[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 31, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S501-S503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
proceed to the consideration of the nomination of Elaine Chao to be
Secretary of Transportation, which the clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Elaine
L. Chao, of Kentucky, to be Secretary of Transportation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be 20
minutes of debate, equally divided in the usual form.
The Senator from South Dakota.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to speak in
support of Secretary Elaine Chao to be the Secretary of Transportation.
It would be hard to come up with a more qualified nominee than
Secretary Chao for this important role. In addition to serving for 8
years as the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Secretary Chao has also served as
the Deputy Secretary of the Department that she has now been tapped to
lead. Her extensive experience also includes the United Way of America,
the Peace Corps, and the Federal Maritime Commission.
The Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which I am
honored to chair, held a hearing on Secretary Chao's nomination on
January 11 of this year. To no one's surprise, she demonstrated her
experience, her thoughtfulness, and her commitment to working
collaboratively with Congress on the challenges facing our
transportation system.
Last week, the Commerce Committee acted by voice vote to report her
nomination favorably to the floor, and I am hopeful that the Senate
will confirm her overwhelmingly today.
The agency Secretary Chao has been nominated to lead plays a vital
role in facilitating and promoting the safe and efficient movement of
goods and people throughout the country and around the world.
Our economy is truly dependent upon a thriving transportation sector.
Without a robust and efficient transportation sector, rural States like
mine would be unable to get their goods to the market.
Increasing the capacity and the efficiency of our Nation's highways,
rail lines, pipelines, and ports is crucial and will have to be a top
priority for the next Secretary of Transportation.
A continued focus on safety must also be a top priority for the next
Secretary. While our Nation's pipelines, railroads, airways, and
highways have a strong record of safety, improvements can and should be
made. Many of the strong safety improvements the Commerce Committee
advanced as part of the FAST Act and the PIPES Act last Congress are
yet to be implemented, and we will expect our next Secretary of
Transportation to work with us to ensure speedy implementation.
We will also have the opportunity to collaborate on safety
improvements when we revisit the authorization of the Federal Aviation
Administration later this year. The next Secretary of Transportation
will also have a unique opportunity to show Federal leadership in the
advancement of transportation innovation. V2V technology, autonomous
vehicles, and unmanned aircraft systems, to name a few, have great
promise to promote safety, improve efficiency, and spur economic growth
in this country.
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Secretary Chao will have a momentous opportunity to transform
America's transportation network by promoting safety and innovation,
growing our Nation's freight network, advancing needed improvements to
our infrastructure, and ensuring that all users--both rural and urban--
benefit equally.
Secretary Chao has consistently proved her willingness to roll up her
sleeves and address the challenges facing our Nation. That is why I
look forward to her confirmation as the next Secretary of
Transportation, and I urge my colleagues to support her nomination.
I see my colleague from Florida, the distinguished ranking member on
our committee, Senator Nelson, is here. He also participated, as did
members on both sides. Frankly, I think every member of our committee,
both Republicans and Democrats, had an opportunity to ask questions of
Secretary Chao when she was in front of our committee.
As I said before, she has been carefully vetted, thoroughly vetted
through so many different positions that she has held throughout
previous administrations.
I certainly welcome the opportunity to work with her, as I know my
colleague from Florida does, in meeting the transportation challenges
that our Nation has as we move into the future.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I would echo what our chairman, Senator
Thune, has said about Elaine Chao. She certainly has the qualifications
to be our next Secretary of Transportation. Clearly, she is a part of
the Senate family; as the spouse of the majority leader, we know her
well--and her government experience as the previous Secretary of Labor
and Deputy Secretary of Transportation. The Office of Government
Ethics, which is the independent agency that vets the nominees, has
certified that she is in compliance with all the laws and regulations
governing conflicts of interest.
This Senator intends to vote for her confirmation, as I did in the
committee.
Since the Senator from Arkansas, in his objection to the unanimous
consent request of the Democratic leader, made note of the absence of
Democratic members from the Finance Committee markup of a couple of the
Cabinet nominees, I want to bring to the attention of my colleagues
that indeed, there was new information that came to light overnight in
a publication in the Wall Street Journal of additional information
about the nominee for the Department of HHS, which needs to be cleared
up before the committee proceeds. So I wanted to put that on the record
and make clear one of the reasons that the Finance Committee members
objected to proceeding.
I think it interesting also that this Senator, as the ranking member
of the Commerce Committee, had some additional questions for Secretary
Chao--not questions in any kind of defensive or offensive way but
additional information. Those questions were proffered Sunday night or
early Monday morning. This Senator, not having heard all day from
Secretary Chao, called Secretary Chao. She promptly returned the call
last evening, and, lo and behold, the transition team for the Secretary
of Transportation had not even given her the questions.
One of the questions that this Senator had for Secretary Chao was
this: Given the chaos in the airports over the weekend, was she as
Secretary of Transportation concerned about the orderly administration
of those airports when such an unusual order had come down? In
addition, what about the lost tickets on getting refunds for passengers
and what about the changing of flight crews that might cause extra
expenses? These are all items that a Secretary of Transportation would
be concerned with going forward. What I found out in conversation was
that the nominee to be Secretary of Transportation had not been
consulted by the White House--not in advance, during, or after the
implementation of those orders having to do with the entry into the
United States of refugees and other immigrants.
I think we need Secretary Chao as someone who has the experience, who
has common sense, and will be in a position to offer level-headed,
good, experienced-based advice to the government going forward. It is
just the latest example of some of the fallout from this weekend's
activities.
I recommend to our Senators that we approve the nomination of
Secretary Chao, and I hope that upon her confirmation today by the
Senate, she will be sworn in forthwith.
I yield the floor.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, the Senate considers the nomination
of Elaine Chao to be the Secretary of Transportation. Ms. Chao has
served in a number of roles in both the public and private sectors
throughout her career, ultimately serving as the Secretary of Labor
during the administration of George W. Bush. I look forward to working
with Secretary Chao as we find solutions to modernize and grow our
country's crumbling infrastructure.
We can all agree that investment in our country's transportation
infrastructure means safe bridges, paved roads, completed railways, and
expanded airports. We can also all support innovative approaches to
meeting these needs while guarding public health and environmental
protections. With a long-term vision, Congress is not only repaving
roads, but it is investing in the future of our vibrant communities. In
a rural State like Vermont, it is essential that rural communities have
the transportation options they need to access basic things like
grocery stores, doctors' offices, schools and churches, and banks.
These investments are essential to connecting rural America to the
economic opportunities they need for success.
The importance of this connection was made clear in Vermont after the
devastation of Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. Entire communities were
isolated for days and weeks after the storm until temporary bridges and
roads were able to reconnect us. It was because of substantial Federal
and State commitments that Vermont rebuilt and improved our dams,
roads, wastewater facilities, and rail lines across our State. As
disruptive as the storm was to the rhythm of our everyday lives, it
provided Vermont an opportunity to assess our State's vulnerabilities
and to invest in upgrades. But it should not take a category 4 storm to
allow a State the opportunity to improve its transportation services.
That is why I was encouraged by the Obama administration's continued
investment in programs that were formed as a response to the financial
crisis of 2008. The Transportation Investment Generating Economic
Recovery, TIGER, grant program is providing funding to States for
multimodal programs not considered under traditional transportation
programs. Vermont has received several grants through this program.
Under Secretary Foxx's leadership, there has also been a renewed focus
on transit investment, not only in facilities, but in technology.
Vermont has relied on these programs to enhance our services for the
elderly and disabled, as well as to launch new programs like Green
Mountain Transit's mobile phone application that delivers bus arrival
times and schedule information. Finally, Vermont has 12 State-owned
airports that continue to contribute to Vermont's economic engine. If
not for the commitment to rural airport investment, Vermont would not
have been able to fund our airports' expansions and improvements
necessary to grow and add to our State's commerce and tourism.
America is starving for infrastructure investment. I hope that
Secretary Chao will work with Congress to establish a long-term
investment plan that propels our transportation infrastructure and
technology in both urban and rural areas into the 21 Century.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the
Honorable Elaine Chao to serve as the next Secretary of Transportation.
She has proven she has the experience and the drive to help her
accomplish President Trump's goals to address our nation's
infrastructure needs heads on. I have known Elaine for many decades as
a dedicated civil servant and a talented negotiator and have no doubt
she will again prove to be a highly effective asset to the Executive
branch. Elaine Chao was born in Taiwan and, at the age of 8, came with
her family to America by cargo ship where, at the age of 19, she became
a U.S. citizen.
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From those humble beginnings, she went on to receive degrees from Mount
Holyoke College in Massachusetts and Harvard Business School.
Elaine Chao began her executive career at the U.S. Department of
Transportation in 1986, as Deputy Administrator of the Maritime
Administration, then as Deputy Secretary from 1989 to 1991. She served
as the Director of the Peace Corps, in 1991, where she brought the
Peace Corp programs to the liberated countries of Latvia, Estonia, and
Lithuania; and as president and CEO of the United Way of America where
she helped restore fiscal responsibility to an organization that had
been damaged by mismanagement.
In 2001, she become the 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor, the first Asian
Pacific American woman to be appointed to the President's cabinet in
American history, in President George W. Bush's cabinet. During her 8-
year tenure at the Department of Labor Department, she proved she has
the skills to manage large multifaceted organizations as well as to
initiate needed reforms and new programs that help create jobs and
competiveness in the workforce. Quite frankly, she was the best
Secretary of Labor the United States has ever had.
During her tenure, the Department updated the white collar overtime
regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which has been on the
agenda of every administration since 1977. The most significant
regulatory tort reform of President Bush's first term, the new
regulations provided millions of low-wage vulnerable workers with
strengthened overtime protection.
In 2003, under her leadership, the Department achieved the first
major update of union financial disclosure regulations in more than 40
years, giving rank and file members enhanced information on how their
hard-earned dues are spent. The Department set new worker protection
enforcement records, including recovering record back wages for
vulnerable low-wage immigrant workers. The Department also launched
comprehensive reform of the Nation's publicly funded worker training
programs, to better serve dislocated and unemployed workers.
I have complete confidence in her abilities and look forward to
working with her in her new capacity as the 18th U.S. Secretary of
Transportation.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I support the nomination of Elaine
Chao to be Secretary of Transportation.
Ms. Chao has proven a capable manager. She has served in several
administrations, including as Secretary of Labor and Deputy Secretary
of Transportation. Her experience will serve the Transportation
Department and the Cabinet well.
At the Department of Transportation, Ms. Chao will be responsible for
implementing one of President Trump's most ambitious agenda items--a
massive investment in infrastructure. During the campaign, Mr. Trump
proposed to invest $1 trillion to rebuild infrastructure over the next
decade. And on November 9, 2016, President-Elect Trump said, ``We are
going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges,
tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We're going to rebuild our
infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. And we
will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.''
While we have received few details on the plan, I hope that Ms. Chao
will work closely with Congress to identify needs within our States and
invest broadly in roads, bridges, airports, rail, and transit. While I
believe that public-private partnerships can be one avenue to drive
transportation projects, we cannot rely on them to be the backbone of a
transportation plan, as many communities would struggle to assemble the
financing necessary to make such projects viable.
Our Nation's public infrastructure has historically been a bipartisan
priority. It must remain so.
I appreciate Ms. Chao's commitment during her hearing to enforce the
Davis-Bacon Act's requirement to pay fair wages to ensure that our
Nation's construction jobs can sustain workers and their families.
Commendably, Ms. Chao also emphasized her dedication to safety.
Maryland has a number of critical transportation priorities,
including the Port of Baltimore, the MARC commuter rail, and
increasingly congested highways like I-270 and I-81. We have also
worked closely with the Federal Transit Administration on safety
improvements to the Washington Metro, our Nation's subway, and have
pushed for the creation of the Purple Line. I look forward to working
with Secretary Chao to build a 21st century, multimodal transportation
system that works for all of my constituents in Maryland.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, with respect to the pending Chao
nomination, we yield back the remainder of our time so that we can
proceed to the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Time is yielded back.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, we yield back our time as well.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Chao
nomination?
Mr. GRASSLEY. 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 senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. McCONNELL (when his name was called). Present.
The result was announced--yeas 93, nays 6, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 35 Ex.]
YEAS--93
Alexander
Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Brown
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Cochran
Collins
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Donnelly
Duckworth
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Flake
Franken
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Harris
Hassan
Hatch
Heinrich
Heitkamp
Heller
Hirono
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Leahy
Lee
Manchin
Markey
McCain
McCaskill
Menendez
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Nelson
Paul
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Reed
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Schatz
Scott
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Stabenow
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
Young
NAYS--6
Booker
Gillibrand
Merkley
Sanders
Schumer
Warren
ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1
McConnell
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Heller). Under the previous order, the
motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the
President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
The Senator from West Virginia.
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