[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9718-S9719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     
     
                          EXECUTIVE CALENDAR--Continued
     
       Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able 
     to complete my remarks before the vote.
       The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
     ordered.
     
     
                           Nomination of Lynne M. Tracy
     
       Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to highlight 
     the importance of the confirmation vote on Lynne Tracy, our nominee to 
     be Ambassador to Russia.
       Today, on the 300th day of Putin's heinous, unjustified war against 
     Ukraine, I am humbled that we will welcome President Zelenskyy to 
     address Congress later tonight. As President Zelenskyy will no doubt 
     underscore, Putin's war is one of the greatest challenges we face 
     today.
       Putin is targeting Ukrainian civilians. He is bombing their 
     electricity grid and their water supplies as winter sets in. That is, 
     in essence, from my perspective, a war crime.
       We haven't seen anything like this in Europe since the Second World 
     War. Ukrainians are fighting for their lives, for their freedom, for 
     the future of their country and their children. But even as Putin 
     presses forward with this brutal war, the United States needs an 
     Ambassador who can represent us in Moscow, and that is why we need 
     Ambassador Lynne Tracy to assume her post without delay.
       She is a career diplomat with an exceptional record of leadership and 
     public service. She has the courage to carry out her duties in the face 
     of a hostile government and represent America beyond the Kremlin walls, 
     and she has the experience to lead the mission in one of the most 
     challenging and difficult places our diplomats work today.
       Our personnel in Moscow are braving harsh conditions, separation from 
     their families, and are largely cut off from the world--all to serve 
     their country, to serve Americans who need them. And in spite of that, 
     we have diplomats who are raising their hands saying: Send me. 
     Ambassador Tracy is one of them.
       Our Nation needs a strong voice to stand up for our values. From the 
     larger Russian public, many of whom feel isolated and betrayed by their 
     leader's war of aggression, to the American detainees who Putin still 
     holds in his prisons, to the Russian opposition activists who are 
     fighting for a different way forward in Russia, Ambassador Tracy will 
     not shy away from confronting Putin's abuses. America needs her in her 
     post. Europe needs her in her post. Ukraine needs her in her post. So I 
     urge this body to confirm Ambassador Tracy today.
       I yield the floor.
     
     
                             Vote on Tracy Nomination
     
       The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is, Will the Senate 
     advise and consent to the Tracy nomination?
       Mr. MENENDEZ. I ask for the yeas and nays.
       The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
       There appears to be a sufficient second.
       The clerk will call the roll.
       The legislative clerk called the roll.
       Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. 
     Hickenlooper) is necessarily absent.
       Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
     from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso), the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. 
     Burr), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), and the Senator from Wyoming 
     (Ms. Lummis).
       The result was announced--yeas 93, nays 2, as follows:
     
                           [Rollcall Vote No. 404 Ex.]
     
                                     YEAS--93
     
          Baldwin
          Bennet
          Blackburn
          Blumenthal
          Blunt
          Booker
          Boozman
          Braun
          Brown
          Cantwell
          Capito
          Cardin
          Carper
          Casey
          Cassidy
          Collins
          Coons
          Cornyn
          Cortez Masto
          Cotton
          Cramer
          Crapo
          Daines
          Duckworth
          Durbin
          Ernst
          Feinstein
          Fischer
          Gillibrand
          Graham
          Grassley
          Hagerty
          Hassan
          Hawley
          Heinrich
          Hirono
          Hoeven
          Hyde-Smith
          Inhofe
          Johnson
          Kaine
          Kelly
          Kennedy
          King
          Klobuchar
          Lankford
          Leahy
          Lujan
          Manchin
          Markey
          Marshall
          McConnell
          Menendez
          Merkley
          Moran
          Murkowski
          Murphy
          Murray
          Ossoff
          Padilla
          Peters
          Portman
          Reed
          Risch
          Romney
          Rosen
          Rounds
          Rubio
          Sanders
          Sasse
          Schatz
          Schumer
          Scott (FL)
          Scott (SC)
          Shaheen
          Shelby
          Sinema
          Smith
          Stabenow
          Sullivan
          Tester
          Thune
          Tillis
          Toomey
          Tuberville
          Van Hollen
          Warner
          Warnock
          Warren
          Whitehouse
          Wicker
          Wyden
          Young
     
                                     NAYS--2
     
          Lee
          Paul
            
     
                                  NOT VOTING--5
     
          Barrasso
          Burr
          Cruz
          Hickenlooper
          Lummis
            
       The nomination was confirmed.
       (Mr. PETERS assumed the Chair.)
       (Mr. SCHATZ assumed the Chair.)
       The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Peters). Under the previous order, the 
     motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table. The 
     President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
     
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