[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 42 (Thursday, March 12, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1471-S1474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE SESSION
______
NOMINATION OF CHRISTOPHER A. HART TO BE CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL
TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD
______
NOMINATION OF THO DINH-ZARR TO BE A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL
TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations,
which the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read the nominations of Christopher A. Hart, of
Colorado, to be Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board
for a term of two years; and Tho Dinh-Zarr, of Texas, to be a Member of
the National Transportation Safety Board for the remainder of the term
expiring December 31, 2018.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 30
minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form.
Who yields time?
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum, and I
ask unanimous consent that the time be divided equally.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I want to speak on a number of issues. I
rise in support of the nominations of Christopher Hart to be chairman
and Bella Dinh-Zarr to be a board member of the National Transportation
Safety Board.
The National Transportation Safety Board helps keep all of us safe.
When a terrible crash happens, we watch on television or read about the
crash and wonder what happened. But it is the National Transportation
Safety Board that steps in. During those first moments, they get in,
preserve evidence, sift through the debris, and then figure out what
went wrong.
They play a difficult role. They must put aside all differences
between jurisdictions, politics, and partisanship to get the job
done. In the last month alone, the board has launched investigations
into a ship collision in Texas, a plane veering off the runway in New
York, two terrible and fatal train crashes in New York and California,
and a tragic incident in DC where smoke filled one of the Metro tunnels
and resulted in a passenger dying.
They are also helping with an oil train derailment in West Virginia
and one in Illinois that sparked fires and an evacuation. Their work
plays a critical role in guiding our decisions about safety and their
recommendations have influenced safety improvements. They have played a
role in everything from drunk driving and seatbelt laws to the amount
of rest that pilots and truck drivers should get, and they are also
helping to shape the safety requirements of travel in the future.
In October of last year, a test flight for commercial space flight
ended in tragedy when an experimental spacecraft broke apart in
midflight over the desert in California.
The National Transportation Safety Board stepped in to investigate
the tragic accident. They are still conducting the investigation, and
the results are going to help us better address the future safety of
commercial space flight to and from the edge of space, which is what
that spacecraft was designed to do. This is why it is so critical that
we select people with technical knowledge and human compassion to put
the pieces of these tragedies back together.
We have two great nominees. Christopher Hart is a dedicated public
servant with an extensive career in transportation safety. He has
served as Vice Chairman of the NTSB for 5 years; and since April 2014,
he has served as the Acting Chairman of that agency.
Like Mr. Hart, Dr. Bella Dinh-Zarr has a distinguished career in
transportation safety. She currently serves as the director of the FIA
Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting safe and sustainable
transportation.
Previously, Dr. Dinh-Zarr worked in various safety capacities with
the Make Roads Safe campaign, the American Automobile Association, and
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
They are both good leaders, and I ask the Senate to join me in
supporting their nominations.
Takata Airbags
Mr. President, I wish to provide the Senate with an update on what
every Senator has had their attention called to--the Takata airbag
recall. We have seen five deaths. We have seen a spate of serious
injuries related to these defective airbags. One of the deaths occurred
in my home State of Florida.
Through my position of working with Chairman John Thune of the
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, I have been pushing
Takata and the automakers to speed up fixes for these defective
airbags.
People are driving around with a lethal bomb in their steering wheel.
If it is defective and it goes off, they are filled with shrapnel. That
has killed five people. It is documented in this country that it has
killed five people.
Nobody ought to be driving, therefore, a car for months when, in
fact, they have a known defect that can seriously kill them.
Well, it is just not acceptable, and the progress has been painfully
slow. We received a letter from NHTSA noting that only 2 million of the
vehicles recently recalled--2 million of 17 million--are all that have
been repaired as of the end of last year.
That letter notes that Takata has continued to stonewall NHTSA's
request for documents related to the defect. It is now being fined
$14,000 a day until they start cooperating fully. They have also failed
to produce a number of critical documents that the Commerce, Science,
and Transportation Committee has requested as part of its investigation
into this mess.
Earlier today, Senator Thune and I sent a letter to Takata again
requesting that they turn over these documents to the committee as soon
as possible so that we can complete our investigation into how this
mess happened and, very importantly, how we can get people's cars fixed
so they are not driving around with this bomb about to explode in their
steering wheel. Safety can't wait.
Bob Levinson
Mr. President, sadly, this week is the eighth year that Bob Levinson,
a retired FBI agent who disappeared on a tourist island in Iran called
Kish Island, has not been seen or heard from. He has a wife and seven
children.
A couple of years ago, the family received a video. A few months
after that, they received a photo.
In these extensive discussions with Iran over matters of war and
peace as to whether Iran is going to be willing to step down and not
have a nuclear weapon, one of the discussion items also is not only the
three known Americans in captivity in Iran but Bob Levinson, who has
been missing for 8 years.
Only the Iranian Government can produce the evidence of what has
happened to Bob and where he is, and we continue that vigil.
I yield the floor.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, later today, the Senate will vote on
two nominees who are critical to ensuring the safety of our Nation's
transportation network: Christopher Hart, to be Chairman of the
National Transportation Safety Board, also known as the NTSB, and Bella
Dinh-Zarr to be a member of the Board.
Mr. Hart has a distinguished career in aviation safety and has served
with distinction as acting chair in recent months.
Dr. Dinh-Zarr has a distinguished career in auto safety and will
bring an important perspective and background to the board.
Right now, the NTSB only has three members, with one--Mr. Hart--
serving as Acting Chairman. Today's vote will add another member and
ensure Mr. Hart is Chairman in an official capacity. It is imperative
that we have a strong, long-term team at the helm. As a member of the
Commerce Committee, I know there is much important work ahead for the
agency.
The NTSB is charged by Congress with investigating every civil
aviation accident in the United States as well as
[[Page S1472]]
significant accidents in the other modes of transportation--railroad,
highway, marine, and pipeline--and issuing safety recommendations to
agencies and others in the transportation industry aimed at preventing
future accidents.
It is not a regulatory or oversight agency; rather, it has a unique
task--investigating safety issues and accidents and then making
recommendations on how we can save lives. It is independent, and this
ensures that agencies that regulate and oversee safety aren't
investigating themselves when and if there are potential lapses in
their oversight.
The NTSB's work is critical--and it has been very busy recently--
especially in my region. Last month, we saw a horrific collision at a
railway crossing just outside of New York City on our commuter
railroad, Metro-North. The tragic incident killed six, including a
resident of Danbury, CT. The NTSB is investigating that crash, and its
finding will help us so we don't have to witness similar disasters
again. Having a full board helps this important work move forward.
This recent investigation comes after the NTSB dedicated tremendous
resources and hours into investigating other horrific incidents on
Metro-North in 2013 and 2014. At one point, all of the NTSB's rail
investigators worked on that one investigation, which resulted in a
substantial report last November. The NTSB's conclusions in that report
have been a guidepost for reform. At the same time, the NTSB has been
busy investigating other major incidents such as rail-grade crossings
elsewhere in our country, like in southern California, derailments of
trains carrying crude oil, like in West Virginia, plane crashes, major
highway disasters, and significant transit incidents.
The NTSB is also evaluating other issues, such as the safety of
passenger vehicle tires, distracted driving, substance abuse in the
transportation sector, and ensuring procedural compliance by
transportation providers. It is a long and extensive list of projects.
We need these nominees in their posts immediately so they can keep
these investigations moving forward and bolster the NTSB's critical
work. And I note that here in Congress, we need to do our part as well
to advance the NTSB's efforts and findings, which include ensuring
railroads install positive train control, or PTC, which was first urged
by NTSB after a rail collision in 1969 in Darien; requiring advanced
technology like cameras in trains; requiring railroads to have
redundant signal protection, which, had it been in place, would have
saved the life of one of my constituents; requiring better fatigue
management in all modes of transportation; improving the
crashworthiness of passenger rail cars; and ensuring labor has a voice
in safety investigations, among many key reforms.
Thankfully, we have before us today two supremely qualified nominees
who will help us advance these key initiatives and make our
transportation network safer, more secure, and more reliable. Again, I
urge my colleagues to support them.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to
10 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Human Trafficking
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, all week we have been on an important
piece of legislation on the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
Just to remind everybody, this is a bill to treat child prostitutes not
as criminals but as the victims they are--obviously, beneath the age of
consent--and to recognize that the criminal organizations that traffic
in human flesh for sale, economic, sex, and other reasons, are a real
problem in our society. So much of what happens in this trade is really
nothing more or nothing less than modern-day slavery--something we
thought was relegated to the history books and didn't exist in the
United States of America, the freest country in the world.
We got here through a rather strange set of circumstances, because
the legislation that I introduced was broadly bipartisan--which is a
novelty these days. We had 10 Democratic cosponsors of the legislation.
Then, when we had a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee--Chairman
Grassley kindly called up that bill in February--we had a unanimous
vote of the Senate Judiciary Committee. All Republicans and all
Democrats voted for it.
Then we had another unusual development. Majority Leader McConnell
was left wondering: Am I going to have to go through procedural steps
to get the bill to the floor? The minority, our Democratic friends,
said, I think, fairly: This is not a controversial piece of
legislation. We are going to agree to get on the legislation.
But then something very strange happened. All of a sudden, some of
our Democratic friends, including the Democratic leader, said: We are
going to filibuster this legislation. You can imagine my surprise after
that bipartisan record of cooperation leading up to that point.
I was even more surprised when the stated reason for that was a
provision in the bill, which was as plain as the nose on your face, and
it actually was a provision of the law that was voted on unanimously by
all of our Democratic friends late last year.
So it is a provision that has been the law of the land for 39 years,
which they reaffirmed with their vote just late last year.
This is what one of the 200 groups--law enforcement and victims
groups--had to say about this discovery this week of this
appropriations provision known as the Hyde amendment. It said: ``Senate
Democrats are choosing a phantom problem over real victims.''
So I wish to take a minute to think about who is actually paying the
price for the political games that are going on in the Senate. Who is
bearing the consequences? Is it going to be the Republican Party or the
Democratic Party in the next election? That seems to be the rage in
Washington, DC. People want to talk about the politics.
But here we have children, typically between the age of 12 and 14,
mainly girls, who are trafficked for sex and who have nowhere to turn.
Our bill gives them an opportunity to begin to heal by penalizing the
very people who demand this sex trade, taking that money and diverting
it into services for the victims.
Reflecting on what has happened this week and thinking that surely we
can all get together on something as bipartisan as combatting human sex
trafficking for children, surely we can finally come together, all join
hands together and support this important legislation, I had to
reflect: Why in the world would they ever want to come to the Senate if
they are not going to try to help make the lives of these victims of
human trafficking just a little better? I mean, we are all used to the
hardball of elections and politics. We get it. We are all volunteers.
We are grownup men and women. But these children shouldn't have to pay
the price for the political games that are going on in the Senate. And
it is not only this legislation.
I think it really speaks to: Why in the world would anybody want to
serve in a body where all we are doing is filling space and throwing
obstacles to the passage of bipartisan legislation that is going to
help some of the vulnerable people in our society?
If this is our legacy, I just have to say: Shame on us. Shame on
those who would put partisan political games and phantom problems ahead
of the welfare of these child victims of human trafficking.
Is this the legacy that any Member of the Senate, Republican or
Democratic, would want to be known by? Yes, they served in the Senate,
the greatest deliberative body in the world. But do you know what they
are remembered for? For stopping help for child victims of human
trafficking. That is their legacy. Does anyone want that? I don't think
so.
Why in the world would we squander a perfectly good opportunity to do
everything we can? This isn't a panacea. This isn't going to all of a
sudden wipe out the issue of human trafficking in America, but it is a
small first step to dedicate $30 million in a crime victims
compensation fund--paid for by the very people who purchased these
services and who are convicted and pay fines. This is a first step to
take that $30 million and to divert it to help the victims of this
sordid crime to begin to heal.
[[Page S1473]]
So I ask our colleagues to reconsider, to reflect on why they are
here--just to play partisan games, or are they actually here to do some
good? Is this what they want to be known by? Is this how you want to be
remembered by your children and grandchildren? Is this how you want to
be remembered in our history books? And why in the world would you come
to the Senate only to squander the opportunity to do something good for
the most vulnerable people in our country by blocking this legislation
over a provision of law which has been the law of the land for 39 years
and which all of our Democratic friends have repeatedly voted for time
and time again, as recently as late last year in the Omnibus
appropriations bill?
This is a phantom problem, and they are choosing a phantom problem
over real victims. It is beyond belief and I think deeply depressing.
But there is an opportunity for our colleagues to rise above this
partisanship they have displayed and to do the right thing. One would
think the 10 people who have been cosponsors of the legislation would
be for advancing this legislation, as well as all the members of the
Senate Judiciary Committee, Republicans and Democrats alike. One would
think that since they have already voted for this provision, they would
do so again and let us consider it, along with an open amendment
process.
In the end, this isn't hurting us or other Senators. This isn't just
poisoning the well here in Washington, DC, making it harder and harder
for us to get things done; this isn't just poisoning our reputation in
the eyes of the people we represent around the country who look to
Washington and see nothing but dysfunction; it is squandering an
opportunity to help vulnerable children who are the victims of this
sordid sex trafficking. I hope my colleagues will reconsider and allow
us to proceed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
unanimous consent request--S. 178
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the bipartisan Justice for Victims of
Trafficking Act will go a long way to fight the scourge of modern-day
human slavery. It was introduced back in January by a Republican,
Senator Cornyn, and a Democrat, Senator Klobuchar. As is done with all
legislation, it was posted on the Internet for everyone to read.
Not long after, 14 female senators on the Democrat side joined their
female counterparts on the Republican side to call for a Judiciary
Committee hearing on the matter. Chairman Grassley is committed to
fighting human trafficking. So not only did he hold the hearing they
requested, he promptly scheduled a markup on legislation to combat
modern human slavery, including the Justice for Victims of Trafficking
Act. That markup was conducted in an open and transparent way. The
Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act was debated and amended in
committee.
For example, the senior senator from Connecticut offered an amendment
to this bipartisan bill on behalf of himself and the junior senator
from Illinois. That amendment was approved.
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act was reported unanimously
to the floor. Every single Democrat on the Judiciary Committee voted
for it. Every single one. Soon after, the junior Senator from North
Dakota called on me to take up this bill, which I was happy to do.
The Democratic Majority did not bring this bill to the floor in the
last Congress, and I was determined to try to do something about the
terrible problem of human trafficking. Just a few days ago, every
single Democrat consented to the Senate taking up this bipartisan bill.
The Democrat Leader even committed to work to clear any problems that
would arise on his side of the aisle, although he said he doubted that
any would.
Well, no sooner had these words been uttered, then our Democrat
colleagues began complaining about a provision that was sitting on page
four of the bill. This provision was in there when this bipartisan bill
was introduced. It was in there when the committee held a hearing on
it. It was in there when the committee marked it up--at which point
every single Democrat voted for it. And it was in there when every
Democrat in the Senate agreed to proceed to it on the floor. But now
they are complaining about it and even threatening to filibuster this
critical human rights bill over it.
Now, I understand threatening to filibuster a bill that you oppose.
But our colleagues are threatening to filibuster a bipartisan bill that
they have co-sponsored, voted for, or in some cases, done both.
We have been reasonable throughout this process. Consistent with that
approach, I suggest we resolve this bizarre issue the way the Senate
has traditionally done. I will be proposing a consent agreement where
our friends on the other side of the aisle will get to offer a motion
to strike a provision that so many Democrats voted to support in the
past. As part of my offer, I would further propose that such an
amendment be the first amendment in order, and that it be decided as a
simple up-or-down vote. That is as fair as one can be. An up-or-down
vote at a simple majority threshold.
Not only is that the regular order way to resolve this issue, it is
also the way that leading antitrafficking groups have said we should
resolve this issue. For example, an official from the Coalition Against
Trafficking in Women said, ``Senate Democrats are choosing a phantom
problem over real victims.'' She said Senate Democrats should offer an
amendment to strip out the provision if they don't like it. And then
she said, ``Win or lose and move on.''
I think that is good advice, Mr. President. That is precisely what I
am going to suggest. And I hope my Democratic colleagues will take
``yes'' for an answer.
Mr. President, the Senator from Texas, who has been a leader on this
issue and is the craftsman of this bill--as has Senator Grassley, the
chairman of the committee--has laid out how we got to where we are. It
is sort of a mind-boggling, twisted path that makes almost no sense
even to the casual observer. The dilemma seems to be that our
Democratic friends, having read and signed off on this bill all along
the way, have suddenly discovered a piece of it they do not like. Well,
of course, the way to eliminate a piece you don't like would be to vote
on it.
So I am going to offer a unanimous consent agreement that would give
our friends on the other side an opportunity for an up-or-down, simple
majority vote on the provision they have recently discovered, after
reading the bill for 2 months, that they find offensive. I will give
them an opportunity with a simple majority vote to strike the provision
which they find objectionable and which Senator Cornyn has pointed out
has been part of the law for 39 years.
In that regard, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate resumes
consideration of S. 178, that it be in order for Senator Leahy or his
designee to offer an amendment to strike the limitations language; that
there be up to 1 hour of debate on the amendment equally divided
between the managers or their designees; and that following the use or
yielding back of the time, the Senate vote on the amendment; further,
that following disposition of this amendment, the managers or their
designees be allowed to offer amendments in an alternating fashion.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hoeven). Is there objection?
Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, my friend the senior Senator from Texas
could write a book on how the Senate has been dysfunctional. That
chapter, which would become a huge part of what he would be writing
about, would be on what has happened in the last 6 years. Talk about
dysfunction. The Republicans have basically filibustered everything,
and I mean everything--everything. The decision was made after Obama
was elected that they weren't going to support anything, and to your
credit, I say to the Presiding Officer and all Republicans, you stuck
with it. You supported nothing Obama wanted to get done. So let's not
talk about the dysfunction of the Senate because the book on that has
been written by the Republican minority for the last 6 years.
Mr. President, the legislation dealing with human trafficking is
going to pass this Congress, but it is going to pass this Congress
without abortion language in it.
[[Page S1474]]
There has been a lot of talk in the last couple of days about how to
handle this issue, and the way to handle the issue is very simple: Just
take it out of the bill. It could be done with a consent agreement in
the matter of a second or two. So that is what we proposed, and we have
been proposing it for the last several days. Take the abortion language
out of this bill. If my Republican colleagues want to get something
done, just take the abortion politics out of this bill. Unfortunately,
for those who want to see this trafficking bill pass, Republicans are
ignoring the obvious path forward while setting a new low standard on
all bipartisan business that is conducted in the Senate.
By saying that Democrats should always assume their Republican
partners are just not being forthright, I guess it is our fault because
time and time again, whether it is on the funding of Homeland Security
or whether it is trying to solve a problem we have in the Middle East,
there is always something that comes out of nowhere--something so
unusual, so unbelievable that we would have 47 Senators sign a letter
directed to the Ayatollah. Never in the 200 years of this body has
there been this level of interference in negotiations by the President
until just a few days ago.
The bottom line is this: Democratic Senators have been working in
good faith on this critical legislation for years. Assuming their
Republican partners were being forthright when they provided a list of
changes that did not include the addition of the Hyde language,
Republicans are now saying that trusting them was a mistake.
There is a clear path forward to passing this trafficking bill, which
is the goal shared, I hope, by Democrats and Republicans. Republicans
should work with us to remove the unrelated abortion language that has
no business being in this bill. Democrats are open to any number of
ways to improve the language in this bill, but it is so simple: Just
take it out. Take the abortion language out.
Today, Senator Leahy, a senior Member of this body, submitted text
that omits the abortion language. One way forward would be for the
Senate to adopt, not simply vote on, this text. Voting to reject the
change Democrats are seeking, as Senator McConnell says he wants to do
today, is not a viable path forward since it does not address
Democrats' concern that abortion language has no place in a bill
designed to protect victims of human trafficking.
This trafficking bill could pass quickly if the abortion language
were removed, as I said. We hope Republicans will do the right thing in
the interest of passing this bill and will work with us to remove the
completely unrelated abortion language that has no business being in
this bill.
I, therefore, object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
The majority leader.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I want to make sure everybody
understands what has been objected to. The provision that was in the
bill has been in there for 2 months. Everybody had a chance to read it.
It came out of committee unanimously. No one objected to proceeding to
it on the floor.
I just offered the minority an opportunity for a simple up-or-down
vote to strike the provision they recently discovered, and they have
objected to it.
Senator Cornyn, Senator Grassley, and a number of others of you have
worked very hard on this extremely important legislation. I brought it
to the floor the other day, open for amendment, but we have not been
able to offer any amendments because the minority doesn't want to have
an open amendment process and is insisting on trying to kill this
important bill because of a provision they claim somehow they missed.
After its being in there for 2 months, they now suddenly find it
offensive.
So where we are is we are still on the bill, and we are going to pass
this bill, I assure you. I want to assure Senators Cornyn, Grassley,
and all the people out in America who have been clamoring for this
bill--and I might ask Senator Cornyn, how many groups are there that
are supporting this measure?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. If I could respond, Mr. President, there are about 200
different law enforcement and victims' rights organizations, including
the one from the chart I mentioned earlier, the Coalition Against
Trafficking of Women. This is one of those rare subjects where people
have genuinely come together in revulsion to this terrible crime but
also in an attempt to do something meaningful to address it.
Mr. McCONNELL. So what I want to say to those groups is that we are
going to stay on this bill until we pass it. I have offered the
minority an opportunity to have an up-or-down vote to take out the
provision they have suddenly discovered is offensive to them even after
having it in the bill for 2 months. Even the most casual observer would
have to conclude that the minority is going to great lengths to prevent
the Senate from even doing business on things that are overwhelmingly
supported. But I will say this to everybody out there who cares about
this bill: We are going to stay on it until we finish it.
I yield the floor.
Vote on Hart Nomination
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and
consent to the nomination of Christopher A. Hart, of Colorado, to be
Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board for a term of two
years?
Mr. INHOFE. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Florida (Mr. Rubio).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer)
and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 70 Ex.]
YEAS--97
Alexander
Ayotte
Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt
Booker
Boozman
Brown
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Donnelly
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Flake
Franken
Gardner
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heinrich
Heitkamp
Heller
Hirono
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Kaine
King
Kirk
Klobuchar
Lankford
Leahy
Lee
Manchin
Markey
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Nelson
Paul
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Reed
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Sasse
Schatz
Schumer
Scott
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Stabenow
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Udall
Vitter
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NOT VOTING--3
Boxer
Rubio
Sanders
The nomination was confirmed.
Vote on Dinh-Zarr Nomination
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the question is,
Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination of Tho Dinh-Zarr,
of Texas, to be a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board
for the remainder of the term expiring December 31, 2018?
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motions to
reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table, and the
President will be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.
____________________