[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 131 (Monday, September 15, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S5580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Baran and Burns Nominations

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wish to speak about the two nominees who 
are coming back to back. I thank Senator Vitter for allowing us to move 
these forward. I thank the majority leader for bringing them up.
  We are down on the membership of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 
We need to fill these positions. One of the nominees is Jeffery Baran. 
I will be very quick.
  Mr. Baran has had more than 10 years of experience, including his 
current role as staff director of energy and commerce on the House 
Energy and Commerce Committee, where he actually oversaw the NRC and he 
staffed 13 hearings overseeing the NRC.
  The other nominee is Mr. Stephen Burns, who has served in many roles, 
most recently as general counsel for the NRC from 2009 to 2012. He has 
a wide range of experience in policy and enforcement issues.
  As long as I have been around, I have not seen two more qualified 
nominees. I urge my colleagues to vote for cloture and then, when we 
vote tomorrow, yes on the nominations themselves.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
  By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived.
  The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the 
nomination of Jeffery Martin Baran, of Virginia, to be a Member of the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Donnelly) 
and the Senator from Iowa (Mr. Harkin) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. 
Blunt), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), the Senator from Utah 
(Mr. Hatch), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), the Senator from 
Kansas (Mr. Roberts), and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Shelby).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Utah (Mr. Hatch) 
would have voted ``nay'' and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Shelby) 
would have voted ``nay.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Baldwin). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--52 yeas, 39 nays, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 263 Ex.]

                                YEAS--52

     Baldwin
     Begich
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Hagan
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Johnson (SD)
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Walsh
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--39

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Boozman
     Burr
     Coats
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Enzi
     Fischer
     Flake
     Graham
     Grassley
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (WI)
     Kirk
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Portman
     Risch
     Rubio
     Scott
     Sessions
     Thune
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                             NOT VOTING--9

     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Chambliss
     Donnelly
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Moran
     Roberts
     Shelby
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote the yeas are 52, the nays are 39. 
The motion is agreed to.

                          ____________________