[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6161]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

   NOMINATION OF WILLIE E. MAY TO BE UNDER SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR 
                        STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, 
which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Willie E. May, of 
Maryland, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and 
Technology.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I support President Obama's nomination 
of Dr. Willie May as the Director of the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, NIST, at the Department of Commerce.
  NIST sets the standards for innovation in technology from mammograms 
to motorcycles. NIST scientists have won a MacArthur Genius Award and 
four Nobel prizes--more than any other Federal agency--including one in 
my State of Maryland. In the 44 years that Dr. May has spent at NIST, 
including serving as Acting Director since last June, he has set his 
own standard for service, dedication, and leadership in this great 
agency.
  Dr. May grew up in Birmingham, AL, graduated from Knoxville College 
in 1968, and upon graduating with a bachelor of science degree in 
chemistry, took a job with a Federal laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN. In 
1971, Dr. May came to Maryland to work for NIST's predecessor, which 
was then called the National Standards Bureau. He completed his Ph.D. 
in chemistry at the University of Maryland while working full-time at 
NIST and earned his doctorate in 1977. His research on trace organic 
analytical chemistry has been covered in more than 100 peer-reviewed 
journals around the world.
  His colleagues know him not only for his brilliance in the lab but 
for his commitment to NIST's mission and employees. He is respected by 
the scientists at NIST but also by the engineers, lab workers, IT 
experts, and building staff. His vision will help NIST's 3,000 
dedicated employees continue to be the world's leading experts in 
innovation, from quantum cryptography to 5G communications.
  I join my colleagues in supporting Dr. Willie E. May as Director of 
NIST.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the question is, 
Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination of Willie E. May, 
of Maryland, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and 
Technology?
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. 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. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander), the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. 
Boozman), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Alaska 
(Ms. Murkowski), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey), and the 
Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. 
Menendez) is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 93, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 169 Ex.]

                                YEAS--93

     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Alexander
     Boozman
     Cruz
     Menendez
     Murkowski
     Toomey
     Vitter
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the President 
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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