[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 160 (Thursday, October 5, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6344-S6345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Tribute to Pastor Alonzo Patterson

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, nearly every week I have been coming 
down to the Senate floor to recognize someone in my State who has made 
a difference for Alaska and really has made a difference for all 
Americans. It is my favorite part of the week to actually come down and 
talk about Alaska to my colleagues in the Senate, to the folks in the 
Gallery, to the press, and to the American people watching. It is what 
I refer to as our time to talk about the Alaskan of the Week.
  Many watching and on the floor and those who have visited our great 
State know that Alaskans think it is the most beautiful place in the 
world. There are natural wonders everywhere. We had a beautiful summer. 
We have resilient, warm-hearted, fiercely independent but accepting 
people. We have challenges in Alaska just like the rest of the country, 
but at the heart of our State are kind, generous people full of 
different cultures and backgrounds that we celebrate.
  Most people don't know this about Anchorage, AK: My hometown is 
probably the most culturally and ethnically diverse city in the 
country. We have places of worship all over the city and the State that 
reflect that great diversity of Alaska and America.
  One of the stalwarts of our faith community for the past 47 years has 
been Pastor Alonzo Patterson of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, 
and he is our Alaskan of the week. Every Sunday he fills his church 
with spirit, joy, and gospel music punctuated by ``amens'' that float 
through the church, down the street, and work their way into our 
community and into our hearts. That is what he has been doing for 47 
years. For decades, those sermons have inspired countless Alaskans to 
help feed the hungry, provide homes for those without, and strive to 
create a more just country, State, and society, and a more just 
community.
  Let me tell you a little bit about Pastor Patterson. He was born in 
Wilson, LA, and raised in New Orleans. Like a lot of Alaskans, 
thousands of Alaskans, he joined the military and made his way up to 
Fairbanks, AK, in the 1960s, where he founded the Corinthian Baptist 
Church, and he ministered to the congregation there. Then, in 1970, he 
was called to Shiloh, one of the few African-American churches in 
Anchorage. He designed and rebuilt Shiloh at its current location, and 
under his leadership, Shiloh's membership, its facilities, and its 
energy took off.
  He has conducted thousands of marriages and baptisms. He has given 
thousands of eulogies, celebrated graduations and anniversaries, 
counseled countless couples, people who are grieving, people who are 
rejoicing, people who are suffering, and he has helped turn that into 
action--not just for the African-American community but for all people 
and all races in our community and in our State.
  Pastor Patterson told a reporter:

       The church was and always has been a sanctuary in the Black 
     community. It is the meeting place, the community center, the 
     focus for support and help, the place you come to be 
     important, the psychologist for your particular problem, the 
     time to shout out your frustrations and the only place to be 
     significant.

  He continued:

       You could be a Deacon or something in the church where in 
     the rest of the community you were just another Black person. 
     The church was for us a panacea for many of the social ills 
     that existed then and still have relevance.

  That is what he talked about. That is his heart and soul, how he saw 
his church and congregation. Thanks to Pastor Patterson and Shiloh, the 
city is a more inclusive place for all. He has helped heal those social 
ills for thousands of our fellow Alaskans.
  One of his friends, Celeste Hodge Growden, a member of the church, 
said:

       He and the church have led the way for a lot of things that 
     have been accomplished here [in Anchorage]. Pastor Patterson 
     always says, ``leaders lead.'' That is the way he has lived 
     his life. He is not in the background.

  During election time, Pastor Patterson organizes a huge ``get out the 
vote'' campaign. He was instrumental in getting a Martin Luther King 
memorial in Anchorage--a 10-year-long endeavor.
  She also talked about the groups he chaired, founded, and led beyond 
his congregation, including Bridge Builders of Anchorage, the March of 
Dimes Foundation, the Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation of Alaska, and 
the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Anchorage.
  You know, with leaders like this, the list goes on and on. In 
addition to Corinthian Baptist Church in Fairbanks and Shiloh in 
Anchorage, Pastor Patterson also planted Eagle River Missionary Baptist 
Church and Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church of Palmer.
  I have been uplifted to the core when my wife Julie and I have gone 
to Shiloh and listened to Pastor Patterson preach and listened to the 
beautiful--and I mean beautiful--Shiloh choir sing. It is a spiritual 
and energizing experience like no other. I love attending services at 
Shiloh.
  On November 5, 2017, Pastor Patterson's 80th birthday, he will be 
giving his last sermon as pastor of Shiloh, and I certainly plan on 
being there. He is stepping down for Pastor Undra Parker, who will be 
the new and dynamic leader of Shiloh--another great Alaskan, another 
veteran--and I know he is going to do a great job. But of course it is 
a bittersweet time for Shiloh's parishioners because of the foundation 
Pastor Patterson built.
  The church, the singing, and the amens will continue on Earth and the 
church in Anchorage, AK, as it is in Heaven. God bless Pastor 
Patterson, his wife of 61 years, First Lady Shirley Patterson, and the 
congregation of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church for all they have done 
and continue to do for our community.
   Congratulations to Pastor Patterson for being our Alaskan of the 
Week.
   Mr. President, I would like to say a few words about my Members on 
the other side of the aisle who are doing something that is just not 
helping the United States of America right now; that is, obstructing 
progress with regard to the new administration.
   I understand that right now my party is in the majority, and to be 
honest, I have been someone who thinks we should spend a lot more time 
here in the Senate, working in the Senate and getting things done. We 
have a lot of work to do. But I see that people back home can get 
frustrated with some of the lack of progress, and some of that we can 
address by spending more time in this body.
   Some of the questions that are coming out are about why things 
aren't getting done. It is a good question. Answers can be complicated, 
but what it mostly boils down to is that a lot of issues in this body--
a lot--rely on consensus. The rules were carefully constructed so that 
the minority has a say in the legislative process. For the most part, I 
believe that is a good thing. As a former President once pointed out, 
we are not a red or blue America; we are the United States of America.
   With that said, the people did elect us to come here and start 
getting

[[Page S6345]]

things done. Implicit in their votes for a new President and a new 
administration was to be able to put people in the Federal Government 
to work, to focus on growing the economy, and to focus on rebuilding 
the military after a 25-percent cut over the last 8 years, to focus on 
better jobs and higher wages.
   Throughout history, whether it has been Republicans or Democrats, 
the minority party has understood this. When a new administration gets 
elected, they start to put nominees in place, and the Senate takes 
action. We hold hearings and we have votes to put Senate-confirmed 
officials in the Federal Government to work. If you don't like the 
person, you can ask them tough questions in hearings and you can vote 
against them on the floor of the Senate or in committees. But what we 
are seeing right now is pure obstruction. On every single nominee, the 
maximum amount of time is required before there is even a vote. This is 
something new. This is something different. In fact, the current 
minority leader said the following words in 2013:

        Who in America doesn't think a President, Democrat or 
     Republican, deserves his or her picks for who should run the 
     Federal Government agencies? Nobody.

   That was the minority leader in 2013. They were wise words then, but 
apparently he and his Members have forgotten those words.
   I have some facts here on the board. At this point in time, 10 
months into President Obama's Presidency in 2009, the Senate had 
allowed more than 318 nominees to be cast by a simple vote. The Senate 
only asked for a procedure known as cloture five times. Essentially, 
President Obama got elected, and the Senate Democrats and Republicans 
worked to get his team put in place. Yes, the Republicans did that. 
Certainly, I wasn't here then. They voted against some of these 
nominees, and that is fine. But what they did was they let them come to 
the floor for a vote.
   In contrast to what I mentioned about President Obama's first year 
in office, only 100 of President Trump's nominees have been confirmed 
through voice vote. That is less than one-third of the courtesy given 
to President Obama 8 years ago. Cloture votes for Trump's nominees have 
been required for 100 nominees. Remember, I just said there were five 
for Obama's nominees 8 years ago. There have been 100 for Trump's 
nominees, and only 63 have been allowed by simple voice vote. What does 
that mean? It means that each vote requires a 2-day waiting period and 
then another 30 hours of debate. That is what it means.
   The press won't write about it. My friends in the press sitting up 
here in the Gallery won't write about this. The contrast between the 
Trump treatment by the Senate and the Obama treatment by the Senate is 
incredible, and we don't hear a word out of the press on this. And this 
isn't partisan; this is just hurting the American people. There was an 
election, and now we need to fill the government with people who can 
run agencies. With all due respect to my friends on the other side of 
the aisle, they are not doing it. They are not allowing it.

  We had a vote on an Eighth Circuit judge last week. It had to go 
through cloture. We essentially spent the whole week on this--2 days 
and 30 hours. The judge passed the Senate by a 95-to-1 vote. It was a 
95-to-1 vote. He wasn't controversial at all so what was the point? The 
point was simply to delay.
  Again, here is the difference. Nominations sent to the Senate are 
about the same. President Obama had more 8 years ago but not too many 
more. There were 520 versus 443 for President Trump confirmed. At this 
time during the Obama administration, there were 342. Trump has 163. So 
that is 66 percent for the Obama nominees 8 years ago and 37 percent 
for the Trump nominees.
  The press will not write about it, but this is a disservice to 
Americans, whether you are a Democrat or Republican. I will just 
mention a few. We have had nominees, such as the Assistant Secretary 
for Health in Health and Human Services. It came out of committee 
several weeks ago. It is sitting on the floor. The Assistant Secretary 
of Health, it is not a controversial position for the company, but it 
is an important position. I bet that person is going to finally get 
passage from the Senate at some point by a big supermajority, but we 
are delaying it. We are delaying it.
  I really would love it if the minority leader would come down, look 
at the American people, and just say: Here is why we are delaying. Here 
is why we are delaying. Explain it. They love to do this kind of stuff, 
procedural ``dark arts,'' thinking people aren't watching. People 
understand this.
  The head of a leading Democratic think tank told the press they 
intend to hold up and tie up floor time on every single Trump 
administration nominee. Now, if that happens, if they take the time for 
every nominee--there are over 1,000 who need Senate confirmation--and 
they take the entire amount of time they are allowed with cloture and 
other votes, if they don't extend the courtesy that was extended to 
President Obama when he was trying to put his team in place, the Trump 
administration will never have a team in place. It will literally be 4 
years.
  I hope today the press starts writing about this because the 
difference here in 8 years is quite remarkable and yet nobody is 
talking about it; that being that the minority leader and my colleagues 
on the other side of the aisle stop obstructing what every other 
administration has had in terms of a courtesy, which is, if you win the 
election, whether you liked it or not, you work with the other side in 
the U.S. Senate to get your people in place--Department of Defense 
officials, Department of Transportation officials, Department of Health 
officials, Environmental Protection Agency officials. We have to get 
the country moving again, and the obstruction, which is unprecedented, 
by the minority leader and unfortunately many of my colleagues on the 
other side is only harming the American people. It is only harming the 
progress that the vast majority of Americans want, whether you are a 
Democrat or a Republican. I am hopeful they are finally going to change 
and start moving forward nominations and letting us vote on them so we 
have an opportunity to actually get this country moving again.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.