[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 22 (Monday, February 5, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S601-S602]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, 
which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Andrei Iancu, of 
California, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property 
and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 30 
minutes of debate, equally divided in the usual form.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I wish to speak on the nomination of 
Andrei Iancu to be Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the U.S. 
Patent and Trademark Office.
  Intellectual property is critical to our national economy because it 
encourages the innovation that improves lives and creates jobs. The 
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office plays a critical role in fostering 
innovation by protecting intellectual property rights, so it is 
important that the office have strong and accountable leadership.
  Mr. Iancu holds a B.S. and M.S. in engineering from the UCLA School 
of Engineering and a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law. He currently is 
the managing partner of the Los Angeles law firm Irell & Manella, where 
he has practiced intellectual property law since 1996. Mr. Iancu has 
represented both patent owners and accused infringers, large and small 
companies, and individuals in a large number of patent cases.
  Mr. Iancu possesses strong legal qualifications, has a proven record 
in the field of intellectual property law, and is well respected in the 
intellectual property community. Last December, the Senate Judiciary 
Committee approved Mr. Iancu's nomination by a voice vote. I support 
Mr. Iancu's nomination, and I urge my colleagues to vote for him.

[[Page S602]]

  

  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time be 
yielded back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Iancu 
nomination?
  Mr. JOHNSON. 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 legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander), the Senator from Mississippi 
(Mr. Cochran), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), and the Senator 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. 
Heinrich) and the Senator from Michigan (Mr. Peters) are necessarily 
absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hoeven). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 94, nays 0, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 28 Ex.]

                                YEAS--94

     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Harris
     Hassan
     Hatch
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Jones
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Reed
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Alexander
     Cochran
     Heinrich
     McCain
     Peters
     Toomey
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the President 
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
  The majority leader.

                          ____________________