January 8, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S69

CLOTURE MOTION NAYS—7 Risch Sasse Thune Roberts Scott (FL) Tillis Gillibrand Klobuchar Wyden We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- Romney Scott (SC) Toomey Harris Markey ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Rounds Shelby Wicker Hirono Schumer Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby Rubio Sullivan Young move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- NOT VOTING—5 NAYS—44 nation of Matthew H. Solomson, of Mary- Alexander Perdue Warren Baldwin Hassan Reed land, to be a Judge of the United States Booker Sanders Bennet Heinrich Court of Federal Claims for a term of fifteen Rosen Blumenthal Hirono Schatz years. The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 88, the nays are 7. Brown Jones Schumer Mitch McConnell, , Thom Cantwell Kaine Shaheen Tillis, , Lamar Alexander, The motion is agreed to. Cardin King Sinema , Roger F. Wicker, Pat Carper Klobuchar f Smith Roberts, , Cindy Hyde- Casey Leahy Stabenow Coons Manchin Smith, John Boozman, , Tester MOTION Cortez Masto Markey Udall , , Steve Duckworth Menendez Van Hollen Daines, , . The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant Durbin Merkley to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Feinstein Murphy Warner The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- Senate the pending cloture motion, Gillibrand Murray Whitehouse imous consent, the mandatory quorum Wyden which the clerk will state. Harris Peters call has been waived. The senior assistant bill clerk read as NOT VOTING—5 The question is, Is it the sense of the follows: Alexander Perdue Warren Senate that debate on the nomination Booker Sanders CLOTURE MOTION of Matthew H. Solomson, of Maryland, The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this to be a Judge of the United States We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 44. Court of Federal Claims for a term of Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby The motion is agreed to. fifteen years, shall be brought to a move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- close? nation of Eleni Maria Roumel, of Maryland, f The yeas and nays are mandatory to be a Judge of the United States Court of under the rule. Federal Claims for a term of fifteen years. CLOTURE MOTION Mitch McConnell, Mike Crapo, Thom The clerk will call the roll. Tillis, Mike Rounds, Lamar Alexander, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant The senior assistant bill clerk called John Hoeven, Roger F. Wicker, Pat to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the the roll. Roberts, John Thune, Cindy Hyde- Senate the pending cloture motion, Smith, John Boozman, Tom Cotton, which the clerk will state. Mr. THUNE. The following Senators Chuck Grassley, Kevin Cramer, Steve The senior assistant legislative clerk are necessarily absent: the Senator Daines, Todd Young, John Cornyn. read as follows: from Tennessee (Mr. ALEXANDER) and The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- CLOTURE MOTION the Senator from Georgia (Mr. imous consent, the mandatory quorum We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- PERDUE). call has been waived. ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the Further, if present and voting, the The question is, Is it the sense of the Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby Senator from Tennessee (Mr. ALEX- Senate that debate on the nomination move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- ANDER) would have voted ‘‘yea.’’ of Eleni Maria Roumel, of Maryland, to nation of Michael George DeSombre, of Illi- Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the be a Judge of United States Court of nois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Federal Claims for a term of fifteen Plenipotentiary of the United States of Senator from New Jersey (Mr. BOOKER), America to the Kingdom of Thailand. the Senator from Vermont (Mr. SAND- years, shall be brought to a close? Mitch McConnell, John Boozman, James ERS), and the Senator from Massachu- The yeas and nays are mandatory M. Inhofe, , , setts (Ms. WARREN) are necessarily ab- under the rule. Todd Young, , Mi- sent. The clerk will call the roll. chael B. Enzi, , John The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. The bill clerk called the roll. Cornyn, , Lindsey Gra- Mr. THUNE. The following Senators ham, Chuck Grassley, , SASSE). Are there any other Senators Roger F. Wicker, . in the Chamber desiring to vote? are necessarily absent: the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. ALEXANDER) and The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 88, the Senator from Georgia (Mr. imous consent, the mandatory quorum nays 7, as follows: PERDUE). call has been waived. [Rollcall Vote No. 3 Ex.] Further, if present and voting, the The question is, Is it the sense of the YEAS—88 Senator from Tennessee (Mr. ALEX- Senate that debate on the nomination of Michael George DeSombre, of Illi- Baldwin Fischer Portman ANDER) would have voted ‘‘yea.’’ Barrasso Gardner Reed Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the nois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary Bennet Graham Risch Senator from New Jersey (Mr. BOOKER), and Plenipotentiary of the United Blackburn Grassley Roberts the Senator from Vermont (Mr. SAND- States of America to the Kingdom of Blumenthal Hassan Romney Blunt Hawley ERS), and the Senator from Massachu- Thailand, shall be brought to a close? Rosen The yeas and nays are mandatory Boozman Heinrich Rounds setts (Ms. WARREN) are necessarily ab- Braun Hoeven Rubio sent. under the rule. Brown Hyde-Smith Sasse The clerk will call the roll. Burr Inhofe The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there Schatz Cantwell Johnson any other Senators in the Chamber de- The senior assistant legislative clerk Capito Jones Scott (FL) siring to vote or change their vote? called the roll. Scott (SC) Cardin Kaine The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 51, Mr. THUNE. The following Senators Carper Kennedy Shaheen Casey King Shelby nays 44, as follows: are necessarily absent: the Senator Cassidy Lankford Sinema [Rollcall Vote No. 4 Ex.] from Tennessee (Mr. ALEXANDER) and Collins Leahy Smith the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Stabenow YEAS—51 Coons Lee PERDUE). Cornyn Loeffler Sullivan Barrasso Crapo Inhofe Cortez Masto Manchin Tester Blackburn Cruz Johnson Further, if present and voting, the Cotton McConnell Thune Blunt Daines Kennedy Senator from Tennessee (Mr. ALEX- Cramer McSally Tillis Boozman Enzi Lankford ANDER) would have voted ‘‘yea.’’ Crapo Menendez Toomey Braun Ernst Lee Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Cruz Merkley Udall Burr Fischer Loeffler OOKER Daines Moran Van Hollen Capito Gardner McConnell Senator from New Jersey (Mr. B ), Duckworth Murkowski Warner Cassidy Graham McSally the Senator from Vermont (Mr. SAND- Durbin Collins Grassley Moran Murphy Whitehouse ERS), and the Senator from Massachu- Enzi Murray Cornyn Hawley Murkowski Wicker Ernst Paul Cotton Hoeven Paul setts (Ms. WARREN) are necessarily ab- Young Feinstein Peters Cramer Hyde-Smith Portman sent.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08JA6.011 S08JAPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with SENATE S70 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 8, 2020 The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. tion, I am glad no Iraqi troops appear main cognizant of the dangers of cre- LANKFORD). Are there any other Sen- to have been injured or killed in this ating power vacuums in the Middle ators in the Chamber wishing to vote strike as well. East. or to change their vote? While the result of this provocation I also hope our allies in Germany, The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 64, by Iran could have been a lot worse, it France, and the United Kingdom will nays 31, as follows: does not diminish the fact that the work with us to persuade the U.N. to [Rollcall Vote No. 5 Ex.] world’s leading state sponsor of ter- invoke the snapback provisions under YEAS—64 rorism has a sophisticated and capable the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Ac- ballistic program. We know that those Baldwin Graham Reed tion to restore international sanctions Barrasso Grassley Risch capabilities only accelerated under the and restrictions on the Iranian regime Bennet Hassan Roberts Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action— to further persuade them to join us in Blackburn Hawley Romney the so-called nuclear deal during the negotiations, which will lead to a bet- Blunt Hoeven Rosen previous administration—as has the re- ter outcome for all. It will be helpful if Boozman Hyde-Smith Rounds Braun Inhofe Rubio gime’s pursuit of their nuclear aspira- our friends and allies in the UK, Burr Johnson Sasse tions. France, and Germany will join us in Capito Kennedy Scott (FL) I am confident that this administra- Cardin Lankford that effort. Scott (SC) Cassidy Leahy tion’s maximum-pressure campaign, While the United States has not pur- Shaheen Collins Lee combined with our unparalleled mili- posely sought out further conflict that Cornyn Loeffler Shelby tary capabilities, as well as the Presi- Cotton Manchin Sullivan could lead to an unnecessary loss of Cramer McConnell Thune dent’s decisive actions that have cul- life, we need to defend—we must al- Crapo McSally Tillis minated in the airstrike last week, ways defend American personnel and Cruz Menendez Toomey have prevented a much worse outcome our interests in the Middle East. Daines Moran Udall from this attack by Iran. Enzi Murkowski Whitehouse As the President has pointed out this Ernst Paul Wicker Last week, I had the opportunity to morning, one of the things that, his- Fischer Peters Young visit Strategic Command, STRATCOM, torically, has given Presidents like Gardner Portman in Omaha, NE, where their motto is Jimmy Carter the determination to de- NAYS—31 ‘‘strategic deterrence.’’ I think that is clare the blocking of the Strait of Blumenthal Harris Schatz an important goal to keep in mind; Hormuz as an act of war during his ad- Brown Heinrich Schumer that is, having the means and capabili- ministration was our overdependence Cantwell Hirono Sinema ties not only of hitting back but a mes- on energy from the Middle East. As the Carper Jones Smith sage of deterrence to our adversaries to Casey Kaine President pointed out this morning, Stabenow dissuade them from initiating hos- Coons King Tester thanks to the creativity and innova- Cortez Masto Klobuchar Van Hollen tilities in the first place. tion in places like Oklahoma, Texas, Duckworth Markey Warner President Ronald Reagan had his own Durbin Merkley North Dakota, and elsewhere, we are Wyden notion of strategic deterrence. He Feinstein Murphy now largely energy independent and Gillibrand Murray called it ‘‘peace through strength.’’ I self-sufficient. We can now use this as believe that is something the Presi- NOT VOTING—5 a tool to engage other countries that dent’s actions last week have begun to are completely dependent on countries Alexander Perdue Warren restore, no less a luminary than former Booker Sanders like Russia, Iran, and others in the GEN David Petraeus, who said, after The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this Middle East for their energy needs. So the Soleimani attack, that perhaps— this is changing the geopolitics of the vote, the yeas are 64, the nays are 31. just perhaps—this would reestablish The motion is agreed to. world. This is not just the President deterrence. Indeed, based on the re- taking a divisive action against the f sponse by the Iranian regime last leading master of terrorism in the Mid- EXECUTIVE CALENDAR night, where they obviously targeted dle East; the geopolitics of the world uninhabited areas, and they wanted to have shifted, and I hope we will all The PRESIDING OFFICER. The save face by showing that they were clerk will report the nomination. work together to take advantage of doing something to retaliate but not that. The senior assistant legislative clerk wanting to escalate, I think General As I said, I appreciate the President’s read the nomination of Michael George Petraeus is right on. What has hap- courage and leadership. This must have DeSombre, of Illinois, to be Ambas- pened, to this point, is reestablishing been no easy decision, to be sure. I con- sador Extraordinary and Pleni- some level of deterrence. tinue to be proud of our military lead- potentiary of the United States of I applaud the President for speaking ership and the rank-and-file service- America to the Kingdom of Thailand. to the American people this morning members who have worked so hard to The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- and making it clear that, under his protect the United States and our na- ator from Texas. watch, Iran will never ever have a nu- tional interests in the Middle East and IRAN clear weapon. In my view, this is the around the world. Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, yester- single most important policy objective day evening, Iran launched more than for the United States and our allies in SENATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS a dozen ballistic missiles against mili- the Middle East. Mr. President, on another matter, I tary bases in Iraq, which house U.S. Deterrence through strength, com- spoke last week on the Senate floor troops. bined with additional economic sanc- about some of the great things that After General Qasem Soleimani was tions, are designed to encourage and have been accomplished this last year killed in a targeted drone strike late persuade the Iranian regime to rejoin for our country, including my home last week in an act of self-defense and the community of nations, which will State of Texas. to deter further aggression against help pave the way for a better way of I pointed out that we notched a num- America and our allies, our forces were life for the Iranian people and to give ber of wins for the American military on high alert for an Iranian attack. up these tools of terror which have as well as our veterans. We sent much President Trump and our military characterized the Iranian regime since needed assistance to communities dev- leaders emphasized that we would be 1979, since the revolution—exporting astated by natural disasters, like Hur- prepared for whatever response Iran that terror to other countries. There ricane Harvey and others. We con- chose to deliver, and by all accounts we was no one more responsible for doing firmed more qualified judges to the were. that than General Soleimani, who was Federal bench. We invested heavily in If the present circumstances hold, it taken out in an airstrike last week. securing America’s elections from the appears that no U.S. servicemembers As we move forward, the United sort of interference we saw occur in the were harmed during this attack last States and our allies can’t turn back. last Presidential election, and I am night by Iran, which is the best out- We can’t relieve this maximum-pres- proud to say we strengthened our fight come we could have hoped for. In addi- sure campaign, and we also must re- to end the rape kit backlog.

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