Congressional Record, Volume 161 Issue 178 (Wednesday, December 9, 2015)

[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 178 (Wednesday, December 9, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8517-S8520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUESTS--NOMINATIONS

Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise again today to support Adam Szubin's
nomination to serve as Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial
Crimes at the Treasury Department, as well as to support several other
nominees whose nominations have been pending before the Senate banking
committee for many months--some for almost a full year--with no vote.
All of these nominees have had hearings. They have all completed a
thorough committee vetting process and

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they are ready to be approved. Yet the Senate banking committee is the
only committee in the Senate that has not yet held a single vote on any
administration nominee in this Congress--not one vote on any of the
more than a dozen nominees this Congress.
There are 13 nominees pending before the committee. Here we are in
the final month of the year, and Republicans still have not held a vote
on any of them.
This inaction stands in stark contrast to this committee's record on
nominees over the past 15 years. When we look at this chart, we see for
the 107th, 108th, 109th, 110th, 111th, 112th, 113th, 114th--eight
Congresses, 15 years--this Congress is only half completed--Republican
Presidents during much of this time and Democratic Presidents during
much of this time; a Republican majority in the banking committee
during some of this time and a Democratic majority in the banking
committee during some of this time. Yet when we look at these numbers,
we see lots referred to committee, but when we look at the number of
approved by committee for this Congress: zero. The number confirmed by
the Senate coming out of banking for these nominations: zero. The
number returned to the President: zero. The number withdrawn: zero.
In other words, time after time, year after year, President after
President, Senate majority after Senate majority, we have seen the
Senate banking committee actually do its work, until the 114th
Congress, 2015: nothing in terms of approval. In this Congress, the
committee has failed to carry out its duty to consider and act upon the
President's nominees.
Let me start with Mr. Szubin, who is currently serving in his
critical position in an acting capacity. Despite having bipartisan
support--the Presiding Officer I know is also on the banking
committee--his nomination has languished for 200 days because of
Republican obstruction.
This is a critical national security post that must be filled
permanently. Mr. Szubin heads what is in effect Treasury's economic war
room, managing U.S. efforts to combat terrorist financing and fight
financial crimes. He can do his job better if he is not acting but if
he is in fact the confirmed nominee of the President of the United
States. He is helping to lead the charge to choke off ISIL's funding
sources. We are introducing legislation today, in part, answering the
threat of ISIL and the threat of terrorism and, in part, by coming up
with new ways to choke off funding for the terrorists. Nobody is in a
better position in our government--nobody--than Mr. Szubin, and I want
him confirmed so he can do his job better. It would prevent developing
additional capacity to strike war targets around the world. He is
working to hold Iran--regardless of how one voted on the Iran nuclear
deal, he is going to hold Iran to its commitments under the nuclear
deal and lead a campaign against the full range of Iran's other
destructive activities.
Mr. Szubin has served in senior positions first in the Bush
administration and now in the Obama administration. I don't know if he
is a Democrat or Republican. I don't really care. He is an acknowledged
expert in economic sanctions and counterterrorist financing. There is
no question--no question--that he is qualified for this position. Over
the last 15 years he has distinguished himself as an aggressive
enforcer of our Nation's sanctions laws against Russia, against Iran,
against North Korea, and against money launderers, against terrorists,
and against narcotraffickers. Given all the concerns surrounding
terrorist financing--legitimate concerns that Senator Shelby has and
that I have and probably all other 98 Members of the Senate have--one
would think a nomination would be a priority. In the past, it has been.
Szubin's mentor, Bush Under Secretary Stuart Levey, was confirmed by
the Senate just 3 weeks after his nomination came to the banking
committee. The Senate took just 2\1/2\ months to consider Mr. Szubin's
immediate predecessor.
Mr. Szubin has support across the political spectrum. Even many
groups opposed to the Iran nuclear deal support his nomination. The
banking committee chairman, Senator Shelby, my friend who is in the
Chamber, described Mr. Szubin as ``eminently qualified.'' He deserves
the strong backing of the Senate. Without it, his ability to operate
here and abroad is less than it should be.
So I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive
session and the banking committee be discharged from further
consideration of PN371, the nomination of Adam J. Szubin to be Under
Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes; that the Senate proceed
to its consideration and vote without intervening action or debate;
that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid
upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further
motions be in order to the nomination; that any statements related to
the nomination be printed in the Record; that the President be
immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume
legislative session.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard from the Senator from
Alabama.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I am frustrated that my colleagues have
chosen to continue to object without giving a reason why we are not
going to vote on this nomination; not talking about Mr. Szubin's lack
of qualifications--because that just wouldn't be true--and not
ultimately helping us deal with terrorism around the world in this
critical national security nomination.
Let me turn to another key Treasury official who has been nominated
to serve in a dual economic security and national security role,
Adewale Adeyemo, to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for
International Markets and Development. The person in this role is
responsible for key national security issues and recommendations made
in the CFIUS process, which assesses the major national security
implications of large investments in the United States made by foreign
firms.
Like Mr. Szubin, Mr. Adeyemo has been waiting for months for the
banking committee to act on his nomination.
I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session
and the banking committee be discharged from further consideration of
PN86, the nomination of Adewale Adeyemo to be Assistant Secretary for
International Markets and Development; that the Senate proceed to its
consideration and vote without intervening action or debate; that if
confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon
the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions
be in order to the nomination; that any statements related to the
nomination be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately
notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative
session.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. SHELBY. I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard from the Senator from
Alabama.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I am further frustrated because of a lack
of information as to why we are not confirming this nominee. We have
had hearings and they have been vetted. There is no opposition to
qualifications. There is no dispute over how important these positions
are.
Let me turn to a nomination for another key economic security
position in the administration: Patricia Loui-Schmicker to serve on the
Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank.
The Export-Import Bank has been around since the days of Roosevelt.
There were efforts by tea party Republicans to put the Export-Import
Bank out of business. They did, for a period of time, even though for
75 years it has been reauthorized, kept in existence, helped our
country, made a difference in creating jobs, helping big companies such
as Boeing and GE and others, and helping all kinds of small companies.
Many of the companies they have helped people haven't even heard of,
that are in Ohio and that are part of the economic supply chain, the
supply chain for these companies.
This week I was with a group of people who do this kind of work in
Ohio. They were just flabbergasted that because of intransigence on the
part of

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tea party Republicans, we can't get them--we didn't authorize it for
months and months, and now, when we finally did and it can operate, the
Ex-Im Bank can't operate because the Senate banking committee will not
do its job.
So I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive
session and the banking committee be discharged from further
consideration of PN288, the nomination of Patricia Loui-Schmicker to be
a member of the Board of Directors for the Ex-Im Bank of the United
States; that the Senate proceed to its consideration and vote without
intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no
intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to
the nomination; that any statements related to the nomination be
printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of
the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. SHELBY. I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard from the Senator from
Alabama.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, the objections from my Senate colleague, my
friend Senator Shelby, costs us American jobs. When you shut down the
Export-Import Bank, it means that workers get laid off, it means that
companies can't expand, it means companies can't do what they want.
So the first objection means our country is less safe, the second
objection causes us all kinds of problems with making sure our
companies and national security is what it should be, and this third
objection costs us American jobs. None of these do I understand.
Mr. President, I want to turn to another Treasury Department nominee.
Amias Gerety has been nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Financial
Institutions, Department of the Treasury. Mr. Gerety has played an
important role since the beginning of the current administration,
helping our country recover from the worst financial crisis since the
Great Depression. He deserves the full backing of the banking
committee.
I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session
and the banking committee be discharged from further consideration of
PN208, the nomination of Amias Moore Gerety to be Treasury's Assistant
Secretary for Financial Institutions; that the Senate proceed to its
consideration and vote without intervening action or debate; that if
confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon
the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions
be in order to the nomination; that any statements related to the
nomination be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately
notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative
session.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. SHELBY. I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard from the Senator from
Alabama.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I will move on to another nomination.
This nomination is for the Federal Transit Administration. This
distinguished nominee, Therese McMillan, has been awaiting confirmation
since January of this year. She joined FTA as the Administrator in
2009. She has been Acting Administrator for a year and a half.
Apparently the Republican majority doesn't want anybody in the Obama
administration because the President they don't much like has nominated
these people. It is pretty hard to understand.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to
executive session and the banking committee be discharged from further
consideration of PN41, the nomination of Therese McMillan to be
Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration; that the Senate
proceed to its consideration and vote without intervening action or
debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made
and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no
further motions be in order to the nomination; that any statements
related to the nomination be printed in the Record; that the President
be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then
resume legislative session.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. SHELBY. I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard from the Senator from
Alabama.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, a nominee to be inspector general of the
FDIC, Jay Lerner, has been awaiting confirmation since January of this
year.
We know the Republican majority doesn't much like Obama nominees,
even though President Obama is one of, I believe, two Democrats in the
last 150 years who has actually--correct me if I am wrong--won at least
51 percent of the country's votes twice. Since the Civil War, the only
other was Franklin Roosevelt, who won more than half of the popular
vote four times in the country. I know some of my colleagues don't seem
to want to recognize that he is the President of the United States and,
as we have always done in this country, the President gets to nominate
people. If they are qualified, they should be confirmed. Even if there
is disagreement on their qualifications, they should be voted on and
voted down. We are even asking you to do that if that is what you
choose to do. But, particularly since they don't much like the people
the President puts on the FDIC, maybe we need an inspector general who
can find out if they are doing things wrong. That is the whole point of
the inspector general--to root out corruption and other problems, such
as incompetence, in an agency. That is what Jay Lerner would do as the
inspector general of the FDIC.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to
executive session and the banking committee be discharged from further
consideration of PN65, the nomination of Jay Neal Lerner to be
inspector general of the FDIC; that the Senate proceed to its
consideration and vote without intervening action or debate; that if
confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon
the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions
be in order to the nomination; that any statements related to the
nomination be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately
notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative
session.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. SHELBY. I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard from the Senator from
Alabama.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I guess that is the conclusion of my
efforts today. Senator Shelby can return to the Republican luncheon if
he would like or debate me a little bit on this, but I don't get this--
first of all, in terms of our national security, the importance of Adam
Szubin; in terms of honesty in government, the importance of Jay
Lerner; in terms of creation of jobs, the nominee to the Export-Import
Bank.
I will not belabor this process anymore. I will not raise nominees
anymore for reasons of time. I think I have made my point, but
especially for critical national and economic security, the nominees on
this list should move forward.
I don't understand this. I haven't seen anything quite like this in
the Congress of the United States. I continue to press this case. I am
willing to talk one-on-one with Senator Shelby on this. He has been
open to that in the past. I hope my colleagues will join me in
bipartisan approval of these national and economic security nominees
who will matter for the continued greatness of our great country.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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