E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 116 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020 No. 27 Senate The Senate met at 3 p.m. and was Shenandoah Valley News has blanketed and infrastructure in those counties. called to order by the President pro her close-knit community in southwest Our Governor declared a state of emer- tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). Iowa for seven decades. gency and mobilized a full-scale re- f Now—get this—at age 100 years sponse for the areas in need. young, Evelyn Birkby—mother, farm- I am particularly grateful to the first PRAYER er’s wife, radio commentator—better responders who have already rescued The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- yet, radio homemaker for KMA Radio— and evacuated many Kentuckians from fered the following prayer: columnist, and author—is now retiring. harm’s way. Their professionalism and Let us pray. Her readers will miss her byline and courage have helped to keep this situa- Eternal God, You store up blessings storytelling. Her neighborly columns tion from becoming even worse. for all who honor You. Lord, if angels about ordinary life in rural America Many roads remain closed and hun- must veil their faces in Your presence, have brought extraordinary joy to gen- dreds of residents are still without run- shouldn’t we mere mortals embrace erations of Iowans. ning water. Worse still, more rain is in reverential awe? I yield the floor. the forecast in the coming days. This crisis, unfortunately, is not over yet. Today, empower our Senators to be f strong and courageous as they make My office stands ready with local, loyalty to You their highest priority. RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME State, and Federal officials to help Smile on them with Your blessings, for families and communities however we The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under can, as Kentuckians endure the re- You are the Author and Finisher of our the previous order, the leadership time maining flooding and begin the recov- salvation. Lord, grant that our law- is reserved. ery process. makers may know what is conducive for Your glory. f IMPEACHMENT TRIAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Mr. President, on a totally unrelated Today, we lift our hearts in ceaseless CONCLUSION OF MORNING matter, as the impeachment trial praise to You, our strong deliverer. BUSINESS ended last week, I offered preliminary We pray in Your magnificent Name. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning thanks to a few of the individuals Amen. business is closed. whose outstanding service helped the f f institution fulfill this unique and chal- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE lenging responsibility. EXECUTIVE SESSION Rising to the occasion for just the The President pro tempore led the third time in Senate history, it took Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: herculean efforts from a long list of I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the EXECUTIVE CALENDAR hard-working and dedicated people. So United States of America, and to the Repub- I would like to take a little bit of time lic for which it stands, one nation under God, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the previous order, the Senate will pro- this afternoon to share some Senate ceed to executive session to resume gratitude that too often goes The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. consideration of the following nomina- unexpressed. HAWLEY). The Senator from Iowa. tion, which the clerk will report. After I name some key individuals Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask The senior assistant legislative clerk and offices within the Senate, I will unanimous consent to speak for 1 read the nomination of Andrew Lynn submit a fuller list for the RECORD. minute as in morning business. Brasher, of Alabama, to be United First, thanks to the Sergeant at The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Arms, Mike Stenger, and his entire objection, it is so ordered. Circuit. team, especially the tremendous ef- f forts of our Deputy Sergeant at Arms, RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER Jennifer Hemingway; our protocol ex- TRIBUTE TO EVELYN BIRKBY The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- perts, including Becky Schaaf and Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I pay jority leader is recognized. Carly Flick; Krista Beale and Bob tribute to a remarkable Iowan. She is KENTUCKY FLOODING Shelton of Capitol and Chamber Oper- one of the longest serving newspaper Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, this ations; and, of course, Grace Ridgeway columnists in America. afternoon, my staff and I are con- and her remarkable Capitol Facilities She has an uncommon work ethic, tinuing to monitor widespread flooding team. having never missed a deadline in 70 across Southeastern Kentucky. Heavy Many other offices had to go far years. Her weekly commentary in the rainfall damaged homes, businesses, above and beyond their normal duties: ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S949 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Feb 11, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A10FE6.000 S10FEPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with SENATE S950 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE February 10, 2020 the executive office, doorkeepers, Press for Senate leadership tends to mean nifer Krafchik, Theresa Malanum, and Corey Gallery directors, Printing and Graph- there is no normal. There is no easy Purtell. ics, the Counsel, the Recording Studio, day. Call it an occupational hazard, but In the Senate Historical Office: Betty the Appointments Desk, the Switch- even by those standards, the past sev- Koed, Kate Scott, Dan Holt, Karen Paul, board, and the Chief Information Offi- eral months have required extraor- Amy Camilleri, Beth Hahn, and Mary cer. dinary efforts from my talented team. Baumann. Thanks, of course, to the Secretary Andrew Ferguson, my chief counsel, In the Senate Library: Leona Faust, Kara of the Senate, Julie Adams, and all of became a leading expert on every com- Baer, Meghan Dunn, Annelisa Cobleigh. Ra- those vital Senate offices. ponent of impeachment seemingly chel Donelson, Meg Kuhagen, Rachel In particular, I have to single out our overnight and offered invaluable coun- Sharrow, and Jessica Sprigings. Parliamentarians, Elizabeth sel, guidance, and leadership at every In the Office of Captioning Services: San- MacDonough and Leigh Hildebrand, single stage of this process. dra Schumm, Doreen Chendorain, Laurie and Parliamentary Clerk Christy Thanks as well to Robert Karem, my Harris, Brenda Jamerson, and Jennifer Smoilka. Amatos. This expert team of profes- national security adviser, and Jim sionals sacrificed nights, weekends, Neill and Erica Suares; to my commu- In the Office of Official Reporters of De- bates: Dorothy Rull, Susie Nguyen, Patrice and holidays to ensure that this insti- nications director, David Popp and the entire team he oversees, led by Doug Boyd, Mary Carpenter, Octavio Colominas, tution was ready to navigate little- Carole Darche, Diane Dorhamer, Chantal charted waters, follow infrequently Andres, Andrew Quinn, and Scott Geneus, Alice Haddow, Andrea Huston, Cat- used rules, and track with the letter of Sloofman, including Dylan Vorbach, alina Kerr, Julia LaCava, Michele Melhorn, the rules at every turn. We are so and, especially, the crack research Adrian Swann, and Shannon Taylor-Scott, grateful. team of Robert Utsey and David Haupt- and Julia Jones. Many others made huge contribu- mann. In the Office of Printing and Document tions as well: the offices of the Legisla- Thanks to Sarah Fairchild, Alex- Services: Laura Rush and Robert Braggs Ill. tive Clerk, the Official Reporters of De- andra Jenkins, and our operations In the Office of Senate Security: Mike bates, the Journal Clerk, Captioning team of Victoria Mason, Spencer Abra- DiSilvestro and Ronny Howard. Services, the Senate Historian, Senate ham, and Elise Stebick. Thanks to my Kentucky office team, In the Office of Senate Legal Counsel: Pat Security, the Curator’s Office, the Sen- Bryan and Morgan Frankel. ate Library, and the Office of Printing led by Phil Maxson, and my in-State offices, led by Terry Carmack, for con- In the Office of the Sergeant at Arms: Gar- and Document Services. rett Burns, Jeff Kent, Laura Lytle, Mike Thanks also to the Architect of the tinuing their crucial work while Wash- Mastrian, Justin Wilson, Brian Trott, Ter- Capitol’s team for making sure our ington was literally consumed by im- ence Liley, Bob Swanner, Karl Jackson, Mele physical plant was up to snuff, to peachment. Williams, Joan Sartori, Debbie Tyler, Chris Most of all, I need to thank my Chairman ROY BLUNT on the Rules Jordan, Lynden Armstrong, and Brian staff’s fearless leaders, Scott Raab, Committee and their staff, and to the McGinty. deputy chief of staff for Policy; Office of Senate Legal Counsel and the In the Capitol Facilities Office: Monique Stefanie Muchow, my deputy chief of Government Publishing Office. Beckford, James Banavong, Jamie Becker, As I mentioned last week, we are staff for operations, for her enormous Hugh Bennett, James Hardwick, Jim Hoover, Andy Mohammed, Eileen Penot, Carlos hugely grateful to the Capitol Police, efforts day and night; and Sharon Soderstrom, my chief of staff. I rely on Abarca, Leopoldo Aldayuz, Edward Cooper, the Senate pages, and the Chief Justice John Davis, Jonathan Everett, Lawrence of the United States, John Roberts, and Sharon’s wisdom, expertise, and impec- cable judgment every single day. I can- Ford, Steve Hall, Anthony Maree, James his staff. Montgomery, Olga Morales, Ana Orellana, I would like to recognize Erin Sager not thank her enough. Gary Richardson, Thomas Shaw, Misael With that, Mr. President, I ask unan- Vaughn, on the staff of the Democratic Ulloa, Shariff Washington, Lyndon Webb, imous consent that the more com- Leader, Senator SCHUMER, for her Sharif Amirgholi, Kelly Butler, Brenda Byrd, prehensive list of individuals to thank many efforts, and all the offices on Verona Clemmons, Johnny Dixon, Ronald be printed in the RECORD.