[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 23 (Monday, February 8, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S562-S563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                 Nomination of Denis Richard McDonough

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, the Senate is steadily confirming members 
of President Biden's Cabinet and other key administration officials. In 
a few hours, we will add one more to the list when the Senate confirms 
Denis McDonough to serve as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
  Under President Obama, Mr. McDonough was a member of the National 
Security Council and the White House Chief of Staff. He was a regular 
face at Walter Reed and a frequent visitor of our troops deployed 
abroad.
  The VA has one of the most sacred missions of all our Agencies, 
deriving its motto from President Lincoln's second inaugural address:

       To care for those who shall have borne the battle.

  But the task of achieving that mission is one of organization, 
institutional know-how, and administrative troubleshooting. I am 
confident that Mr. McDonough's decades of experience at the highest 
levels of government make him well qualified to take on the job.
  Even as Senators prepare this week to sit as a Court of Impeachment, 
the Senate will continue its work on other responsibilities. Committees 
will continue to process nominations, including the nominees to lead 
the EPA, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, and the Office of 
Management and Budget. At the same time, committees will continue the 
pressing work of addressing the COVID crisis.

[[Page S563]]

  Last week, in the early hours of Friday morning, the Senate passed a 
budget resolution that will pave the way for President Biden's American 
Rescue Plan. As promised, the Senate held an open, bipartisan, and 
vigorous amendment process. Several bipartisan amendments passed with 
overwhelming majorities and were added to the resolution. The fact that 
the debate went all night and only concluded at around 5:30 in the 
morning is a testament to the vigor of the amendment process, which, 
again, I note, was bipartisan. The first amendment, in fact--a very 
important one by the Senator from Arizona, Ms. Sinema, and the Senator 
from Mississippi, Mr. Wicker--helped our restaurant industry, and it 
was bipartisan.
  Now, our Senate committees have instructions to begin crafting 
legislation to rescue our country from COVID-19; to speed vaccination 
distribution; provide a lifeline to small businesses; help schools 
reopen safely; save the jobs of teachers, firefighters, and other 
public employees; and support every American who is struggling to put 
food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.
  This important, historic work will give hundreds of millions of 
Americans the relief they need while getting our country back to normal 
as quickly as possible.