[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 94 (Wednesday, June 5, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S3235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Nomination of Susan Combs

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I have come to the floor to speak in 
strong support of the nomination of Ms. Susan Combs, of Texas, to be 
Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget at the 
Department of the Interior.
  This is one of five Assistant Secretary positions at Interior, and, 
as the title suggests, it is critical to the Department's ability to 
function. The individual who holds this position is responsible for 
overseeing everything from the annual budget request to financial 
management, procurement, and policy and program analysis.
  The President's nominee, Susan Combs, is very well qualified. She has 
previously served as a State representative, as agriculture 
commissioner, and as comptroller in her home State of Texas. Over the 
years, Ms. Combs has worked extensively with the Department of the 
Interior, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has 
helped her gain substantive expertise about a range of issues that she 
will face in her new role.
  My only wish is that we could have confirmed Ms. Combs long ago. 
Instead, due to holds and delays here on the Senate floor, she 
ultimately had to be reported from the Energy and Natural Resources 
committee on three separate occasions--in 2017, in 2018, and again this 
year. She is not controversial. Each time, we reported her with 
bipartisan support. But she has now been forced to wait for a total of 
nearly 700 days for confirmation, meaning she will have held up for 
longer than she will be able to serve, at least in the current term.
  I appreciate Ms. Combs' willingness to serve our country. I 
appreciate her patience over the course of nearly 2 full years, which 
is testament to just how broken the nominations process had become, and 
her commitment to see this through. I also thank Leader McConnell for 
scheduling this vote and encourage every Member of this Chamber to vote 
in favor of confirmation.
  Mr. BROWN. 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. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the Combs nomination?
  Mr. BROWN. 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. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander) and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Alexander) would have voted ``yea'' and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. 
Moran) would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and 
the Senator from Massachusetts (Ms. Warren) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Perdue). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote or to change their vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 57, nays 36, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 141 Ex.]

                                YEAS--57

     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Jones
     Kennedy
     King
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McConnell
     McSally
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shelby
     Sinema
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--36

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Brown
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murray
     Peters
     Reed
     Rosen
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Alexander
     Booker
     Gillibrand
     Markey
     Moran
     Sanders
     Warren
  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 Senator from Louisiana.
  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
remaining votes in this series be 10 minutes in length.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.

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