[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 131 (Wednesday, August 2, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4709-S4711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



            Great Lakes Environmental Sensitivity Index Bill

  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, as we head into the month of August, many 
Americans are planning to spend time along our beautiful coasts. Our 
country is fortunate to have such a wide variety of natural resources 
along the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, and the east and west coasts. 
However, I am partial to America's best coast: The 4,500 miles of U.S. 
coastline along the Great Lakes.
  Our coastal resources make it possible to move cargo and goods around 
the world. They provide opportunities for outdoor recreation like 
fishing and boating and trips to the beach. Our coasts are not only 
beautiful, providing some of the most scenic vistas and picturesque 
landscapes our country has to offer; these ecosystems also provide many 
tangible benefits. They serve as flooding buffers, critical habitats 
for fish and wildlife, and locations for ports and other marine 
infrastructure.
  In the Great Lakes, our freshwater coastline contains one-fifth of 
the entire world's fresh water and provides drinking water for over 40 
million people. We must be stewards of these areas

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so that future generations can also benefit from them. In order to do 
so, we must properly document and keep track of this precious resource.
  That is why I partnered with Senator Young to introduce the 
bipartisan Great Lakes Environmental Sensitivity Index Act of 2017 to 
require NOAA to update environmental sensitivity index maps and map 
products. The bill passed unanimously out of the Commerce Committee 
this morning by a voice vote and now heads to the full Senate floor for 
consideration.
  Environmental sensitive index--or ESI--maps provide an inventory of 
our valuable natural and human-use resources along our coasts. These 
maps chronicle sensitive ecosystems and the presence of various species 
as they migrate through regions and habitats for threatened and 
endangered species. They also document where we can access coastal 
resources from beaches and parks to docks, ferries, and boat ramps.
  We must maintain an up-to-date inventory of these precious coastal 
resources so that we know exactly where we need to focus our response 
efforts in a worst-case scenario of a harmful oil or chemical spill. 
Accurate documentation of these resources and their vulnerabilities is 
critical to both deploying the right response effort when a spill or 
accident occurs and assessing the damage and restoration efforts needed 
after the fact.
  In places like the Straits of Mackinac, where a 64-year-old oil 
pipeline sits at the bottom of the lake bed, it should be our top 
priority to have a current inventory of what shoreline resources could 
be impacted by a pipeline leak. Models have shown that a pipeline spill 
in the Straits of Mackinac could likely result in oil reaching the 
shores of Mackinac Island within hours, which would be an absolute 
catastrophe for Michigan's top tourist attraction.
  ESI maps don't just help with oilspill response; they can also be 
used for coastal development activities, and they even have significant 
research applications. They provide a clear reference point prior to 
natural disasters or major storms that may damage, destroy, or 
significantly alter resources along our coasts. Decision makers at the 
local and State level may use them for restoration efforts or to make 
informed decisions about how to balance all of the various uses in that 
coastal zone.
  ESI maps need regular updates in order for them to be truly 
effective. These updates are happening now for other areas of the 
country. Stretches of the west coast, along the Gulf of Mexico, and 
along the east coast have all received updates over the last 5 years.
  One region is continually absent from these updates: my home region 
of the Great Lakes. In fact, the most recent updates for some of the 
Great Lakes were completed over 20 years ago, but Lake Erie and parts 
of Lake Michigan haven't been updated for over 30 years. This bill 
gives the proper direction and resources to make sure these long 
overdue updates move forward.
  Supporters of the bill so far include the Great Lakes Charter Boat 
Association, the Coastal States Organization, the Great Lakes 
Commission, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, the National Wildlife 
Federation, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, and the group For Love 
of Water. With nearly 3,300 miles of coastline in Michigan, the second-
most coastline of any State in the Nation, we need to update Great 
Lakes environmental sensitivity index products as soon as we can.
  Modernizing these maps will provide a better picture of what 
resources could be at risk in the event of a disaster and will be an 
important tool to help us keep our Great Lakes safe and clean for 
future generations.
  I look forward to working with Senator Young and the rest of my 
colleagues in the Senate to move this bill forward and make sure that 
we have the tools we need to make the best decisions for the Great 
Lakes, no matter the challenges and opportunities facing us.
  Thank you.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, today the Senate will vote on the 
confirmation of Marvin Kaplan to be a member of the National Labor 
Relations Board, NLRB. I am glad that we are moving this nomination 
because the National Labor Relations Board needs to function as 
intended.
  The board hasn't been full in nearly 2 years. I am certainly not the 
only one of us who thinks a full Board is important. One Democratic 
senator said at a hearing on May 16, 2013: ``I strongly support a fully 
functioning NLRB with five members. I think confirming the entire slate 
will ensure that the NLRB is working for American workers and American 
employers.''
  Another said at the same hearing: ``What we don't need now--the last 
thing we need here in Washington or across the country--is more rancor, 
more division, more ideology, at a time we need this Board fully 
functioning. We need five people to get confirmed here. Any Senator who 
is standing in the way of getting five people confirmed and having a 
functioning Board has a lot of explaining to do . . .''
  Then-Chairman Harkin said in September 2014: ``Keeping the NLRB fully 
staffed and able to do its work will send a strong message to the 
American people that yes, Washington can work, and our government can 
function.''
  The National Labor Relations Board has five members with 5-year, 
staggered terms, and a general counsel with a 4-year term. There is no 
statutory requirement regarding party affiliation, but the tradition 
has been for the President to appoint members on a 3-2 ratio favoring 
the administration, with nominations for the two minority seats 
recommended by the Senate minority leader.
  While we may often disagree with the opinions of the nominees for the 
other party's seats--many of us have ensured they had an up or down 
vote. For example, since 2013, I have voted for cloture for two board 
members and the current general counsel who I then voted against 
confirming.
  Marvin Kaplan has been nominated for a position that has sat vacant 
for 23 months since President Obama declined to nominate a Republican 
for the then-minority seat. My hope is that this nominee will help 
restore some balance to the labor board.
  After years of playing the role of advocate, the Board should be 
restored to the role of neutral umpire. Board partisanship didn't start 
under President Obama, but it became worse under him. When the Board is 
too partisan, it creates instability in our Nation's workplaces and 
does not serve the intent of the law--which is stable labor relations 
and free flow of commerce.
  For example, under President Obama, the Board took three harmful 
actions, including the joint employer decision--which threatened to 
destroy the American dream for owners of the Nation's 780,000 franchise 
locations; the ambush elections rule, which can force a union election 
before an employer and many employees have a chance to figure out what 
is going on; and the micro-union decision, which gave factions of 
employees within single stores a path to forming their own unions.
  Nominee Marvin Kaplan is currently chief counsel for the Occupational 
Safety and Health Review Commission, where he has served since August 
2015. From 2009 to 2015, Kaplan worked as counsel for the House 
Education and Workforce Committee and the House Oversight and 
Government Reform Committee.
  Today some Senators have argued about Mr. Kaplan's experience 
practicing law. I want to note that Mr. Kaplan is in fact well-
qualified under the National Labor Relations Act statute. He is an 
experienced lawyer. He earned his law degree at Washington University 
in St. Louis and is a member of the New York and New Jersey State bars. 
The years he has spent considering cases and writing opinions at the 
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, OSHRC, are an 
excellent preparation for the work of the National Labor Relations 
Board, NLRB. I will also point out that there have been a number of 
NLRB members confirmed with limited experience representing clients in 
labor law matters.
  Mr. Kaplan has an admirable record of public service spanning a 
decade. He could have taken a number of different career paths, but he 
chose public service, and that should be praised. There is bipartisan 
respect for Mr. Kaplan.
  At a July 2015 business meeting of the House Education and the 
Workforce Committee, Ranking Member Bobby Scott said this of Mr. 
Kaplan: ``A lot is said about the working relationships around here and 
how bad

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they are from time to time. Staff can contribute to that. I just would 
like to say that Mr. Kaplan has not been part of that; he's been very 
cooperative even when you disagree. We have been able to work with my 
staff, have had good working relationships; a cooperative 
relationships. I want to add my two cents worth to your congratulations 
and God speed.''
  Mr. Kaplan was nominated to be a member of the NLRB on June 20, 2017. 
We held his hearing on July 13, and he completed all paperwork in 
accordance with the HELP Committee's rules, practices, and procedures. 
Our rules require that their HELP paperwork be submitted 5 days before 
their hearing. We received Mr. Kaplan's HELP paperwork and his Office 
of Government Ethics, OGE, paperwork on June 26, 17 days before his 
hearing. Mr. Kaplan also offered to meet with all HELP members. Mr. 
Kaplan met with 10 of them, including 5 Democrats. Following the 
hearing, Mr. Kaplan responded to 53 questions for the record, QFRs, or 
81 if you include subquestions, and those responses were provided to 
Senators prior to the markup. The HELP Committee favorably reported out 
his nomination on July 19.
  Recent comparisons show that this process was far from rushed. In 
comparison, under Chairman Harkin, the HELP Committee held hearings and 
markups on NLRB nominees with far less time for consideration. For 
former Board member Kent Hirozawa's seat, which Mr. William Emanuel has 
been nominated to fill, Mr. Hirozawa's hearing was held 7 days after 
his nomination, and his markup was held the next day. Former Board 
member Nancy Schiffer's hearing was held 7 days after her nomination. 
The HELP Committee also held a markup on her nomination the next day. 
Committee members were not able to get responses to any QFRs from Kent 
Hirowzawa or Nancy Schiffer before being forced to vote on them.
  I look forward to voting for this nominee. I hope the Senate will 
take up the nomination of William Emanuel, also for the NLRB, very 
soon, so we have a full board.
  Mr. PETERS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.