[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 182 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7071-S7072]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Republican Senate is continuing its 
important work on behalf of the American people. We are moving forward 
on legislative priorities that will benefit hard-working families 
throughout the country. We are also continuing to confirm President 
Trump's nominees throughout the Federal Government.
  Last week, we continued our momentum with the confirmation of well-
qualified and talented individuals to serve in the Federal judiciary. 
This week, the Senate is considering multiple nominations to important 
agencies. Yesterday, we confirmed officials to the Department of 
Defense and to the Department of Justice. Soon, they will get to work 
for the American people.
  Next, the Senate will vote to confirm Peter Robb as the general 
counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. As I said yesterday, Mr. 
Robb's experience in employment law will help return the NLRB to its 
role as an impartial arbiter of labor disputes instead of a political 
cudgel for union bosses and leftwing special interests, as it was under 
the Obama administration.
  We will then turn to another qualified individual who will help undo 
some of the damage of the Obama administration. William Wehrum, 
President Trump's nominee to be the Assistant Administrator for EPA's 
Office of Air and Radiation, will put his experience to good use for 
our Nation.
  The Office of Air and Radiation is one of the most important parts of 
the EPA. Unfortunately, under the previous administration, it was also 
one of the offices with the most significant overreach. This one office 
was responsible for 95 percent of the annual regulatory burdens that 
the EPA forced onto our economy, according to one report, reportedly 
costing the economy at least $41 billion--this one Agency.
  So this is an office in desperate need of new leadership from an 
individual who understands how to implement clean air policies in a 
balanced way rather than with extreme regulatory overreach. Mr. Wehrum 
is the right person for the job. With more than three decades of 
experience in environmental policy, he understands the issues before 
the EPA and how to address them. He even worked in this particular 
office before serving as Acting Administrator from 2005 to 2007.
  Mr. Wehrum has earned support from many different corners. His former 
boss at the EPA, Jeff Holmstead, said that ``there is no better 
person'' to fill this position. The EPA's Deputy Administrator from 
2005 to 2009, Marcus Peacock, said that ``Wehrum's understanding of the 
Clean Air Act may be second to none.'' Even the Natural Resources 
Defense Council--not exactly a rightwing organization--had this to say 
about this nominee's previous experience at the EPA, noting that he 
``achieve[d] important air pollution reductions.''
  ``Wehrum, Holmstead, and the Bush EPA,'' the NRDC further wrote, 
``deserve credit for these substantial public health and air quality 
achievements.''
  Nominees like Mr. Wehrum will continue the work of this EPA to undo 
the damage of the Obama administration's overreach in a reasonable 
manner. For instance, Obama's Office of Air and Radiation was 
responsible for the administration's dubious energy regulatory scheme, 
which threatened to punish coal families and ship middle-class jobs 
overseas.
  When Administrator Scott Pruitt came to Kentucky last month, he 
announced the official withdrawal of that rule. Unlike the previous 
leadership of the EPA, Administrator Pruitt actually cared enough to 
come to my home State and hear directly from the men and women impacted 
by the Agency's regulations. He is someone who will work with us to 
protect our environment and save Kentucky families from harmful 
regulations. Mr. Wehrum will work with Administrator Pruitt to help 
continue this trend at the EPA. I look forward to the Senate advancing 
his nomination.

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