[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 83 (Monday, May 4, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2200-S2201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Robert J. Feitel

  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, clean and constant nuclear energy is 
one of the key pillars of America's energy security. Nuclear 
powerplants supply 20 percent of our Nation's electricity and more than 
50 percent of our clean energy.
  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is the independent Federal agency 
that regulates these powerplants to protect public health and safety. 
It is a very important job. These independent regulatory structures and 
this specific one has successfully benefited the American people for 
decades by ensuring the safe operation of our nuclear reactors.
  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's inspector general is responsible 
for detecting and preventing waste, fraud, and abuse, as well as 
mismanagement at the Commission.
  President Trump has nominated Mr. Robert Feitel to serve as inspector 
general of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He did that last October. 
Mr. Feitel has been reported out of the Environment and Public Works 
Committee by unanimous vote in December. Today the Senate will vote to 
confirm him.
  Mr. Feitel is well qualified. He brings a wealth of experience and 
expertise to this important position. Mr. Feitel has spent more than 25 
years as an attorney at the Department of Justice and at the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation. During his long career Mr. Feitel received 
numerous achievement awards for his excellent service.
  Mr. Feitel will be the first new inspector general at the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission in over 25 years. His nomination comes at a 
pivotal time for both the nuclear industry and the Commission. Some 
utilities are seeking to operate their nuclear plants for 20 more 
years, while others are shutting down, and they are shutting their 
reactors before their licenses even expire. The Commission is also 
preparing to license new nuclear technologies that will be essential to 
our clean energy future.
  This time of unprecedented activity requires a fully staffed and a 
fully functional agency. The Commission needs an inspector general to 
promote the efficiency and effectiveness of the Commission. Mr. Feitel 
is that individual. Mr. Feitel is a man of character whose commitment 
to upholding justice makes him an ideal candidate for the position.
  I encourage the entire Senate to vote today to confirm Mr. Robert 
Feitel to serve as the inspector general of the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, the Senate was gaveled out about 6 weeks 
ago now. We passed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act on March 25, and here it 
is May 4. Since that time, the global battle to defeat the coronavirus 
has only intensified.
  There have been some who questioned the wisdom of the Senate coming 
back to Washington and convening, but I think we need to be here, and 
we need to do our jobs. We know how to do this safely. We know how to 
social distance. We know how to wash our hands and not touch our face. 
Those are the responsibilities each of us bear to one another not to 
spread this virus.
  But if there is such a thing as essential and nonessential workers--
and I don't think that distinction is one we should discuss because 26 
million Americans are not nonessential workers; they are absolutely 
essential to our economy and to our way of life. But, make no mistake, 
self-government is essential under any construction, under any 
definition of that word.
  Our system was not made to run on autopilot, so it is appropriate 
that we show up and that we do our job and we protect the American 
people and do everything we can to defeat this virus from a public 
health standpoint but also to do what is necessary to maintain a 
lifeline to the economy and the workers who are an essential component 
of it so that, when we defeat this virus, we will be prepared for 
people to go back to work in full and keep our economy and jobs growing 
again.
  We know that about 3.5 million cases have been confirmed worldwide, 
and roughly a third of these cases are here in the United States. 
Tragically, we have lost 65,000 Americans to this cruel virus, but, 
heroically, our healthcare workers have been on the job each and

[[Page S2201]]

every day--like law enforcement and grocery clerks--doing their part to 
help provide us the healthcare, the law enforcement, and the food that 
is feeding our families.
  We know, for weeks on end, our doctors and nurses and first 
responders have put themselves in harm's way to save the lives of those 
who have been affected by COVID-19. They are offering more than 
lifesaving care. These men and women are a hand to hold, a friendly 
voice, and a source of comfort to patients isolated from friends and 
family because of this cruel disease. Our heroic healthcare workers are 
physically and mentally exhausted from this fight. Yet they continue to 
serve, day in and day out.
  I want to express my gratitude, and I know I speak for others when I 
say thank you for the heart that you have put into your job and for the 
sacrifices you have made, spending time away from your families so that 
you can help ours.
  At the same time, we are seeing tremendous progress in a race to 
develop both treatments and a vaccine. While there are plenty of 
reasons to be optimistic about how this story ends, I know a lot of 
work remains to be done. In addition to the physical toll this virus 
has taken on the American people, it has wreaked economic havoc
  In order to slow the spread of the coronavirus, stores and 
restaurants have closed their doors, travel plans have been abandoned, 
events have been canceled, and millions of Americans were suddenly 
without a way to earn a living. In the past 6 weeks, 30 million 
Americans have filed for unemployment--an absolutely staggering figure.
  So far, Congress has passed four separate bills to address this 
crisis from a public health standpoint as well as to ease its economic 
impact. We have provided billions of dollars in funding to support our 
hospitals, increase testing capacity, and ramp up the production and 
acquisition of the personal protective equipment our medical workers 
rely upon as well as the ventilators that many of the COVID-19 patients 
will need.
  We have provided unprecedented assistance for America's small 
businesses, which employ about half of America's workers. The Paycheck 
Protection Program has enabled small businesses to keep their employees 
on the payroll and cover expenses until the smoke clears.
  We have also sent vital funding to our State and local governments--
about $150 billion. We provided relief to student loan borrowers and 
sent financial assistance to the American people in the form of direct 
payments from the IRS.
  Members of Congress came together to act quickly and decisively to 
address this pandemic, and I am very proud of the work that we have 
done together so far.
  Over the past several weeks, like every Senator, I have had the 
privilege of speaking with my constituents all across the State of 
Texas about the impact of this virus as well as Congress's response. I 
have spoken to doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators about the 
strain on the personnel and the need for personal protective equipment.
  I have talked to small business owners across the State about their 
growing list of expenses and the lifeline that the PPE provided.
  I have listened to our mayors and county judges, from our biggest 
cities and smallest towns, who have talked about the mounting financial 
burdens they are facing. I have talked with our farmers and ranchers 
about the impact on everything from cattle to cotton and the need to 
protect our food supply chain.
  I am grateful for the men and women I have spoken with who have 
shared their perspective and feedback about Congress's response to the 
coronavirus.
  Anytime a piece of legislation moves this quickly, as these bills 
did, and are this big, there are bound to be gaps that need to be 
filled, mistakes that need to be corrected, tweaks that need to be 
applied. The Texans to whom I have spoken over these past several weeks 
have pointed out some of those gaps and provided ideas for the 
discussions we are now having about what comes next.
  A few weeks ago, I spoke with representatives from the Texas Council 
on Family Violence, the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, and 
more than a dozen organizations across the State that support survivors 
of domestic violence.
  When you think about the impact of the pandemic or any other major 
crisis, for that matter, domestic violence isn't typically one of the 
first issues that comes to mind, but the circumstances we are facing 
today make these cases all too common. People are spending more time 
isolated at home. They are dealing with a new range of stresses brought 
on by this virus--more time with their partner, financial struggles, 
teaching their children at home--and it is taking a devastating toll.
  When Texas's stay-at-home order was first announced, many 
organizations saw a spike in their hotline calls. What is more 
frightening, once these orders were in place, the number of calls took 
a sharp decline. In Tarrant County, which is where Fort Worth is 
located, call numbers dropped by almost half.
  With so much time isolated at home with an abuser, it may be more 
difficult to reach out to friends or family or contact the National 
Domestic Violence Hotline for assistance. When deciding whether to 
leave, to go to a shelter, there is also the risk of the virus itself, 
and many are faced with a lose-lose scenario: Do you continue living 
under the same roof as your abuser or do you go to a shelter where you 
or your children may come in contact with the virus?
  These are not the only silent victims of this crisis. The fear and 
anxiety brought on by this pandemic has taken a toll on America's 
mental health. Most of us have never gone through something like this. 
Maybe none of us has gone through something quite like this. Our daily 
routines have been turned on their head. Isolated from friends and 
family and between social media and a 24-hour news cycle, it can be 
difficult to find a way to escape the constant barrage of bad news and 
anxiety.
  Compounding the problem even further is the financial strain on many 
of the providers who support these individuals. A recent survey of 
providers by the National Council for Behavioral Health showed that 
more than 60 percent of mental health providers have already been 
forced to close one or more programs--60 percent--and 62 percent of 
providers cannot survive more than 3 months without emergency financial 
assistance.
  As we continue working to help the American people through this 
difficult time, we cannot forget those who are suffering in silence. We 
have a big job ahead of us. That is why it is so important that we are 
here doing our job on behalf of the 330 million people in this country.
  I returned back to the Senate with a long list of ideas and feedback 
from the Texans who have been generous enough to spend time talking 
with me over the past few weeks. I know all 100 Members of the Senate 
are in a similar position, and I hope we can retain the same sense of 
bipartisanship that has guided us through the legislation we have 
passed so far.
  If we are going to win this fight--and we will--it will not be 
because of a Republican idea or a Democratic one; it will be because 
every single person in this Chamber checked their political priorities 
at the door and responded together--united--to confront and defeat this 
virus and to help restore our economy and the jobs that go along with 
it.
  We have done it before. Let's do it again.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARPER. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Boozman). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.