S7842 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 19, 2020 The clerk will call the roll. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays Smith Udall Warren Stabenow Van Hollen Whitehouse The legislative clerk called the roll. before the Senate the pending cloture Tester Warner Wyden Mr. THUNE. The following Senators motion, which the clerk will state. are necessarily absent: the Senator The legislative clerk read as follows: NOT VOTING—13 Blunt Fischer Portman from Missouri (Mr. BLUNT), the Senator CLOTURE MOTION Burr Harris Risch from North Carolina (Mr. BURR), the We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- Cruz Loeffler Rounds Senator from Texas (Mr. CRUZ), the ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Enzi Paul Senator from Wyoming (Mr. ENZI), the Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby Ernst Perdue Senator from (Ms. ERNST), the move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this Senator from Nebraska (Mrs. FISCHER), nation of Eric J. Soskin, of Virginia, to be vote, the yeas are 39, the nays are 48. the Senator from Georgia (Mrs. LOEF- Inspector General, Department of Transpor- The motion is not agreed to. tation. FLER), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Mitch McConnell, Lamar Alexander, The motion was rejected. PAUL), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. , , , The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- PERDUE), the Senator from Ohio (Mr. , Ron Johnson, James jority leader. PORTMAN), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Lankford, Roger F. Wicker, Marco Mr. MCCONNELL. I enter a motion RISCH), and the Senator from South Rubio, Cindy Hyde-Smith, , to reconsider the vote. Dakota (Mr. ROUNDS). , , The PRESIDING OFFICER. The mo- Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Joni Ernst, , Pat Roberts. tion is entered. Senator from California (Ms. HARRIS), The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask unanimous is necessarily absent. imous consent, the mandatory quorum consent that the mandatory quorum The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there call has been waived. call be waived. any other Senators in the Chamber de- The question is, Is it the sense of the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without siring to vote or change their vote? Senate that debate on the nomination objection. The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 39, of Eric J. Soskin, of Virginia, to be In- f nays 48, as follows: spector General, Department of Trans- CLOTURE MOTION [Rollcall Vote No. 277 Ex.] portation, shall be brought to a close? YEAS—39 The yeas and nays are mandatory The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Alexander Gardner Roberts under the rule. Barrasso Graham Romney The clerk will call the roll. Senate the pending cloture motion, Blackburn Grassley Rubio The bill clerk called the roll. which the clerk will state. Boozman Hawley Sasse The senior assistant legislative clerk Braun Hoeven Scott (FL) Mr. THUNE. The following Senators Capito Hyde-Smith Scott (SC) are necessarily absent: the Senator read as follows: Cassidy Inhofe Shelby from Missouri (Mr. BLUNT), the Senator CLOTURE MOTION Collins Johnson Sullivan from North Carolina (Mr. BURR), the We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- Cornyn Kennedy Thune Cotton Lankford Tillis Senator from Texas (Mr. CRUZ), the ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Cramer Lee Toomey Senator from Wyoming (Mr. ENZI), the Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- Crapo Moran Wicker Senator from Iowa (Ms. ERNST), the Daines Murkowski Young nation of Beth Harwell, of Tennessee, to be a Senator from Nebraska (Mrs. FISCHER), Member of the Board of Directors of the Ten- NAYS—48 the Senator from Georgia (Mrs. LOEF- nessee Valley Authority for a term expiring Baldwin Heinrich Reed FLER), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. May 18, 2024. Bennet Hirono Rosen PAUL), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Mitch McConnell, Lamar Alexander, Blumenthal Jones Sanders Booker Kaine Schatz PERDUE), the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Rick Scott, Tom Cotton, Mike Crapo, Brown Kelly Schumer PORTMAN), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Cory Gardner, Ron Johnson, James Cantwell King Shaheen RISCH), and the Senator from South Lankford, Roger F. Wicker, Marco Cardin Klobuchar Sinema Rubio, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Thom Tillis, Dakota (Mr. ROUNDS). Carper Leahy Smith Shelley Moore Capito, John Boozman, Casey Manchin Stabenow Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Joni Ernst, Mike Braun, Pat Roberts. Coons Markey Tester Senator from California (Ms. HARRIS) is The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- Cortez Masto McConnell Udall necessarily absent. Duckworth Menendez Van Hollen imous consent the mandatory quorum The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Durbin Merkley Warner call has been waived. Feinstein Murphy Warren GARDNER). Are there any other Sen- The question is, Is it the sense of the Gillibrand Murray Whitehouse ators in the Chamber desiring to vote? Senate that debate on the nomination Hassan Peters Wyden The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 39, of Beth Harwell, of Tennessee, to be a NOT VOTING—13 nays 48, as follows: Member of the Board of Directors of Blunt Fischer Portman [Rollcall Vote No. 278 Ex.] Burr Harris the Tennessee Valley Authority, shall Risch YEAS—39 Cruz Loeffler Rounds be brought to a close? Enzi Paul Alexander Gardner Roberts The yeas and nays are mandatory Ernst Perdue Barrasso Graham Romney under the rule. Blackburn Grassley Rubio The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this Boozman Hawley Sasse The clerk will call the roll. vote, the yeas are 39, the nays are 48. Braun Hoeven Scott (FL) The senior assistant legislative clerk The motion is rejected. Capito Hyde-Smith Scott (SC) called the roll. Cassidy Inhofe Shelby The majority leader. Collins Johnson Sullivan Mr. THUNE. The following Senators MOTION TO RECONSIDER Cornyn Kennedy Thune are necessarily absent: the Senator Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I Cotton Lankford Tillis from Missouri (Mr. BLUNT), the Senator Cramer Lee Toomey from North Carolina (Mr. BURR), the enter a motion to reconsider the vote Crapo Moran Wicker by which cloture was not invoked. Daines Murkowski Young Senator from Texas (Mr. CRUZ), the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. ENZI), the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The mo- NAYS—48 tion is entered. Senator from Iowa (Ms. ERNST), the Baldwin Feinstein McConnell Senator from Nebraska (Mrs. FISCHER), The majority leader. Bennet Gillibrand Menendez f Blumenthal Hassan Merkley the Senator from Georgia (Mrs. LOEF- Booker Heinrich Murphy FLER), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. CLOTURE MOTION Brown Hirono Murray PAUL), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Cantwell Jones Peters Mr. MCCONNELL. I ask unanimous Cardin Kaine Reed PERDUE), the Senator from Ohio (Mr. consent that the mandatory quorum Carper Kelly Rosen PORTMAN), the Senator from Idaho (Mr. call be waived. Casey King Sanders RISCH), and the Senator from South The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there Coons Klobuchar Schatz Dakota (Mr. ROUNDS). Cortez Masto Leahy Schumer objection? Duckworth Manchin Shaheen Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Without objection, it is so ordered. Durbin Markey Sinema Senator from California (Ms. HARRIS)

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:36 Dec 20, 2020 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G19DE6.022 S19DEPT1 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE December 19, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S7843 and the Senator from Hawaii (Ms. for many, many years, but he has never portunity to do it with everyone being HIRONO) are necessarily absent. had anything to do with politics or present at the time. But that is just The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there government, really. So it was a learn- another example of how close we were. any other Senators in the Chamber de- ing experience for him, and he was ac- Another example was the Space siring to vote? tually listening. That was not his rep- Force. He wanted to do the Space The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 61, utation, but he was doing it. Force, and I understand that. I was nays 25, as follows: I remember he—we had a lot of ques- not, initially, all that concerned about [Rollcall Vote No. 279 Ex.] tions that we asked and comments it and supportive of it. But, on the other hand, you have countries like YEAS—61 were made. Our conversations that day started a very strong friendship that I China and Russia—our main opposition Alexander Grassley Reed out there—they have their space Barrasso Hassan Roberts had with the one who would become Bennet Hawley Romney President Trump. The President was forces. And I think it is really good Blackburn Hoeven Rubio listening closely. He asked good ques- that we consolidated all of our efforts. Boozman Hyde-Smith Sasse tions. Our conversations that day We were really working well by con- Braun Inhofe Schatz Brown Johnson started a strong friendship, where I solidating that thing. We did that, and Scott (FL) we did that together. That was one of Capito Jones Scott (SC) have been honored to offer him friend- Carper Kaine Shelby ship, advice, and guidance in the area the areas where we worked together. Cassidy Kelly Sinema I remember another one was the area Collins Kennedy of the military, and I think it serves Sullivan of Western Sahara. It is something I Coons King him well. Cornyn Lankford Tester have been on the floor talking about Thune One good example of one of the areas Cotton Leahy where he was listening to me, against now for the last couple of weeks be- Cramer Lee Tillis cause Western Sahara has been—we Crapo Manchin Toomey the advice of many of the people in his Daines McConnell Warner administration, was on the issue of have had the same position with West- Durbin Moran Whitehouse Ligado. The President’s advisers were ern Sahara since 1966; that is, they Wicker Feinstein Murkowski trying to convince him to go ahead were rejected from their land in that Gardner Murphy Young area of the world, way back during the Graham Peters with the deal to sell off the GPS-adja- colonial days. In fact, at that time, it NAYS—25 cent spectrum; that it was a good thing and so forth. I talked to the President was the Spanish Sahara. We were de- Baldwin Heinrich Shaheen voted, at that time, for a right of self- Blumenthal Klobuchar Smith and made it very clear that allowing the Ligado deal to move ahead would determination for the people of West- Booker Markey Stabenow ern Sahara. Cantwell Menendez Udall jeopardize our Nation’s GPS system, I explained that to the President. At Cardin Merkley Van Hollen impacting not just the military and Casey Murray that time, he didn’t have a lot of inter- Warren commercial aviation but farmers who Cortez Masto Rosen Wyden est. He didn’t know where Western Sa- Duckworth Sanders rely on GPS to maintain fields and so Gillibrand Schumer hara was. He didn’t really have a lot of many more. The results would be dev- interest in that. But then he did, and NOT VOTING—14 astating, not to mention costly. The he became committed to the idea that Blunt Fischer Perdue President got it, and we worked to- we have had a policy for over 30 years Burr Harris Portman gether on that issue. in our country that we would recognize Cruz Hirono Risch I remember telling him how that their right of self-determination. So he Enzi Loeffler Rounds happened. The FCC—the Federal Com- Ernst Paul went along with that. munications Commission—they were to The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this We tried to convince him this year’s issue and to give a spectrum to Ligado National Defense Authorization Act, as vote, the yeas are 61, the nays are 25. at that time. We were in recess, so I The motion is agreed to. someone had told him or advised him went to them, and I said: Don’t do any- wrongly—I am talking about maybe f thing until we get out of recess so we some of the people in the President’s EXECUTIVE CALENDAR can be in on this. There was a lot of ob- administration—that somehow the jection to Ligado. So without listening NDAA—now, the NDAA has now been The PRESIDING OFFICER. The to me, the FCC just went ahead and did clerk will report the nomination. passed by the House; it has been passed it—on a weekend, I might add. It had by the Senate; and it is going to be The senior assistant legislative clerk never happened before. They never did read the nomination of Beth Harwell, signed into law eventually. The Presi- it on a weekend before, but they did in dent has talked about he might veto it, of Tennessee, to be a Member of the this case. And they gave the order to Board of Directors of the Tennessee having something to do with that it Ligado. wasn’t strong enough against China. I Valley Authority for a term expiring Now, the interesting part of this May 18, 2024. want to get it on the record right now was—this had to do with protecting our on the Senate floor and make sure ev- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- low-band spectrum from interference. ator from Oklahoma. eryone understands that this is the It has nothing to do with good work toughest thing on China. Well, in fact, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT the administration has made to make it is not just me saying it. The Amer- Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I first the bands of spectrum available to fur- ican Enterprise Institute, which is went to meet with the then-Republican ther our 5G development. That was all sometimes referred to as the conserv- nominee for President of the United there. But that is how this happened. ative voice of government, said that States, —that was Octo- The largest group I have seen ever this bill, the NDAA of this year, the ber of 2016. I was really struck by his come together in the years I have been one that we passed, we just passed, is commitment. in the House and the Senate on one the toughest bill on China in 20 years. It was kind of an interesting meet- issue was this issue—and I am talking Here is why. The national defense ing. It was in the Trump Tower, and about everyone. You had not just DOD strategy—now, this is the book. We they had 10 people. Ten of us were and almost every bureaucracy but the have to remember, this is something meeting, each one in one particular airlines, the Farm Bureau, and every- we need to adhere ourselves to. This area of expertise, supposedly. We had body else. They were all in on this was put together by 12 of the most people there on energy. We had one on thing. knowledgeable people in America—six healthcare. I was there for the mili- The President made the comment. He Republicans, six Democrats. They got tary. And I was very honored to be the said: You know, anytime you are deal- together. This is providing for our de- one to advise him as to some of the ing with a bureaucracy and they tell fense for the future. It is a short book, issues and to talk about that. you that something has to be done, and but it is one that we have been living The thing that surprised me is his it has to be done on a weekend, has to by. And they are very specific in their commitment at that time to listening. be done at night, then you know some- strategy as to where China is. You have to keep in mind, here is a guy thing is wrong with it. Well, they So last week, President Trump’s Di- who has been a giant in the industry rushed into it before they had the op- rector of National Intelligence said

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:39 Dec 20, 2020 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A19DE6.006 S19DEPT1 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE