E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 116 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 165 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019 No. 62 Senate The Senate met at 9:45 a.m. and was Senator from the State of Tennessee, to per- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- called to order by the Honorable MAR- form the duties of the Chair. pore. The clerk will read the bill by SHA BLACKBURN, a Senator from the CHUCK GRASSLEY, title for the second time. State of Tennessee. President pro tempore. The legislative clerk read as follows: Mrs. BLACKBURN thereupon as- f A bill (H.R. 1585) to reauthorize the Vio- sumed the Chair as Acting President lence Against Women Act of 1994, and for PRAYER pro tempore. other purposes. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- Mr. MCCONNELL. In order to place pore. The Senator from Iowa. the bill on the calendar under the pro- fered the following prayer: Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I Let us pray. visions of rule XIV, I object to further ask unanimous consent to speak to the proceedings. God of grace and glory, we bless Your Senate for 1 minute as in morning busi- Holy Name. Give us a hunger and thirst The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- ness. pore. Objection having been heard, the for Your righteousness. Lord, we con- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- bill will be placed on the calendar. fess that we often fall short of Your pore. Without objection, it is so or- high standards for living. Create in us dered. f clean hearts, O God, and renew a right NOMINATIONS spirit within us. Continue to bless our f Senators. Give them the fulfillment CLINTON INVESTIGATION Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, the Senate continues to build on last that comes from knowing they are Mr. GRASSLEY. On Monday, I spoke week’s progress in restoring our nor- doing Your will. Protect them from about the Clinton investigation, and I mal tradition regarding lower level dangers as You guide them through the want to reiterate one very serious nominations. We are moving several myriad challenges they must face to issue. The FBI apparently had highly well-qualified nominees more promptly keep this Nation strong. Work through classified information potentially rel- through floor consideration. We are them to fulfill Your purposes for our evant to the Clinton investigation in clearing the considerable backlog of Nation and world. its possession. those who had been mired for months We pray in Your Holy Name. Amen. The FBI drafted a memo in May of in our Democratic colleagues’ across- 2016 to get access to the information. f the-board obstruction campaign. That memo said review of the informa- Make no mistake, there is still a very PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE tion was necessary to complete the in- long way to go. There are still too The Presiding Officer led the Pledge vestigation. Sadly, that memo was many vacancies on the President’s of Allegiance, as follows: never sent. team. There are still too many would- I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the How could the FBI finish the inves- tigation of the Clintons if they never be public servants waiting for partisan United States of America, and to the Repub- barriers to fall. But this body should be lic for which it stands, one nation under God, got access to all of the potentially rel- indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. evant information? proud of the progress we are already making and the healthier precedent we f Congress needs to know what hap- pened in that instance. are setting for the future. APPOINTMENT OF ACTING I yield the floor. Yesterday the Senate voted to con- firm both Daniel Domenico, the Presi- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE f dent’s choice to serve as U.S. District The PRESIDING OFFICER. The RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY Judge for the District of Colorado, and clerk will please read a communication LEADER Patrick Wyrick to be a district judge to the Senate from the President pro The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- in the Western District of Oklahoma. tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). pore. The majority leader is recog- Today we will turn our attention to The legislative clerk read the fol- Cheryl Stanton’s nomination to lead lowing letter: nized. f the Labor Department’s Wage and U.S. SENATE, Hour Division. It has been 1 year, 7 PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, MEASURE PLACED ON THE months, and 5 days since Ms. Stanton’s Washington, DC, April 10, 2019. CALENDAR—H.R. 1585 To the Senate: nomination arrived in the Senate. In Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, that time the nomination has been fa- of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby I understand there is a bill at the desk vorably reported by the HELP Com- appoint the Honorable MARSHA BLACKBURN, a due a second reading. mittee not once, not twice, but three ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S2349 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A10AP6.000 S10APPT1 S2350 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 10, 2019 times—three times through committee as American seniors know it, reuse the EXECUTIVE SESSION for this graduate of Williams College label on a new, government-run, one- and the University of Chicago Law size-fits-all arrangement, and remove School and two times sent back to the 180 million Americans from the private EXECUTIVE CALENDAR—Resumed President for the former executive di- insurance they have chosen in order to The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- rector of the South Carolina Depart- funnel them into a system without pore. Under the previous order, the ment of Employment and Workforce. choice. Senate will proceed to executive ses- Well, hopefully the third time will be What is especially ironic is that my sion to resume consideration of the fol- the charm, and we can finally do the Democratic colleagues are choosing to lowing nomination, which the clerk prudent thing on the Senate floor. I agitate for this pivot toward socialism will report. hope each of my colleagues will join during this particularly important eco- The legislative clerk read the nomi- me in support of the Stanton nomina- nomic period—at this particular mo- nation of Cheryl Marie Stanton, of tion later this week. ment, with more job openings than South Carolina, to be Administrator of Later this week, as I noted yester- Americans looking for work for the the Wage and Hour Division, Depart- day, we will finish with the nomination first time since recordkeeping started, ment of Labor. of David Bernhardt to join President when we have seen unemployment Mr. MCCONNELL. I suggest the ab- Trump’s Cabinet as Secretary of the reach a 49-year low and wages growing sence of a quorum. Interior. Speaking of procedures com- faster than they have in a decade. It is The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- ing in threes, this would be the third the kind of economy where a single pore. The clerk will call the roll. time Mr. Bernhardt will have been con- mom in Mississippi says: ‘‘It’s amazing The legislative clerk proceeded to firmed by the Senate. He served pre- that I’m getting paid almost $20 an call the roll. viously as the Department’s Solicitor hour to learn how to weld.’’ Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask and as its Deputy Secretary. According It is the kind of economy where ga- unanimous consent that the order for to the American Farm Bureau Federa- rage door installers in Nevada say they the quorum call be rescinded. tion, his ‘‘proven leadership’’ in these are literally afraid to let potential new The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. roles ‘‘has helped restore the multiple hires walk out the door because Amer- CRAMER). Without objection, it is so or- use of America’s public lands.’’ ican workers are in such high demand. dered. Let’s remember that this trans- They are not alone. Over his tenure, NOMINATION OF JOHN P. ABIZAID formation is being helped along by Sen- Mr. Bernhardt developed a reputation Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ate Republican ideas and policies that among sportsmen, conservation groups, rise in strong support of General are the polar opposite—totally oppo- and western Native American Tribes as Abizaid’s confirmation to be our Am- site—of what our Democratic friends a strong leader and partner in their ef- bassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Ara- are now calling for. bia. It took this administration nearly forts. So once again, I hope each of my Here is how Republican pro-growth colleagues will join me in voting to 2 years to even nominate someone to and pro-opportunity policies helped us this critical position, and, unfortu- confirm David Bernhardt later this get where we are: by encouraging job nately, we have seen the results of the week. creators to invest here at home instead absence of serious, experienced U.S. f of penalizing success; by recognizing leadership. MEDICARE that working families know best how I was pleased that the Senate For- to spend their paychecks, not Wash- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, eign Relations Committee expedi- ington; and by creating conditions for on a completely different matter, for tiously moved his nomination. In the an economic surge that touches every some time now, my colleagues and I past 2 years, we have seen Saudi lead- corner of our country.