[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 28 (Thursday, February 16, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1390-S1391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Vote on Motion to Extend Debate
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to
extend postcloture debate.
Mr. McCONNELL. 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 Arizona (Mr. McCain).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Donnelly)
is necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 47, nays 51, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 70 Ex.]
YEAS--47
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Heitkamp
Hirono
Kaine
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
Manchin
Markey
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Nelson
Peters
Reed
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Stabenow
Tester
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--51
Alexander
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Capito
Cassidy
Cochran
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Flake
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heller
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
McConnell
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Perdue
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott
Shelby
Strange
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Wicker
Young
NOT VOTING--2
Donnelly
McCain
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 47, the nays are
51.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted
in the affirmative, the motion is rejected.
The majority leader.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the votes
following the first vote in the series be 10 minutes in length.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
There will now be 4 minutes of debate, equally divided, on the
nomination.
Who yields time?
The Senator from Delaware.
[[Page S1391]]
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I said repeatedly on this floor that I
take no joy in discord and disagreement. I am not one who is interested
in obstruction. I come from a little State like Senator Coons, where we
get along pretty well. We believe in the three Cs--communicate,
collaborate, compromise.
But you know what else gives me no joy? I get no joy from rising sea
levels from New England to Miami that threatens our way of life. It
threatens our way of life. I get no joy from fish advisories that keep
us from eating fish in every State in this country. I get no joy being
one of the States at the end of America's tailpipe, where we get all
this pollution from other States and end up with higher costs and worse
healthcare. I get no joy from the millions of kids who go to school
this week with their inhalers because they have asthma. I get no joy
from people who appear before us as nominees, take 1,000 questions for
the Record, and give us answers that in too many cases are evasive,
indirect, or incomplete. I get no joy from nominees who appear before
us who pledge to provide information requested by us responsibly,
including electronic media, and never give it to us, who fight for 2
years to make sure we never get it. I get no joy from those
circumstances.
Thomas Jefferson used to say: If the people know the truth, they will
not make a mistake. We are prepared to vote here with incomplete
information, without the kind of wisdom we could have and vote with if
we would wait 10 days--10 days. That is what it would cost. Is that a
long time? Ask Gina McCarthy. She waited 132 days to get a vote. If you
think 1,000 questions are too many to answer, ask Gina McCarthy. She
answered a lot more. Finally, the Republicans got their answers, and we
got our vote. She won and, I think, did an admirable job.
We need the truth. We are seeking the truth. I have no interest in
obstruction. I want the truth.
Vote no.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, for the past 8 years, the Environmental
Protection Agency, through its regulatory rampage, has hurt a lot of
people in my home State of Wyoming and all across the country. The
EPA's overreaching regulations have stunted job growth, hurt our
economy, and failed to help the Agency meet its mission. The mission is
to protect the environment and the health of all Americans. The EPA
needs to be reformed and modernized.
Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt is the right person for the
job. Mr. Pruitt is committed to protecting the environment, ensuring
clean air, water, and land while also supporting a strong and healthy
economy. He stood up to industry that polluted his State's air and
water.
He has received bipartisan support from Senators in this body, from
State leaders, from small business, from farmers, from ranchers, and
from many others across this country. Attorneys general from all around
the country have recognized his good work. Attorney General Luther
Strange of Alabama--now U.S. Senator Strange--and 23 of his peers wrote
a letter in support of Mr. Pruitt's nomination.
Here is what they wrote:
The Administrator of the EPA plays a critical role in our
Nation's government. Attorney General Pruitt has proven, over
the course of his career, that he has the right character,
experience, and knowledge to serve as Administrator of the
EPA.
We urge the Senate to confirm his nomination.
I agree. I urge my colleagues to support the nomination.
I yield back the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Pruitt
nomination?
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Donnelly)
is necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 52, nays 46, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 71 Ex.]
YEAS--52
Alexander
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Capito
Cassidy
Cochran
Corker
Cornyn
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Flake
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heitkamp
Heller
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Manchin
McConnell
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Perdue
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott
Shelby
Strange
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Wicker
Young
NAYS--46
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Kaine
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
Markey
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Nelson
Peters
Reed
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Stabenow
Tester
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--2
Donnelly
McCain
The nomination was confirmed.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote on the
nomination, and I move to table the motion to reconsider.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion to
table.
The motion was agreed to.
____________________