[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5650-S5651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the next nomination.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of David 
Fabian Black, of North Dakota, to be Deputy Commissioner of Social 
Security for a term expiring January 19, 2025 (Reappointment).
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I oppose the nomination of David Black 
to be Deputy Commissioner of Social Security. I have longstanding 
concerns about how management at the Social Security Administration has 
treated the unions representing their workforce, and I am concerned 
about the role that Mr. Black may have played in these anti-union 
practices.
  SSA was especially hostile towards its workers when it implemented 
the anti-union Executive orders that President Trump issued on May 25, 
2018. SSA was one of the few agencies to evict unions from office space 
pursuant to the Executive orders, in the brief time before a Federal 
district court issued an injunction blocking key parts of the Executive 
orders. SSA also abrogated its unexpired contract with administrative 
law judges who are represented by the International Federation of 
Professional and Technical Engineers, which even the Executive orders 
themselves expressly prohibited.
  After the Executive orders were blocked in court, SSA went to the 
Federal Service Impasses Panel to impose a contract on workers 
represented by the American Federation of Government Employees, and the 
terms of this contract were highly similar to provisions of the 
Executive orders. SSA is now using similar tactics against workers 
represented by National Treasury Employees Union.
  We need to stop a bad situation from getting worse. The Senate should 
demand stronger commitments to improve labor relations from President 
Trump's nominees for leadership positions at SSA.

[[Page S5651]]

  When SSA took these anti-union actions, Mr. Black was the White House 
senior adviser at the Social Security Administration. Despite Mr. 
Black's responsibility for SSA, he claimed in a letter to me that, ``I 
was not involved in SSA's implementation of the EOs.''
  It is my understanding, however, that there is a pending Freedom of 
Information Act request that may shed new light on Mr. Black's 
involvement with the Executive orders. SSA has stated that an email 
records search generated thousands of emails that need to be reviewed 
for pertinence and disclosure in response to the request, and that 
review is still ongoing. I certainly hope that SSA's response will 
confirm Mr. Black's statement that he was not involved with the 
Executive orders, but the Senate should wait until all the facts are in 
before moving forward with his confirmation.
  For those reasons, I will oppose Mr. Black's nomination at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the Black nomination?
  Mr. HOEVEN. 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 senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), 
the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the Senator from Alabama (Mr. 
Jones), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 68, nays 26, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 301 Ex.]

                                YEAS--68

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Burr
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     McConnell
     McSally
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Sinema
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Toomey
     Warner
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--26

     Baldwin
     Blumenthal
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Gillibrand
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Klobuchar
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murray
     Peters
     Reed
     Rosen
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warren

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Booker
     Harris
     Jones
     Sanders
     Tillis
     Whitehouse
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motions to 
reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table and the 
President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
  The Senator from Texas.

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