[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 1418-1420]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

               EXECUTIVE CALENDAR--NOMINATIONS DISCHARGED

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to Executive Session to consider Calendar Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5, 
and that the Banking Committee be discharged of PN64-4, PN65-14; that 
the Commerce Committee be discharged of PN64-10; that the Senate 
proceed to their consideration, en bloc; that the nominations be 
confirmed, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the

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table, en bloc; that no further motions be in order, and any statements 
relating to the nominations be printed in the Record; that the 
President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate 
return to Legislative Session.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The nominations considered and confirmed en bloc are as follows:


                          DEPARTMENT OF STATE

       Susan E. Rice, of the District of Columbia, to be the 
     Representative of the United States of America to the United 
     States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and 
     status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and 
     the Representative of the United States of America in the 
     Security Council of the United Nations.
       Susan E. Rice, of the District of Columbia, to be 
     Representative of the United States of America to the 
     Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations during 
     her tenure of service as Representative of the United States 
     of America to the United Nations.


                    ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

       Lisa Perez Jackson, of New Jersey, to be Administrator of 
     the Environmental Protection Agency.


                   EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

       Nancy Helen Sutley, of California, to be a Member of the 
     Council on Environmental Quality.


                     housing and urban development

       Shaun L.S. Donovan, of New York, to be Secretary of Housing 
     and Urban Development.


                   securities and exchange commission

       Mary L. Schapiro, of the District of Columbia, to be a 
     Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission for a term 
     expiring June 5, 2014.


                      department of transportation

       Ray LaHood, of Illinois, to be Secretary of Transportation.


                      NOMINATION OF SHAUN DONOVAN

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, today we are considering the nomination of 
Mr. Shaun Donovan, Commissioner of the New York City Department of 
Housing Preservation and Development to become the Secretary of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD.
  Mr. Donovan, has been nominated for a job fraught with significant 
challenges yet, for that very reason, imbued with great opportunities.
  For the past 3 or 4 years, the country has been facing a growing 
housing problem that had its origins in the scourge of predatory 
lending that has resulted in record high foreclosure rates.
  This housing crisis has been a primary cause of the deepening 
recession to which none of us are immune. Across the country, between 
9,000 and 10,000 homeowners face foreclosure every day. Foreclosures in 
my State were up over 71 percent since last year, and it is expected 
that we will have more than 13,000 subprime foreclosures in the next 
two years. Nationwide, cities such as Bridgeport, which had 
inordinately high rates of subprime loans, are struggling to keep 
themselves afloat as those loans reset one-by-one and families find 
themselves with nowhere to turn.
  I recently met with leaders in my State where I heard about the toll 
this crisis is taking on our minority communities. Some say this crisis 
will result in a net loss in homeownership rates for African Americans, 
wiping out a generation of wealth, gains and opportunities.
  But let there be no doubt that this crisis today affects every 
American in one way or another. In all, by some counts, we can expect 
some 8 million homes to go into foreclosure absent some form of 
additional action.
  Unfortunately, the previous administration was slow to acknowledge 
the housing problem, and when it finally did, timid in its response. 
Even as we witnessed foreclosures tear apart neighborhoods and wreak 
havoc upon our economy, the Administration refused to use the authority 
or funds we gave it in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act to 
tackle the foreclosure crisis head on--despite the Congress's crystal 
clear intent in writing that law.
  Surprisingly--and unfortunately, in my opinion--HUD has not played a 
central role in addressing the housing crisis. Frankly, it has been, to 
quote National Journal, ``at best, a second string player . . .'' 
following in the wake of other government departments with far less 
expertise in housing than the professionals at HUD (January 10, 2009).
  Indeed, as the cover page of CQ Weekly says, ``The housing crisis 
remains at the core of the economy's woes . . .'' (January 12, 2009).
  Put simply, we cannot address our economic crisis until we address 
the underlying housing crisis.
  And to do that, we need an active, aggressive, and well-run HUD with 
leadership that is confident in its mission and unafraid to act. As 
President Obama has himself said, ``HUD's role has never been more 
important.''
  Unfortunately, HUD has been mismanaged and ridden with scandal in the 
last several years. Let me be clear that these problems did not arise 
under the able leadership of our colleague, then-Secretary Martinez. I 
would also say that in recent weeks, Secretary Preston has made some 
improvements.
  But fundamentally, HUD has been left adrift at a time when bold 
leadership and a clear direction were never more important.
  Just a week or two ago, we learned about the Wrights--a middle-class 
family in Windsor, Connecticut in danger of losing their home. Like 
thousands of families across the country, the Wrights were lured into a 
mortgage they were assured they could afford but couldn't--not because 
they acted irresponsibly but because they became pregnant with their 
second child, and Mrs. Wright ran out of the paid sick time she was 
afforded as a teacher.
  This is the kind of story being repeated in every community across 
America today. With the right leadership, I believe HUD can be an 
effective partner in helping families like the Wrights. That is the 
opportunity Mr. Donovan has--to restore HUD as a leading voice in 
addressing the crisis facing our country today.
  I would say to my colleagues that Mr. Donovan is the most experienced 
nominee for HUD secretary that Senate has considered in my long 
experience. In addition to his degrees in architecture and public 
administration from Harvard, Mr. Donovan has run the multifamily 
program at the Federal Housing Administration and was, for a time, the 
Acting Housing Commissioner. He has worked in the private nonprofit 
sector as a housing developer and he has worked as a managing director 
of a large, multi-family mortgage company.
  Since 2004, Mr. Donovan has been the commissioner of New York City's 
Department of Housing Preservation and Development. In that role, he 
managed 2,800 employees and helped develop and manage Mayor Bloomberg's 
``New Housing Marketplace Plan,'' one of the most ambitious local 
housing plans in the nation. The $7.5 billion plan calls for the 
creation or preservation of 165,000 units of affordable housing, about 
half of which has been accomplished to date.
  Beyond the statistics and the numbers that so dramatically underscore 
Mr. Donovan's accomplishments, I want to welcome him for the kind of 
leadership and vision I am confident he will bring to the Department at 
a time when such leadership is needed so desperately.
  For example, as early as 2004, long before most of the rest of the 
country was focused on the subprime crisis and the foreclosures they 
would lead to, Mr. Donovan told a Newsday reporter that he was worried 
about the coming ``flood of foreclosures'' and the impact it would have 
on homeowners and neighborhoods.
  Mr. Donovan sees the role of HUD as being more than a caretaker for 
physical housing structures, or as a mortgage insurance company. He 
understands the danger of stove-piping within this arena, and sees HUD 
as the Federal Government's primary tool to help build communities--an 
agency that helps to provide housing opportunities for homeowners and 
for renters along a

[[Page 1420]]

spectrum of incomes and ages. He understands the need to coordinate 
housing with transportation, including public transportation and 
transit, to improve access to jobs and other economic opportunities--
and we need someone with that vision at the helm.
  Finally, Mr. Donovan is a man of the utmost integrity who has shown a 
proven ability to work constructively with all interested parties. His 
nomination is being supported, enthusiastically, I want to add, by a 
wide variety of housing groups, from the Realtors, to the Homebuilders, 
to the Low Income Housing Coalition, to many nonprofit organizations 
and many, many others.
  I want to express my thanks to Mr. Donovan for the leadership he will 
bring to this critically important department and, more importantly, 
the hope he will offer to millions of families at this uncertain 
moment.
  I urge my colleagues to support the nomination of Mr. Donovan to be 
Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.


                     CONFIRMATION OF RAYMOND LAHOOD

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I come to the Floor today as the 
ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation 
Committee in support of the nomination of Raymond LaHood to be the 16th 
Secretary of Transportation.
  As a former 7-term Member of Congress representing the 18th District 
of Illinois, and a former member of the House committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, Congressman LaHood is well-qualified 
for this position.
  This week, the Commerce Committee held a full committee hearing to 
consider his nomination. To Congressman LaHood's credit, and with the 
cooperation of Chairman Rockefeller, our committee quickly discharged 
his nomination in order to fill this important Cabinet position.
  I am pleased that our committee moved expeditiously on Congressman 
LaHood's nomination and I am hopeful the full Senate will move just as 
quickly.
  As my colleagues know, the range of problems confronting the new 
Secretary of Transportation are amongst the most difficult that any new 
department leader has faced in quite some time.
  In a few short months, important policy, budgetary and regulatory 
decisions will need to be made on several transportation and 
infrastructure issues. I am confident that Congressman LaHood is up to 
the task and will hit the ground running.
  As my colleagues know, the existing highway program expires at the 
end of September. Until then, Congress and the new administration will 
have to work very hard on a reauthorization. This will be a very 
difficult process due to the current fiscal state of the highway trust 
fund and because of the current formula's disparate treatment between 
the States.
  In addition, we desperately need to create stability in our aviation 
infrastructure programs by passing a full fiscal year 2009 FAA 
extension, along with completing a multiyear FAA Authorization bill. I 
have encouraged Representative LaHood to support a full fiscal year 
extension of the current FAA Reauthorization bill, through September 
30, 2009, along with committing to work with him on a new FAA 
Authorization bill.
  Without congressional and administration cooperation, the FAA's plan 
to modernize our air traffic control system--known as NextGen--could 
squander precious time and resources. Our Nation's skies and airports 
are severely congested; we need a Secretary in place immediately to 
oversee and manage the funding, implementation, and transition to 
NextGen.
  I am also confident the DOT will have a renewed focus and 
appreciation for our Nation's Amtrak and high speed rail system. This 
is an area we have neglected too long. While the Amtrak reauthorization 
that was just signed into law was an important step, we need strong 
leadership at the Department to ensure that we have a national 
passenger rail system that works. Congressman LaHood is a strong 
advocate for Amtrak and I look forward to working with him to implement 
the priorities of that important legislation.
  I encourage my colleagues to support Representative LaHood's 
nomination.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, one of the nominations just confirmed was 
that of Ray LaHood, former Congressman from the State of Illinois who, 
by this action, will become our next Secretary of Transportation in the 
Obama Cabinet. It was my great honor to introduce Congressman LaHood to 
the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday, along with former House 
Republican Leader Bob Michel. I had asked President Obama to consider 
this nomination because of my high regard for Ray LaHood, both 
personally and politically.
  We served together for many years. He has represented my hometown of 
Springfield. Despite our clear partisan differences, we have become not 
only fast friends but real allies. Ray LaHood is an extraordinary 
person. Born and raised in Peoria, IL, he served as a schoolteacher 
before coming to work for Bob Michel in Washington, where he served as 
his chief of staff. He then succeeded Bob Michel as a Congressman from 
the district which had Peoria as its major city and proceeded to 
represent large portions of north central Illinois and most of the 
former congressional district of former Congressman Abraham Lincoln.
  Ray LaHood is a person whom I not only respect but like very much. 
His word is good. He is a hard worker. He has the right values and 
politics. When politics in Washington became so corrosive and divisive, 
Ray LaHood led an effort in the House to establish dialogue between 
Democrats and Republicans. When I have worked with him on issues such 
as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, the future 
of the 183rd Air National Guard unit in Springfield's capital airport, 
and a variety of other issues, I have found him to be hardworking, 
diligent, and committed to the public good.
  I believe President Obama has made an extraordinarily good choice for 
Secretary of Transportation. It is a department which will be very busy 
because the new Recovery and Reinvestment Act understands that we need 
new bridges, roads, airports, and mass transit so that America's 
economy can get back on track and grow. Ray LaHood is a great person to 
be heading up that department.
  His wife Kathy and family were with him yesterday before the Commerce 
Committee. They are a great group. He is very proud of his children and 
should be. They have done extraordinarily good things in their lives as 
well. I am glad we moved quickly on this nomination for Ray LaHood as 
Secretary of Transportation. I know he is probably following this 
proceeding, and I wish him the very best. I know he is going to be 
exceptional in his service not only to President Obama in the Cabinet 
but also to the United States of America.

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