.

Now, in Sessions' world, Mary Sessions is something of a legend. She has been our colleague's strongest supporter, no matter the task before him. She has been a source of encouragement and a friend to all of Team Sessions. I doubt they will ever forget Mary's friendship or her famous cream cheese pound cake.

One thing they will not soon forget either is Senator Sessions' intense focus on the office's letter-writing operation. Sometimes that meant working weekends with the boss to get the constituent correspondence just right.

There is no doubt Senator Sessions is very, very particular about his writing, whether it is constituent letters or legal memoranda, and there is a good reason for that. Words, as this lawyer is known to say, have meaning. It is a philosophy that has animated Senator Sessions' longtime love affair with the law.

He believes in equal application of the law to each of us, regardless of how we look or where we come from. It is a genuine passion for him. It is an area of deep importance and principle.

Senator Sessions will stand up for what he believes is right, even when it isn't always the easiest thing to do.

Now, this is a guy who fought for Republican principles long before-- long before--Alabama became a red State. He stood up to the George Wallace dynasty as a young man. He stared down the forces of hate as U.S. attorney and State attorney general. He has continued to fight for the equal application of the law as well, not to mention a growing economy, a streamlined government, and a strong defense.

Of course, as anyone who knows him will tell you, Senator Sessions is a lawyer's lawyer. He is willing to hear the other side of an argument. He is willing to make the other side of the argument as well. He is also willing to be persuaded.

He has worked across the aisle with Democrats like the late Senator Ted Kennedy and the assistant Democratic leader on issues like prison reform and sentencing reform. Democrats have praised him as someone who is ``straightforward and fair'' and ``wonderful to work with.''

The politics of the moment may have changed, but the truth of statements like these endures. Deep down, each of us knows these things remain just as true about Senator Sessions today as they did when our Democratic colleagues praised him.

Fair in action, bound to the Constitution, a defender of civil rights, this is the man we have come to know in the Senate. It is the same man we can expect to see as Attorney General.

Senator Sessions may be leaving the Senate, but there is plenty this Eagle Scout will be taking with him. That includes the motto he has lived by--``Be Prepared''--which is so engrained in our friend that it is even engraved into the back of the granite nameplate on his desk. It is a simple phrase with a simple message, and it seems particularly fitting for our friend today.

He has a big job ahead of him. I think he is up to the task. He is tough, but he

is fair. He is persistent, but he is respectful. He is a likeable guy, a principled colleague, and an honest partner. And while we are really going to miss him, we also couldn't be prouder of him.

So let us thank Senator Sessions for his many years of service.

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, I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk due a second reading.

In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to further proceedings.

Mr. President, I was surprised by a statement my friend the Democratic leader made right here yesterday. I am glad he came back to the floor to correct himself, though. I think we all appreciated the Democratic leader making clear that Republicans did not--let me repeat, did not--insist on 60-vote thresholds for either of President Obama's two first-term Supreme Court nominees. Did not. We thank the Democratic leader for clearing that up. His statement also reminds us that both of the Supreme Court Justices President Clinton nominated got straight up-or-down votes as well. There is no reason someone like Judge Gorsuch, who has received widespread acclaim from both sides of the aisle, should be treated differently now.

When he was nominated to his current seat on the court of appeals, Judge Gorsuch received the American Bar Association's highest possible rating--unanimously ``well qualified.'' At his confirmation hearing, no one had a single negative word to say about him--not a single negative word. At his confirmation vote, no one cast a negative vote against him--not then-Senator Obama, not then-Senators Clinton, Biden, or Kennedy, and not my good friend Senator Schumer, either. Judge Gorsuch was confirmed in exceptionally fast time for a court of appeals nominee--just 2 months. So you have to wonder, if this nominee was so noncontroversial in 2006 that a rollcall vote was not even required, what could possibly have changed since to justify threats of extraordinary treatment now? What has happened in the last 10 years? If the Democratic leader or anyone else in his conference did not raise a concern in committee or cast a single negative vote then, let alone even ask for a rollcall vote, what could possibly justify these so- called grave concerns--grave concerns--he claims to have now?

Professor Laurence Tribe, President Obama's law school mentor, called Judge Gorsuch a ``brilliant, terrific guy who would do the Court's work with distinction.'' This is Laurence Tribe, the President's constitutional law professor, one of the best-known liberal professors in the country.

Neal Katyal, President Obama's top Supreme Court lawyer, lauded Judge

Gorsuch as ``one of the most thoughtful and brilliant judges to have served our nation over the last century.'' Over the last century. That is President Obama's Supreme Court lawyer.

The left-leaning Denver Post recently highlighted Judge Gorsuch's reputation as a ``brilliant legal mind'' who applies the law ``fairly and consistently.''

I am happy to report that we have even been assured by liberal talk show host Rachel Maddow that Gorsuch is ``a relatively mainstream choice.'' Rachel Maddow.

Turns out, in the years since Judge Gorsuch's unopposed Senate confirmation, he has shown himself to be the very kind of judge everyone hoped he would be, one who demonstrates a ``sense of fairness and impartiality'' that Democratic then-Senator Salazar lauded him for in 2006, which Salazar called a ``keystone for being a judge.'' That was the Democratic Senator from Colorado when he was confirmed in 2006.

That was Judge Neil Gorsuch's reputation back then, and it is his richly deserved reputation still, as those in both parties who have known and worked with him continue to tell us. As one Democrat and Denver attorney put it, Judge Gorsuch is ``smart [and] he's independent.'' The things we have heard from so many about Judge Gorsuch--smart and independent, fair and impartial, thoughtful and brilliant--are just the qualities we should expect in our next Supreme Court Justice. They are the same qualities I am confident Judge Gorsuch will bring to the Court.

Mr. President, this Republican-led Congress is committed to fulfilling our promises to the American people. That work continues now as we consider legislation to push back against the harmful regulations from the Obama administration. On its way out the door, the Obama administration forced nearly 40--40--major and very costly regulations on the American people. Fortunately, we now have the opportunity to work with a new President to begin bringing relief from those burdensome regulations.

Last night, the House sent us two resolutions under the Congressional Review Act--one of the best tools at our disposal to undo these heavyhanded regulations.

This afternoon, the Senate will have the opportunity to pass the first of these resolutions, a measure to overturn the stream buffer rule. The resolution before us now is identical to the one I introduced earlier this week, and it aims to put a stop to the former administration's blatant attack on coal miners. In my home State of Kentucky and others across the Nation, the stream buffer rule will cause major damage to communities and threaten coal jobs. One study actually estimated that this regulation would put as many as one-third of coal-related jobs at risk. That is why the Kentucky Coal Association called it ``a regulation in search of a problem.'' They joined with the United Mine Workers of American and the attorneys general of 14 States on both sides of the aisle urging Congress to act. We should heed their call now and begin bringing relief to coal country. Today's vote on this resolution represents a good step in that direction.

Once our work is complete on this legislation, we will turn to another House-passed resolution that will protect American companies from being at a disadvantage when doing business overseas. Although the Securities and Exchange Commission may have had good intentions, the resource extraction rule costs American public companies up to nearly $600 million annually and gives foreign-owned businesses in Russia and China an advantage over American workers. We all want to increase transparency, but we should not raise costs on American businesses, only to benefit their international competition. Let's send the SEC back to the drawing board to promote transparency without the high costs or negative impacts on American businesses.

These CRA resolutions keep the interests of American families and workers in mind. Today, we will continue to chip away at the regulation legacy of the Obama years, with more CRA resolutions in the coming days as well.

Let's pass these two resolutions without delay so we can send them to the President's desk and continue giving the power back to the people.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.