[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 186 (Tuesday, November 27, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7111-S7112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Senate Accomplishments

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the 115th Congress is drawing to a close, 
and we have accomplished a lot over the past 2 years. Our goal for this 
Congress was simple--make life better for the American people.
  A big part of that was getting the economy going again. After years 
of economic stagnation under the Obama administration, American 
families were feeling the pinch. Growth was sluggish, wages were 
stagnant, and opportunities were few and far between. For too many 
families, getting ahead had been replaced by getting by. We were 
determined to change that, and so we took action.
  We passed a historic reform of our Tax Code that put more money in 
American families' pockets and made it easier for businesses to grow 
and create jobs and opportunities for American workers, and now we are 
seeing the results: robust economic growth, the lowest unemployment 
level in almost 50 years, a record number of job openings, growing 
wages, near-record confidence among small businesses, and the list goes 
on.
  In human terms, that means more opportunities for American workers 
looking to grow and advance; it means more options for Americans 
searching for a job; and it means bigger paychecks and better benefits 
for workers and less worry for families.
  I am proud tax reform is making life better for American families and 
grateful to Senator Hatch and our colleagues on the Finance Committee 
for the incredible work they did to get this historic reform through 
Congress.
  Tax reform was our biggest economic achievement this Congress, but 
that is not the only thing we have done to help American workers. Along 
with the White House, we have lifted burdensome regulations, and we 
enacted legislation, led by Senator Enzi and Senator Alexander, to 
prepare students for the workforce by improving career and technical 
education programs. We also enacted Senator Crapo's legislation to give 
Main Street lenders relief from burdensome Dodd-Frank regulations.
  On the national security front, under the leadership of the late 
Senator McCain and Senator Inhofe, we have reinvested in our Nation's 
military to ensure that our troops are equipped not only for today's 
mission but to meet the threats of the future. We passed the largest 
pay increase for our troops in nearly a decade, and we delivered real 
reforms for our veterans through the VA MISSION Act. This legislation, 
helmed by Senator Isakson, streamlined the VA's community care programs 
to help ensure that veterans receive efficient, timely, and quality 
care. Once fully implemented, it will also expand caregiver assistance 
to disabled pre-9/11 veterans, an overdue benefit for generations of 
our heroes. We also modernized the Veterans Benefits Administration 
appeals system to develop a quicker, more responsive system for 
veterans.
  On the healthcare front this Congress, we passed the SUPPORT for 
Patients and Communities Act to address the nationwide opioid epidemic. 
This was a product that contained policies championed by multiple 
committees and multiple Senators, and I am grateful for all the work my 
colleagues did to advance this important initiative.
  We also repealed ObamaCare's individual mandate tax which forced 
patients to buy insurance they didn't want and couldn't afford; we 
passed legislation, led by Senator Johnson, to give terminally ill 
patients access to experimental care; and under the leadership of 
Senator Hatch, we passed the longest extension of the State Children's 
Health Insurance Program in the program's history.
  Another major achievement this year has been the tremendous number of 
good judges we have been able to confirm to the Federal bench. Senator 
Grassley has done an incredible job of moving these judges through the 
process and presiding over the confirmations of two Supreme Court 
Justices. The Federal bench will be stronger for many years because of 
his work.
  Senate Republicans have accomplished a lot in the 115th Congress, and 
we are excited to get to work in the 116th. Our agenda will stay the 
same--growing our economy and expanding opportunities for American 
workers and protecting our Nation.
  There are those who wonder how much Congress will be able to 
accomplish in the next 2 years. After all, we are facing a divided 
government. We have a Republican President. The American people voted 
for a Republican majority in the Senate, but they also voted for a 
Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. Divided government 
doesn't have to spell the doom of productivity.
  Over the last 30-plus years, some of our greatest legislative 
accomplishments have been the product of divided government--the 1986 
Reagan tax reform, 1996 welfare reform, the Balanced Budget Act of 
1997, national security legislation in 2002, the 2012 legislation to 
help working families by making the Bush tax cuts permanent, a major 
reform of the VA in 2014--all important bills, all the product of 
divided government.
  So I know it is possible for the Republican Senate and the Democratic 
House to achieve big things in the 116th Congress, and Senate 
Republicans are ready to work with our Democratic colleagues. Now it is 
up to the Democrats to decide whether they want to work with us. 
Democrats have spent a lot of time over the past 2 years trying to 
relitigate the last Presidential election, but if they want to get 
anything done in the 116th Congress, they are going to need to move 
past 2016. Tying up the House with partisan investigations of the 
President or running a Presidential campaign from the Senate floor is 
not a good use of anyone's time. We need to spend our time focused on 
the American people's priorities like helping working families and 
increasing opportunities for American workers. That is what Senate 
Republicans will be focused on in the next Congress.

  I hope our Democratic colleagues will join us. If they are willing to 
work with us, I know that together we can achieve big things for the 
American people.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Under the previous order, all postcloture time has expired.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Stephen Alexander Vaden, of Tennessee, to be General Counsel of the 
Department of Agriculture?
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, 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 bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 53, nays 46, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 246 Ex.]

                                YEAS--53

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

[[Page S7112]]


  


                                NAYS--46

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

                             NOT VOTING--1

       
     Hyde-Smith
       
  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.

                          ____________________