[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 72 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2203-S2204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, now on nominees, yesterday, I highlighted 
a number of accomplishments the Senate

[[Page S2204]]

Democrat majority made during the first hundred days of the Biden 
administration. Thanks primarily to the American Rescue Plan, the most 
sweeping Federal recovery effort in decades, shots are going into arms; 
money is going into people's pockets; and businesses, schools, and 
restaurants are starting to reopen.
  Americans finally--finally--have some reason for hope. Jobs are 
coming back. The economic recovery is accelerating, and the pace of 
vaccinations has far exceeded even President Biden's own goals. After 
one of the most difficult years in recent memory, the first hundred 
days of the Biden Presidency and the new Senate Democratic majority 
have seen the country turn a corner. Slowly but surely, we are proving 
to the American people that government and the Senate can work for 
them.
  As President Biden prepares to take stock of where we have come from 
and where we still need to go, with a joint address to Congress, it is 
worth looking back at some of the accomplishments of these first 100 
days. Among those accomplishments is the fact that the Senate has 
confirmed the most diverse Cabinet in history, faster than under both 
Presidents Trump and Obama, and all of them with bipartisan support. 
Eleven are people of color, and 10 are women. Among them, we have a 
former teacher, a former construction worker, several former veterans, 
a small business man, even a musician--a far cry from the, shall we 
say, less economically diverse Cabinet chosen by the former President. 
Now, more than ever before, we have a Cabinet that looks like America.
  In our Nation's history, the Treasury Secretary has only ever been a 
White man--an unbroken streak of 77 White men in a row. This Senate 
confirmed the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary in our 
history, Janet Yellen. The list of firsts goes on: the first African 
American to serve as Defense Secretary, the first Black man to serve as 
EPA Administrator, the first ever indigenous American, and the first 
ever openly gay Secretary to lead any Cabinet Agency.
  Last week, the Senate confirmed Vanita Gupta to Associate Attorney 
General--the first woman of color and the first civil rights attorney 
ever to hold that position.
  Last month, Dr. Rachel Levine became the Deputy Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, the first openly transgender Federal official in 
American history.
  Federal Agencies have enormous influence over the policies that 
affect the day-to-day lives of the American people. Whether registering 
for Social Security, filing for unemployment or veterans' benefits, or 
seeking a small business loan, average folks interact with these 
Cabinet Agencies every single day, hundreds of thousands, if not 
millions, of times.
  Having capable, experienced, and energetic public servants at the top 
of these Agencies matters, and it matters, too, that they come from 
different backgrounds and have lived different experiences. By 
confirming historically diverse nominees, we are showing the American 
people that their government represents them and that all of their 
voices matter.
  We also know that a Cabinet with diverse views will produce policies 
that better reflect the needs of a diverse Nation.
  I am proud of the nominees we have confirmed over the first hundred 
days. As we move forward, the Senate will continue working with the 
White House on confirming nominees and judicial appointments that 
reflect the diversity and dynamism of our great country.

                          ____________________