July 26, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5065 Through the Belt and Road Initia- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- EXECUTIVE SESSION tive, the Chinese Communist Party has ator from Maine. sunk its teeth into some of the most Mr. KING. Madam President, I sug- valuable tourist destinations on the gest the absence of a quorum. EXECUTIVE CALENDAR face of the Earth, on trade route, and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I strategic outposts. clerk will call the roll. move to proceed to executive session to They have sold this program as an The legislative clerk proceeded to consider Calendar No. 258. economic development initiative, but call the roll. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The in reality this debt-trap diplomacy is Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I question is on agreeing to the motion. really just an extortion scheme. Once ask unanimous consent that the order The motion was agreed to. these countries fall into the trap, it is for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The almost impossible to escape. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without clerk will report the nomination. Even before the pandemic forced the objection, it is so ordered. The legislative clerk read the nomi- United States into lockdown, I and sev- nation of David M. Prouty, of Mary- eral other of my colleagues on both f land, to be a Member of the National sides of the aisle were ringing alarm Labor Relations Board for the term of bells about our supply chain security. LEGISLATIVE SESSION five years expiring August 27, 2026. China is the most dominant global Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I CLOTURE MOTION source of rare Earth minerals, tech- move to proceed to legislative session. Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I nology infrastructure, and many active The PRESIDING OFFICER. The send a cloture motion to the desk. pharmaceutical ingredients. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- Long story short, there is a lot on question is on agreeing to the motion. The motion was agreed to. ture motion having been presented the line for the people of the United under rule XXII, the Chair directs the States. The cards are stacked against f clerk to read the motion. us. The legislative clerk read as follows: It would be really easy to protect CLOTURE MOTION that valuable status quo by ignoring EXECUTIVE SESSION human rights violations and extortion We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the schemes and other overt attempts to Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby make the world a little less free. But as EXECUTIVE CALENDAR move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- much as we would like it to be, free- nation of Executive Calendar No. 258, David dom is not humanity’s natural state. It Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I M. Prouty, of Maryland, to be a Member of is fragile. It falls victim to the weak move to proceed to executive session to the National Labor Relations Board for the and the power hungry alike, and, if we consider Calendar No. 257. term of five years expiring August 27, 2026. are not careful, yes, it will slip away, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Charles E. Schumer, Tammy Baldwin, like it has in so many other countries. question is on agreeing to the motion. Tim Kaine, Patty Murray, Tina Smith, The motion was agreed to. Jacky Rosen, Christopher Murphy, Freedom does have to be fought for, Cory A. Booker, Mark R. Warner, Brian and we need our leaders to set the ex- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the nomination. Schatz, Sherrod Brown, Sheldon White- ample. That means staying focused on house, Raphael Warnock, Michael F. not following the example of countries The legislative clerk read the nomi- Bennet, Jeanne Shaheen, Patrick J. that have given up their freedom. We nation of Gwynne A. Wilcox, of New Leahy, Richard J. Durbin. York, to be a Member of the National don’t want to live out the authori- Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I Labor Relations Board for the term of tarian nightmare that the CCP has cre- ask unanimous consent that the man- five years expiring August 27, 2023. ated, but we also want to avoid becom- datory quorum calls for the cloture ing like nations that have already CLOTURE MOTION motions filed today, July 26, be waived. pawned their futures in pursuit of some Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without grand socialist future. send a cloture motion to the desk. objection, it is so ordered. I fear that our new majority has al- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clo- Mr. SCHUMER. I yield the floor. ready lost touch with what the Amer- ture motion having been presented f ican people actually want. They sure under rule XXII, the Chair directs the don’t want what the Biden administra- clerk to read the motion. CLOTURE MOTION tion has been selling lately. I can defi- The legislative clerk read as follows: The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant nitely tell you that after a weekend in CLOTURE MOTION to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the Tennessee. They don’t feel taken care We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- Senate the pending cloture motion, of. What they are feeling is that they ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the which the clerk will state. are being manipulated. Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby The legislative clerk read as follows: move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- They want to know why President CLOTURE MOTION Biden and the Democratic majority nation of Executive Calendar No. 257, Gwynne A. Wilcox, of New York, to be a We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- keep trying to pawn off the freedom ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the that makes us an example to the rest Member of the National Labor Relations Board for the term of five years expiring Au- Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby of the world in exchange for more gov- gust 27, 2023. move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- ernment control that nobody asked for. Charles E. Schumer, Tammy Baldwin, nation of Executive Calendar No. 122, Todd I would encourage my colleagues on Tim Kaine, Patty Murray, Tina Smith, Sunhwae Kim, of the District of Columbia, the other side of the aisle to remember Jacky Rosen, Christopher Murphy, to be an Assistant Attorney General. that the American people entrusted Cory A. Booker, Mark R. Warner, Brian Charles E. Schumer, Richard J. Durbin, Tina Smith, Margaret Wood Hassan, them with the power that they are Schatz, Sherrod Brown, Sheldon White- house, Raphael Warnock, Michael F. Catherine Cortez Masto, Jeff Merkley, wasting on these radical wish lists Patty Murray, Tammy Baldwin, Debbie items, and that power can be taken Bennet, Jeanne Shaheen, Patrick J. Leahy, Richard J. Durbin. Stabenow, Gary C. Peters, Angus S. away just as easily as it was given. King, Jr., Sheldon Whitehouse, Robert The American people want to make P. Casey, Jr., Christopher Murphy, Ben f certain that we do as Ronald Reagan Ray Luja´ n, Jack Reed, Chris Van Hol- implored us to remember. And, Madam len. President, as you know, last week I LEGISLATIVE SESSION The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- had that poster here on the floor. Free- Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I imous consent, the mandatory quorum dom is always one generation away move to proceed to legislative session. call has been waived. from extinction. It is our responsibility The PRESIDING OFFICER. The The question is, Is it the sense of the to fight for it, to pass it on. question is on agreeing to the motion. Senate that debate on the nomination I yield the floor. The motion was agreed to. of Todd Sunhwae Kim, of the District

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Jul 27, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G26JY6.015 S26JYPT1 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE S5066 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 26, 2021 of Columbia, to be an Assistant Attor- considered made and laid upon the simple: Attorney General Garland ney General, shall be brought to a table, all without intervening action or must respond to my oversight letters close? debate; that no further motions be in and records requests. The yeas and nays are mandatory order to the nomination; that any The Department asked for that call under the rule. statements related to the nomination with my staff, and the Department did The clerk will call the roll. be printed in the RECORD; that the not provide my staff a substantive up- The legislative clerk called the roll. President be immediately notified of date on any of my oversight requests. Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the the Senate’s action. It is absurd for the Department to Senator from New Jersey (Mr. BOOKER), The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there schedule a call relating to my hold on the Senator from Maryland (Mr. objection? Mr. Polite, which was done due to the CARDIN), and the Senator from Wash- Without objection, it is so ordered. Department’s consistent failure to re- ington (Mrs. MURRAY) are necessarily The question is, Will the Senate ad- spond to my oversight requests, and absent. vise and consent to the Kendall nomi- then have no updates relating to any of Mr. THUNE. The following Senators nation? my oversight requests. are necessarily absent: the Senator The nomination was confirmed. As one of many examples of unan- swered questions and requests, on Feb- from Idaho (Mr. CRAPO), the Senator f from Oklahoma (Mr. INHOFE), and the ruary 3, 2021, and March 9, 2021, Sen- Senator from South Dakota (Mr. LEGISLATIVE SESSION ator JOHNSON and I requested informa- ROUNDS). tion from the Justice Department re- --- lating to Nicholas McQuaid. Mr. The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 54, MORNING BUSINESS nays 40, as follows: McQuaid was Acting Assistant Attor- Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ney General for the Criminal Division, [Rollcall Vote No. 278 Ex.] ask unanimous consent that the Sen- the position Mr. Polite now holds. In YEAS—54 ate proceed to legislative session and those letters, we raised concerns about Baldwin Grassley Padilla be in a period of morning business, potential conflicts of interest in light Bennet Hassan Peters Blumenthal Heinrich Reed with Senators permitted to speak of the fact that Mr. McQuaid was em- Blunt Hickenlooper Rosen therein for up to 10 minutes each. ployed at Latham & Watkins until Jan- Brown Hirono Sanders The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without uary 20, 2021, and worked with Chris- Cantwell Kaine Schatz topher Clark, whom Hunter Biden re- Capito Kelly Schumer objection, it is so ordered. Carper King Shaheen f portedly hired to work on his Federal Casey Klobuchar Sinema criminal case. Collins Leahy Smith NOMINATIONS OF HELAINE ANN This arrangement presents an ongo- Coons Luja´ n Stabenow GREENFELD AND CHRISTOPHER ing potential conflict of interest given Cornyn Manchin Tester H. SCHROEDER Cortez Masto Markey Van Hollen the fact Mr. McQuaid is still employed Duckworth Menendez Warner Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I in- at the Criminal Division as the Prin- Durbin Merkley Warnock tend to object to any unanimous con- cipal Deputy Assistant Attorney Gen- Feinstein Murkowski Warren eral. A core function of congressional Gillibrand Murphy Whitehouse sent request relating to the nomina- Graham Ossoff Wyden tion of Helaine Ann Greenfeld, to be an oversight is to ensure that govern- mental departments and agencies are NAYS—40 Assistant Attorney General at the De- partment of Justice, PN459, and Chris- free of conflicts of interest. That is es- Barrasso Hoeven Rubio pecially so with the Justice Depart- Blackburn Hyde-Smith Sasse topher H. Schroeder, to be an Assistant Boozman Johnson Scott (FL) Attorney General at the Department of ment and FBI. If conflicts infect them, Braun Kennedy Scott (SC) Justice, PN370. those investigations and prosecutions— Burr Lankford Shelby the very purpose of the Department’s Cassidy Lee Last week, at the Senate Judiciary Sullivan Committee’s executive business meet- existence—could be undermined. Cotton Lummis Thune As a part of my oversight, I have re- Cramer Marshall Tillis ing, I noted my intent to vote for both Cruz McConnell quested a recusal memo for Mr. Toomey nominees but object to any unanimous Daines Moran Tuberville McQuaid. I have also requested to Ernst Paul consent request for their confirmation. Wicker know, as a threshold issue, whether Fischer Portman Ms. Greenfeld will lead the Justice De- Hagerty Risch Young partment’s Office of Legislative Affairs one even exists. Attorney General Garland has failed Hawley Romney and Mr. Schroeder will lead the Justice to answer and provide the requested NOT VOTING—6 Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. records. I have noted to the Depart- Booker Crapo Murray Both of these components are at the Cardin Inhofe Rounds ment that in 2016, I received from the heart of my congressional oversight re- Department Andrew McCabe’s recusal The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. quests and the Department’s failure to memo to illustrate precedent exists for HEINRICH). On this vote, the yeas are respond. I have made this decision such a production to Congress. Still, 54, the nays are 40. clearly not on the basis of their creden- the Justice Department refuses to pro- The motion is agreed to. tials but on the basis of the Justice De- vide the same for Mr. McQuaid. The Senator from Rhode Island. partment’s failure to respond to con- On the July 15, 2021, call with my f gressional oversight requests. staff, they again raised my questions To date, the Justice Department has EXECUTIVE CALENDAR about Mr. McQuaid. The Department failed to provide a full and complete re- was unable to provide any legitimate Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I sponse to any of my oversight requests. basis upon which it could not answer ask unanimous consent that the Sen- I said the same thing when I objected my questions and again failed to pro- ate proceed to the following nomina- to any unanimous consent request re- vide any update on the Department’s tion: Calendar No. 165. lating to the Kenneth Polite nomina- response. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there tion on June 22, 2021. Nothing has As I have noted before with respect objection? changed. to the Federal Government’s failure to Without objection, it is so ordered. For example, on July 15, 2021, my respond to legitimate congressional The clerk will report the nomination. staff had yet another call with the Jus- oversight requests, there is nothing The legislative clerk read the nomi- tice Department’s Office of Legislative more eroding of public faith than an nation Frank Kendall III, of Massachu- Affairs, the very office Ms. Greenfeld unresponsive executive branch that be- setts, to be Secretary of the Air Force. will be in charge of. On that call, the lieves it only answers to the President Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I Department wanted to know why I had and not the U.S. Congress and, perhaps ask unanimous consent that the Sen- a hold on Mr. Polite and whether they most importantly, ‘‘We the People.’’ ate vote on the nomination without in- could do anything to change my mind. This administration’s continued, on- tervening action or debate; that if con- My staff made clear to the Department going, and blatant lack of cooperation firmed, the motion to reconsider be that the issues before them are quite has again forced my hand.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:27 Jul 27, 2021 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G26JY6.022 S26JYPT1 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE