[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 59 (Thursday, April 12, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2083-S2084]
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 resume consideration of the following 
nomination, which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Patrick 
Pizzella, of Virginia, to be Deputy Secretary of Labor.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, today the Senate will vote on the 
confirmation of Patrick Pizzella to be the Deputy Secretary of the 
United States Department of Labor, DOL. The Department of Labor is 
charged with enforcing laws to keep workers safe on the job, ensuring 
workers are paid the wages they are owed, helping to develop our 
workforce, and keeping critical data on our employment market.
  Patrick Pizzella brings a wealth of relevant experience in both 
Democratic and Republican administrations. President Trump designated 
Mr. Pizzella as acting Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations 
Authority, FLRA, in January 2017, a position which he held through 
December 2017. President Obama appointed Mr. Pizzella to the FLRA in 
August 2013, after which he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by voice 
vote on October 16, 2013.
  Mr. Pizzella served under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009, 
as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Administration and Management at 
the Department of Labor. Mr. Pizzella was nominated by President Bush 
in April 2001--approved in May without a hearing by the Senate 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, HELP, under 
Senator Ted Kennedy--and confirmed by the full Senate 2 days later.
  Mr. Pizzella also served at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 
the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the U.S. General Services 
Administration.
  This day is long overdue. President Trump initially nominated Mr. 
Pizzella to be the Deputy Secretary of Labor on June 20, 2017. The 
Senate HELP Committee received Mr. Pizzella's HELP Committee 
application on June 29, 2017. On June 23, 2017, the committee received 
Mr. Pizzella's Office of Government Ethics, OGE, paperwork, including 
his public financial disclosure and ethics agreement. Based on these 
documents, OGE determined that Mr. Pizzella ``is in compliance with 
applicable laws and regulations governing conflicts of interest.'' Mr. 
Pizzella completed all paperwork in accordance with the HELP 
Committee's rules, practices, and procedures. The HELP Committee held 
Mr. Pizzella's hearing on July 13, 2017, and reported his nomination 
favorably on October 18, 2017.
  Pursuant to Senate rules, Mr. Pizzella's nomination was returned to 
the President at the end of the first session of the 115th Congress. In 
fact, Mr. Pizzella was one of nearly 100 of President Trump's nominees 
who were returned to the President. It is unfortunate the Department of 
Labor has had to operate without its second most senior official for 
more than 9 months since Mr. Pizzella's initial nomination.
  President Trump again nominated Mr. Pizzella to be the Deputy 
Secretary of Labor on January 8, 2018. The HELP Committee again 
favorably reported Mr. Pizzella's nomination on January 18, 2018.
  The Department will greatly benefit from Mr. Pizzella's leadership 
and experience, and I look forward to supporting his confirmation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. SASSE. Mr. President, I yield back all time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, all time is yielded back.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Pizzella 
nomination?

[[Page S2084]]

  

  Mr. SASSE. 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 Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth) 
is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 50, nays 48, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 69 Ex.]

                                YEAS--50

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--48

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Jones
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Duckworth
     McCain
       
  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.

                          ____________________