[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 48 (Thursday, March 12, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1721-S1722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of James P. Danly

  Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I will be voting to confirm Mr. Danly's 
nomination to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 
I am doing so because I believe he is well qualified for the job. He 
has been the Commission's general counsel for the past 2\1/2\ years. He 
understands the complex legal issues that come before the Commission.
  I voted to report Mr. Danly's nomination, both last November and 
again last week, on the strength of his qualifications, not on 
politics. I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  The position to which Mr. Danly has been nominated is one of five 
seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. By law, no more than 
three of the five seats can be held by one party. Only three of the 
seats are now filled--two by Republicans and one by a Democrat. The 
other Democratic seat has been vacant since last August.
  Traditionally, when both a Republican seat and a Democratic seat have 
been vacant, past Presidents have sent nominations to fill both at the 
same time. I am deeply disappointed that this has not happened this 
time. The politics involved in this town are outrageous. It is truly 
outrageous that even proper decorum, simple civility, and just a little 
bit of procedure are not even considered anymore.
  The White House has had a highly qualified candidate to fill the 
Democratic seat for over a year, who has been totally vetted and has 
gone through all the processes that we have, but the President and his 
staff have still not sent us her nomination. I think they are scared. I 
hear this because she is a very, very bright, very smart, very 
articulate, and very intelligent person. She knows the issues, and she 
is well respected in her field.
  By breaking the longstanding practice of pairing nominations and not 
sending us a nomination for the Democratic seat, the administration 
undermines the bipartisan structure of the Commission. I made a 
commitment to Mr. Danly that I would support his nomination because he 
is well qualified, and I will honor that commitment and vote to confirm 
him. Two wrongs don't make a right here, but this has got to stop.
  Both sides have to stand up and say: Mr. President, this is a 
tradition. This is what we do. This is customary of what has been done, 
and it gives us a five-member FERC, which is extremely important for 
energy in our country and the reliability that we depend on.
  But as I told my colleagues on the Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee, when we voted on Mr. Danly's nomination, I will not support 
another nominee unless we get both. This has to stop, and I am asking 
my colleagues on the Republican side to please help us with some kind 
of structure and some kind of procedure back into the operation. We 
need to start acting as a Senate and not be guided by the politics--the 
toxic politics--and this tribal mentality. I want the President to send 
us the nominations so we can have a fully functioning committee.

  So with that, I ask all of my colleagues, please, let's vote for the 
qualifications of the person, not the politics of the person. Also, 
let's make sure we have a complete, working Commission and not just a 
partial Commission that is overweighted.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the Danly nomination?
  Mr. MANCHIN. 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 Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), the Senator 
from Georgia (Mr. Perdue), and the Senator from Florida (Mr. Scott).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran) 
would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Washington (Ms. 
Cantwell), the Senator from Minnesota

[[Page S1722]]

(Ms. Klobuchar), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the 
Senator from Massachusetts (Ms. Warren) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 52, nays 40, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 72 Ex.]

                                YEAS--52

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

                                NAYS--40

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

                             NOT VOTING--8

     Cantwell
     Cruz
     Klobuchar
     Moran
     Perdue
     Sanders
     Scott (FL)
     Warren
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that with respect 
to the Danly nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of 
the Senate's action.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________