[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 12 (Monday, January 23, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S368-S369]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Third, on nominations, the evidence continues to mount 
that our Republican friends are trying to ram through the President's 
Cabinet nominations without a fair and complete vetting process. 
Totally different, I would say to my good friend the majority leader, 
than what happened when President Obama took office. As I said, our 
constitutional duty to advise and consent does not mean ramming through 
nominees. Here are three instances, just new ones. They pile up. 
Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson did not adequately respond to 
our questions for the record, and a number of Democrats still await 
more complete responses. Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos 
refused to return to the HELP Committee now that her ethics paperwork 
is in, even though her ethics agreement gains her

[[Page S369]]

the ability to retain interest in companies that will be directly 
affected by the policies of the Department of Education. Representative 
Price, the nominee for HHS, refused to meet with several members of the 
committee before his nomination is scheduled for a vote.
  This is not how nominations should go. Now, I know--with a swamped 
Cabinet of bankers, billionaires, more wealth, more potential conflicts 
of interest, more positions way far over from what the American people 
want--why our Republican colleagues want to rush these nominees 
through. But let me reiterate that they will have tremendous power over 
the lives of average Americans. A few extra days to examine and explore 
what they believe to make sure that they don't have conflicts of 
interest--who wouldn't be for that, unless they don't want the facts to 
come out?
  So we are not stalling nominations. This isn't sport. This is serious 
stuff. We have genuine concerns about the qualifications and ethical 
standards of these nominees, and we are going to continue to seek an 
open, transparent, and thorough vetting process for the President's 
Cabinet. These folks are going to be in power for 4 years, maybe. Then 
they deserve a few days of careful vetting. They should not be all 
rushed in a day, with hurried debate, hurrying them through in the dark 
of night--no way. We are going to use whatever abilities we have here 
to make sure that doesn't happen.

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