Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today in support of Mr. Alex Wagner, the President's nominee to be Assistant Secretary of the Department of Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; and Mr. Ashish Vazirani, nominee to be Deputy Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness.

As a Member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I know that the most important investment for our national security is in our servicemembers--our real competitive advantage with Russia and China.

Mr. Wagner brings a combination of public and private sector experience to the table. He will be key in recruiting, training, and retaining the talent needed to compete in the 21st century.

Absent his leadership, we may miss important opportunities to invest in our servicemembers at a time when we are still standing up a new military branch, the Space Force.

Mr. Vazirani will be responsible for ensuring that we take care of our people, a priority for the Secretary and everyone in this body.

Mr. Vazirani has significant private sector experience as a consultant and manager. Further, he served in the Navy and is the father of a marine. He has the firsthand experience and knowledge that we need to help improve the opportunities available to military families and spouses.

Both of these nominees are needed to help implement important priorities, like the Independent Review Commission's sexual assault recommendations, improving diversity in the force, and addressing mental health and suicide.

Both of these nominees are focused on taking care of our people and ensuring the Department has in place the workforce with the skill sets that we need to be successful in strategic competition with Russia and China.

Put simply, if you are serious about countering Russia and China, you should allow these nominees to be confirmed. And if you are serious about taking care of those who serve, you should allow these nominees to be confirmed.

Therefore, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations, en bloc: Calendar Nos. 477 and 599; that the Senate vote on the nominations, en bloc, without intervening action or debate; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action; and that the Senate then resume legislative session.

I am disappointed that my Republican colleague blocked confirmation of these nominations.

These nominees have been held up since last year. They were approved by the Armed Services Committee with a bipartisan vote and only one Member recorded as a no. It is time to end these delays and confirm these nominees.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today in support of Jerry Kang, President Biden's nominee to serve on the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities.

As you know, the foundation serves sectors of our economy that continue to face tremendous need and uncertainty in the wake of the pandemic.

During this trying time, it is critically important that we confirm qualified individuals who are eager to serve and support.

This nomination has been reviewed by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on a bipartisan basis, and we are waiting on the Senate to confirm him so he can get to work.

It is past time that we confirm qualified nominees so that the Federal Government has a team in place--the team that it needs to operate and support our constituents.

As an ex-officio member of the National Council on the Arts, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nomination: Calendar No. 729, Jerry Kang, of California, to be a Member of the National Council on the Humanities for a term expiring January 26, 2026; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; and that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, not only did Jerry Kang get recommended by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on a bipartisan basis, but he is a scholar and has a very important reputation.

Half of his work deals with communication and the internet on matters such as privacy and pervasive computing and virtual communities. The other half, by his own description, deals with civil rights and race. And he is probably best known for his works on implicit bias.

These are critical topics, and we should be eager to have somebody of Professor Kang's caliber and commitment on the Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, and so I am certainly disappointed to hear the objection from the Republican side.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations: Nos. 820, 821, 822, 823, 824, 825, 826, 827, 828, 829, 830, 831, 832, 833, 834, 835, 836, 837, 838, 839, 840, and 841, and all nominations on the Secretary's desk in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Space Force; that the nominations be confirmed, en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 570, submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that 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 consideration of S. Res. 571, submitted earlier today.

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. 3969, which was introduced earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill 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. 314, S. Res. 547.

I further ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that 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 Calendar No. 274, S. 442.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill 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 have five requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 31; 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; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 310, H.R. 4373, the legislative vehicle for COVID funding; that at 11:45 a.m., the Senate proceed to executive session and vote on the confirmations of the Geraghty and Castner nominations in the order listed; that upon the disposition of the Castner nomination, the Senate resume legislative session and that the cloture motion with respect to the motion to proceed to H.R. 4373 ripen at 1:45 p.m.; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Thursday's session of the Senate, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Senators should expect two rollcall votes at 11:45 a.m. and one rollcall vote at 1:45 p.m.

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, I ask that the Senate proceed to executive session and vote on the confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 737, the nomination of Hector Gonzalez, under the previous order.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session and vote on Calendar No. 678, the nomination of Victoria Calvert, under the previous order.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Dr. James Cameron on what would have been his 108th birthday. James Cameron was born in La Crosse, WI, on February 25, 1914. A civil rights pioneer, Dr. Cameron fought his entire life to create an accountable and equitable world. Dr. Cameron left an indelible mark on our country as the only known person in the United States to survive a lynching, an event in 1930 at the age of 16 which would inevitably change his life.

Dr. Cameron was an early activist for the Civil Rights movement, desegregating the movie theater in the Indiana town where he and his wife, Virginia, lived. He worked with the NAACP, founding branches in Madison, WI, as well as Muncie and South Bend, IN. He also served as Indiana's director of civil liberties.

In 1952, the Cameron family came to Milwaukee. Over the years, he acquired pieces like Ku Klux Klan robes, as well as a piece of rope that had been used during his own lynching. After visiting Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel, he set out to create a museum with these pieces to educate the public about the injustices Black people faced in America. At age 74, he founded America's Black Holocaust Museum in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood of Milwaukee. Three years later, in 1991, Indiana Governor Evan Bayh gave him the key to the city of Marion where he had miraculously survived the lynching 61 years prior.

Dr. Cameron so rightly believed that only by sharing the hard truths about our Nation's history, could we move forward together to promote racial repair, reconciliation, and healing. The best word to describe Dr. Cameron was ``survivor'' and his life's work and legacy will now live on with the Grand Reemergence of America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee on February 25, 2022. With a mission to build public awareness of the harmful legacies of slavery, lynching, and Jim Crow, America's Black Holocaust Museum is guided by a vision of a society that remembers its past in order to shape a better future, a nation undivided by race where every person matters equally. This will be a home for others to take the lesson that, in order to create an equitable world, we must first create a world willing to grow.

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

I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote occur immediately.