[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 77 (Thursday, May 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2761-S2762]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Cloture Motion
Mr. McCONNELL. I send a cloture motion to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination
of Scott Gottlieb, of Connecticut, to be Commissioner of Food
and Drugs, Department of Health and Human Services.
Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, Tom Cotton, Dan Sullivan,
Shelley Moore Capito, John Barrasso, Roger F. Wicker,
Mike Rounds, Orrin G. Hatch, Bill Cassidy, Pat Roberts,
Mike Crapo, Lamar Alexander, Richard Burr, John Thune,
Jerry Moran, James E. Risch.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
mandatory quorum call with respect to the cloture motion be waived.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule
XXII, the cloture vote on the Gottlieb nomination occur following
disposition of the Wilson nomination on Monday, May 8.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and
Girls
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, tomorrow, May 5, Hanna Harris should have
been 25 years old. Instead of celebrating a birthday, we will be
celebrating her memory. Hanna was a 21-year-old member of the Cheyenne
Tribe. She lived in Lame Deer, MT, with her 10-month-old son. The last
time she was seen alive was the Fourth of July of 2013. After that, she
went missing, and 5 days later, her body was found. Hanna was found to
have been raped and murdered.
For too long, the stories of missing and murdered American Indian and
Alaska Native women have gone unheard. In fact, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide was the third
leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women
between the ages of 10 and 24 years and the fifth leading cause of
death for American Indian and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34
years of age.
According to a study commissioned by the Department of Justice,
American Indian women face murder rates that are more than 10 times the
national average. Let me repeat that. American Indian women face murder
rates 10 times the national average. If this were the case in any other
community outside of Native communities, there would be public outcry,
but there hasn't been until now. In fact, yesterday the Senate approved
my resolution to designate May 5, Hanna Harris's birthday, as a day of
remembrance. It will be a day to join together to commemorate the lives
of those we lost tragically, like Hanna. It is a day to validate the
pain Tribal communities have felt and feel every day. It will mark a
national day of awareness for Native women and girls who have gone
missing or have been murdered.
I was joined by 12 of my colleagues in passing this resolution to
declare that the tragic loss of Native women and girls is not just an
issue, it is an epidemic, and I thank them for their support.
Tomorrow, on Hanna's birthday, I will walk with Melinda Limberhand
Harris, Hanna's mother, and with Tribal leadership, as well as members
in Lame Deer, MT, who have also lost a mother, a daughter, a sister, or
a friend. On May 5, we will remember RoyLynn Rides Horse, we will
remember Kenzley Olson, and we will remember the thousands of other
American Indian and Alaska Native women who have been killed or have
disappeared without a trace. And we will remember Hanna Harris on her
birthday tomorrow as we walk together in Lame Deer, MT.
Mr. President, I yield my time.
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.
[[Page S2762]]
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.