[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 19 (Monday, January 31, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Business Before the Senate

  Madam President, on other Senate business, over the next few weeks 
there are other crucial priorities that the Senate must also attend to. 
As we return to this work period, discussions among Senate Democrats on 
BBB will continue.
  We will also work on nominations. At the end of the last work period, 
I filed cloture on 20 nominees to serve in both the Biden 
administration and on our Federal courts. Later today, we will hold a 
cloture vote on the first of these nominees, Ms. Bridget Brennan, to 
serve as a district judge for the Northern District of Ohio. And over 
the course of this week, we will work to get these men and women 
confirmed as quickly as possible.
  Among the 20 individuals I filed cloture on, that includes one 
nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals; several Federal district judges; 
several judges to serve in Washington, DC, Superior Court; the nominee 
to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Germany; and many other highly qualified 
men and women to serve in the Department of Defense, the Export-Import 
Bank, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. We 
are going to work until we confirm all of these crucial nominees, and I 
look forward to working in good faith with the other side to get them 
done.
  Finally, in this work period, the Senate will also work on the vital 
task of passing an omnibus package to fund the Federal Government, 
prevent a shutdown, and make sure the Federal Government is well-
equipped to serve the American people. I will sit down with a number of 
Democratic appropriators tomorrow to discuss the state of negotiations, 
and I want to thank all of the appropriators for their hard work in 
bringing the funding package together. We are going to work day and 
night to bring a funding package together, avoid a shutdown, and make 
sure Congress fulfills this basic duty to the American people.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.