[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 172 (Wednesday, November 20, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6650-S6651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



             Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar

  Mr. KAINE. Madam President, shortly, I will ask for unanimous consent 
to confirm Mark G. Eskenazi and Amanda Wood Laihow to serve as members 
on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
  Just a word about the Commission. The Commission is an independent 
Agency that plays a vital role in ensuring safe and healthy workplaces 
and working conditions for American workers.
  What the Commission does is it provides fair and timely adjudication 
of workplace safety and health disputes between employers, employees, 
and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. So this 
independent body adjudicates claims between the Federal OSHA employers 
and employees.
  However, the three-member Commission has lacked a quorum since April 
2023, which means that for 18 months, they have been unable to 
adjudicate these claims between employers and employees in OSHA.
  Amanda Wood Laihow is a reappointment. She first served on the 
Commission from January 2020 until April of 2023, when her term 
expired. Mark Eskenazi was nominated a few months ago in June of 2024. 
They both received very strong bipartisan support in the HELP 
Committee, on which I sit, for their nominations, and I urge my 
colleagues to join me in confirming these well-qualified candidates by 
enabling this important adjudicatory body to have a quorum so that they 
can take up claims by workers and employers.
  For that reason, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the 
following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 374 and 785; that the 
Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or 
debate; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon 
the table; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's 
action.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Reserving the right to object. On November 5, 
the American people spoke and demanded change. They demanded a 
wholesale revamp from the top to bottom. I am committed to working 
tirelessly to enact these reforms in Congress and, just as important, 
to confirming new nominees to carry out the next administration's 
agenda.
  President Trump is in the process of selecting his administration 
even today. It would be a colossal mistake to hamstring him now in the 
lameduck session before he even had a chance to review these 
nominations.
  I will be objecting to this unanimous consent request today because 
we must preserve options for President-elect Trump and his 
administration to nominate his own choices for this Commission and 
others, not rubberstamp President Biden's and Leader Schumer's 
preferred candidates on their way out the door.
  It is important to point out that should these nominees be confirmed, 
Democrats will hold a 2-to-1 majority over the Commission and its 
decisions, which is something that would only further constrain the 
next administration's commitment to dramatic and needed change.
  I look forward to considering nominees to the Commission in January 
once President-elect Trump has had the opportunity to decide on his own 
nominees to serve in these roles.
  For these reasons, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. KAINE. Madam President, let me just say I do not believe it is 
President-elect Trump who is being hamstrung by stopping these 
nominations; it is workers and employers. Unless the President-elect 
has a current claim pending before the Committee, he is not being 
hamstrung by creating a quorum. The absence of a quorum is hurting 
American workers, and I regret that my colleague objects.
  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.

[[Page S6651]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Texas.