[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5420-S5421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Dale Cabaniss

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, just a little bit earlier today, the 
Senate voted to confirm President Trump's nomination of Dale Cabaniss 
to lead the Office of Personnel Management.
  I voted against this nominee, but now that she is confirmed, it is 
more important than ever for the Senate and the House to fulfill our 
oversight duties to protect our civil servants from political 
interference. I know the Presiding Officer has a keen interest in this 
subject as well, in his capacity as chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management, overseeing Federal civil 
service, and I appreciate his work on that front.
  In order to do their jobs for the American people, our Federal 
employees must be able to perform their duties free of politics. They 
must be judged on the merits of their work, not political favoritism or 
cronyism. They must be able to present factual information and analysis 
without fear of retribution. Yet time and again, we

[[Page S5421]]

have seen that this President, President Trump, views civil servants as 
his adversaries.
  The President has sought to silence those whose work or words 
contradict him, even when the facts are clear. We saw that most 
recently when the National Weather Service tried to calm residents in 
the State of Alabama after President Trump falsely stated that 
Hurricane Dorian would put them at severe risk. Secretary of Commerce 
Wilbur Ross reportedly threatened to fire the agency's leadership after 
they corrected the President's false statements about Hurricane Dorian 
and Alabama. Just within the last hour, the New York Times is reporting 
that the order to change the statements at NOAA came directly from the 
White House in the form of a directive from the Acting Chief of Staff 
to the President, Mick Mulvaney.
  We have also seen this pattern at other times. We saw President Trump 
standing side by side with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, while President 
Trump sided with Putin's claims about noninterference in the 2016 
Presidential elections, and where President Trump threw our own U.S. 
intelligence agency experts under the bus.
  These assaults on the Federal civil service and the efforts to 
undermine the integrity of the Federal civil service have also included 
an assault on Federal employees. This administration knows that workers 
are stronger when they are organized and have representatives who can 
speak on their behalf. Many--not all, but many--of the Trump agency 
heads have repeatedly refused to comply with the law and to bargain in 
good faith with their workers. Instead of trying to negotiate, they 
have tried to impose contracts and terms unilaterally. This has already 
happened at the Social Security Administration, where agency management 
has shown particular hostility to the unions representing their 
workforce. Some of these issues are now tied up in the courts, but I 
would hope we could work on a bipartisan basis to address these 
challenges.
  Now, President Trump is trying to abolish the Office of Personnel 
Management. That brings me to the nomination of Ms. Cabaniss, because 
she will be directed to preside over the dismantlement of the agency--
that is, if the President has his way. I know those of us in Congress 
with a different view will be weighing in as well.
  The Office of Personnel Management is an independent Federal agency 
with an absolutely vital mission--to strengthen and protect the Federal 
civil service system. Their role is to protect the integrity of our 
Federal civil service and prevent it from being hijacked by political 
forces.
  I know there has been a lot of talk that this is all about civil 
service reform. As I look at the proposals, I don't see it that way. I 
see these proposals as an attack on the institution that defends our 
civil service system.
  The Office of Personnel Management needs a strong, independent leader 
who will protect the Federal workforce from partisan interference and 
defend agencies from the administration's attacks. After looking at Ms. 
Cabaniss's record, she is not the right person to lead OPM. When she 
chaired the Federal Labor Relations Authority, morale was dead last 
among small Federal agencies. That is the agency that is supposed to 
resolve disputes between Federal workers and management, but 55 percent 
of their decisions were overturned under Ms. Cabaniss's jurisdiction.
  OPM's mission is vital to the success of our Federal civil service 
and their ability to deliver services to the American people. We need a 
leader who is going to stand up for the integrity of that system, not 
one who is going to preside over the dismantlement of that agency. So I 
hope we can work on a bipartisan basis to ensure that this country 
preserves one of its vital assets, which is a nonpartisan civil 
service.
  Presidents come and Presidents go, and Presidents, of course, give 
direction to the different agencies, but we will be doing a great 
disservice to the people of this country if we allow political cronyism 
to seep into this system and create an environment where people fear 
speaking out, telling the truth, and providing the facts.
  I want to take this opportunity today, as we discuss the nomination 
of the Office of Personnel Management, to raise that larger issue, and 
I hope we will be united in that effort because lots of countries 
around the world suffer from political cronyism. The United States has 
helped shield itself from that by establishing decades and decades ago 
a system that tries to immunize ourselves against that kind of 
political infection in terms of the day-to-day work that we ask people 
to do and carry on, on behalf of the American people. Let's work 
together to accomplish what I believe is a bipartisan goal.
  I yield the remainder of my time.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Romney). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.