[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3017-3020]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following 
nomination, which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Wilbur 
L. Ross, Jr., of Florida, to be Secretary of Commerce.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  (The remarks of Mr. Hatch pertaining to the introduction of S.J. Res. 
24 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')


           Order for Recess Subject to the Call of the Chair

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 2:55 p.m., 
the Senate stand in recess subject to the call of the chair to prepare 
for Washington's Farewell Address.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, 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. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.


                   President's Joint Session Address

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I welcome the majority leader and 
everyone back after the first district work period of the year. 
Tomorrow night, the President will give his first address to a joint 
session of Congress. I will have more to say later this afternoon at 
the National Press Club about the first month of the Trump 
administration and what we can expect from the speech. For now, I will 
just say that if past is prologue, the President will come to Congress 
with a populist message in an attempt to cloak what has been a hard-
right, anti-working person administration.
  His words are populist. He talks as though he favors the working men 
and women of America, but his actions are straight out of the hard-
right playbook, which makes it easier for the special interests and 
puts greater burdens on the backs of the working class and the middle 
class.
  Every American should be looking at what this President is doing, not 
saying, because, thus far, the two have been vastly different.


                          Affordable Care Act

  Now for the ACA, Mr. President. This past week, Republicans across 
the country in both Chambers were greeted in townhalls by angry 
constituents who waited in long lines and packed high school gyms, 
auditoriums, and community centers wall to wall to question their 
Republican representatives about their plan to repeal the Affordable 
Care Act.
  Americans are speaking loudly and clearly that their jobs, their 
hospitals--particularly rural hospitals--and their health care is on 
the line and want to know how Republicans plan to replace the law. On 
Friday, we saw the outline of the Republican plan. Like every single 
draft plan that Republicans have come up with, the outline we saw on 
Friday would raise costs and provide fewer benefits to average 
Americans and put the insurance companies back in the driver's seat. 
Average Americans under this Republican plan will get less, and they 
will pay more.
  Today, President Trump is meeting with the insurance companies about 
this plan. What happened to the President we saw on the campaign trail 
railing against the special interests? It turns out that the special 
interests are getting their way at the expense of working Americans--
less coverage, higher premiums, fewer sick people insured.
  My Republican friends listened to the outcry from their constituents: 
Don't repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a threadbare 
health insurance plan that puts insurance companies back in charge. 
Keep the law and work with Democrats on reasonable fixes.

[[Page 3018]]




                          Cabinet Nominations

  Finally, Mr. President, I want to comment again on the Cabinet. The 
three nominees the Senate will consider this week are similar to the 
rest of the President's Cabinet in the number of conflicts of interest 
they possess, their lack of confidence and expertise, and their hard-
right ideology. The Cabinet confirmation process has been like an 
assembly line of the least qualified and most conflicted nominees I 
have seen in my time in the Senate.
  Just yesterday, the nominee to be the Secretary of the Navy withdrew 
his name from consideration because he couldn't disentangle himself 
from his massive personal business interests. He may have more 
integrity than some of the others who continued through the process 
with conflicts of interest hanging over their heads. The Secretary of 
the Navy nominee is 1 of 14 relatively high-level administration 
officials who have left, resigned or withdrawn their nomination in just 
the first month of this Presidency. That list includes the nominee for 
Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, and 
the principal National Security Advisor.
  It is clear the Trump administration did not properly vet or 
carefully select these picks. With that in mind, the Senate should 
carefully scrutinize the nominees this week on the floor and vote their 
conscience.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Perdue). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Strange). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, since Inauguration Day, the Senate has 
been slow making its way through confirming Cabinet Secretaries. 
Democrats, it seems, have used just about every trick in the book to 
try to slow down the process. There are Democrats in the Senate who are 
delaying things even when other Democrats in the Senate support the 
person who has actually been nominated by the President.
  (Mr. YOUNG assumed the Chair.)
  Remember when President Obama took office, Republicans were far more 
willing to let the President have the team he wanted. He had won the 
election and was entitled to his Cabinet.
  We are now 39 days into President Trump's term, and the Senate has 
confirmed now 17 of his nominees--17 over 39 days. President Obama got 
20 of his people confirmed in the first 9 days. It does seem the more 
the Democrats delay, the more the American people will see the 
Democrats are just being childish and spiteful.


                        Nomination of Ryan Zinke

  One of the most recent people whom the Democrats have been delaying 
is Congressman Ryan Zinke. He has been nominated to be Secretary of the 
Department of the Interior. We have all heard about his qualifications 
for the job. His time serving the people of Montana in the State senate 
and in the House of Representatives is something that people hold up as 
to why he is qualified for this job. He is a Navy SEAL. He is an 
adopted member of the Fort Peck Tribes. He is a westerner. As a 
westerner, Ryan Zinke understands the importance of the position he has 
been now nominated to fill.
  Don't take my word for it. Listen to Senator Tester, Democrat from 
Montana, who came to the confirmation hearing for Congressman Zinke and 
he said so. He said: ``I believe it is very important for someone who 
knows the West to serve as Interior Secretary.''
  He was full of praise for this nominee. Senator Tester took the time 
to come to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and tell all of 
us on the committee about his support for Congressman Zinke to be 
Secretary of the Interior. He actually said: ``I am honored to 
introduce Congressman Zinke to this committee.'' He went on to say: ``I 
trust that this Navy SEAL will shoot straight as they always do.''
  The Department of Interior manages an incredible amount of acreage 
and water resources. It is responsible for protecting thousands of 
species of animals and plants. The person who heads up this Department 
has a very big and important job to do. We need someone in this job who 
can work with the people who are most invested in the good stewardship 
of our natural resources, and that is the people who actually live on 
the land. I believe that Congressman Zinke will do exactly that. He 
will work with States and with communities to find solutions that work 
for everyone, because America's natural resources actually belong to 
all of us.
  He understands that Washington does not always get the answers right, 
and he certainly knows that when Washington comes up with a one-size-
fits-all approach, it can do real damage. During Congressman Zinke's 
confirmation hearing, I asked him about some of the policies that we 
have seen over the past few years that have been restricting American 
energy production. He said he thinks the correct policy on energy 
development is ``all of the above.''
  Well, I agree. Do Democrats really object to using all of our options 
for creating the energy that we need to power our economy and our 
country?
  We should be trying to make American energy as clean as we can, as 
fast as we can, and do it in ways that don't raise costs for American 
families. I think Congressman Zinke understands this. I think he will 
do all that he can to make sure that we achieve what we need, which is 
the right balance.
  Democrats on the committee actually think so as well. His nomination 
was reported out of the committee on a strong bipartisan vote of 16 to 
6. That is a significant bipartisan show of support for the nominee. 
But the obstructionists on the other side should listen to their 
colleagues and give up the delaying tactics and senseless obstruction 
that is ongoing.


                        Nomination of Rick Perry

  There is one other nomination I would like to mention today, and that 
is the nomination of Gov. Rick Perry to be Secretary of Energy. Once 
again, we have a nominee who is totally qualified to lead the 
Department. Democrats have no real objection to the candidate. They 
just want to delay. We need to have an Energy Secretary in place as 
soon as possible. Again, this was the nominee who drew bipartisan 
praise in his confirmation hearings. For his nomination, again, there 
was a bipartisan vote in the committee--a strong vote of 16 to 7.
  Senator Joe Manchin, a member of the Democratic leadership, actually 
introduced Governor Perry at the hearing. He said that Rick Perry is 
``uniquely qualified to hold this position.'' Senator Manchin praised 
the nominee's ability to work across the aisle to get things done. That 
is important. It is important in a Cabinet Secretary, and it is 
important for all of us here in the Senate. I appreciate Senator 
Manchin and the other Democrats who reached across the aisle and have 
supported Rick Perry's nomination. They are willing to put aside the 
petty calls for gridlock that some of the other Members of their party 
have been making.
  I mention the importance of having a responsible all-of-the-above 
energy policy. This includes energy sources such as liquefied natural 
gas. The problem right now is that the Energy Department has a very 
large backlog of permits to export this gas. These are permits where 
all of the environmental reviews have already been completed. Still, 
permits haven't been issued. The Energy Department has just been 
sitting on the permits. Bipartisan majorities in Congress have said 
that we need to speed up this permitting process. It is time for us to 
have a new Energy Secretary in office today to start tackling this 
backlog. That is something we need this Department to do. There is no 
need or reason for delay.
  Governor Perry knows how to get this Department focused, how to get 
it moving, and how to make sure it is doing its job. There are 
reasonable and responsible Democrats here in the Senate who agree that 
doing the job is more important than just trying to run out the clock. 
Governor Perry and Congressman Zinke have been nominated to do 
important jobs for the American people. They are qualified. They are 
ready. We need them in office to do

[[Page 3019]]

these jobs now. There is bipartisan support. We need to vote not some 
day in the future; we need to vote now.
  The President deserves to have his Cabinet. He needs them in place. 
It is regrettable that a group of Democrats have decided to stand in 
the way of what is best for the American people--deliberate 
obstruction.
  So I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to stop the 
charade and stop the delays. It is time for us to vote on these 
nominations.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I rise today to oppose President Trump's 
nomination of Wilbur Ross for Secretary of Commerce. Mr. Ross is a Wall 
Street billionaire with a long history of profiting from the suffering 
of others. He also has shady ties to Vladimir Putin's Russia. That is 
just his record. Because of that record, I do not have confidence that 
he will protect the interests of the American people as Secretary of 
Commerce.
  This administration's disturbing ties to Russia have been all over 
the news. Here is what has been publicly reported as of today.
  Our intelligence agencies have concluded that the Russian Government 
conducted a successful series of cyber attacks against the United 
States designed to help Donald Trump get elected President. Our 
intelligence agencies are actively examining a dossier alleging that 
the Russian Government has collected compromising information on 
President Trump, and numerous press reports indicate that investigators 
have already corroborated some of that dossier's contents.
  The President's National Security Advisor resigned in disgrace and is 
the subject of an FBI counterintelligence investigation for his 
conversations with the Russian Government before the inauguration, 
conversations that may have been illegal and conversations that he has 
apparently lied about in public.
  Knowingly or unknowingly, the Vice President of the United States has 
repeated these lies on national television. According to CNN, high-
level advisers close to then-Presidential nominee Donald Trump were in 
constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to U.S. 
intelligence.
  CNN confirmed the New York Times' original investigation with 
``multiple current and former intelligence law enforcement and 
administration officials.'' Our allies documented regular calls between 
the Trump campaign and the Russians, confirming the reports of U.S. 
intelligence agencies. According to reports published in Newsweek, 
``the British government obtained information that people acting on 
behalf of Russia were in contact with members of the Trump campaign.''
  Many news outlets have reported on U.S. intelligence worries that 
NATO allies will no longer share sensitive information because they 
fear the new administration could share it with Russia. When asked 
about the regular points of contact between Russian intelligence 
operatives and his most senior campaign staff, President Trump refused 
to take the question seriously. He claimed the multiple reports of 
staff communications with Russian were ``fake news.''
  Behind the scenes, Trump's chief of staff was pressuring the FBI to 
help cover up the links between Russia and the Trump campaign. We are 1 
month into the Trump Presidency. I wish this were not happening. I wish 
things were normal, but this is not normal. It is shameful if we ignore 
all of it as we evaluate the President's nominees to critical foreign 
policy and national security jobs.
  In this context, Mr. Ross's connections to Russia raise dangerous 
issues. We know that Ross installed a former KGB official and close 
associate of Vladimir Putin as the vice chairman of the Bank of Cyprus, 
a bank that Mr. Ross controlled and a bank that was flooded with 
Russian money. Now, how closely connected was this former KGB official 
to Vladimir Putin? Here is one hint. He was so closely connected to 
Putin that he was given a $100 million payout by a Russian-controlled 
mining company as a golden parachute. He wasn't even the only Putin pal 
on Mr. Ross's board. That is right. Mr. Ross wanted the bank he 
controlled to have multiple board members from Putin's inner circle.
  Mr. Ross surrounds himself with Russian oligarchs, and he has 
invested financially in their success. As he explained during his 
testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee, Mr. Ross has no 
intention of divesting from Diamond Shipping, a company that operates 
33 oil tankers and jointly charters with even more. So a man who 
personally selected multiple Vladimir Putin associates to serve with 
him on the board of the bank he controls has been totally open about 
his plan to continue profiting from oil tankers shuttling over $1 
billion worth of crude oil through international waters while serving 
as Commerce Secretary.
  It is not just one shipping company. Mr. Ross is retaining his 
investments in 11--11 separate entities, mostly private companies 
registered in the Cayman Islands. Among his retained interests, the 
state-owned China Investment Company will be one of Mr. Ross's largest 
fellow investors.
  We have never seen a Cabinet like this in history. Like many of 
President Trump's other nominees and like President Trump himself, this 
nominee seems to see his time in public service as a chance to increase 
his own wealth. In other words, on any given deal, he might be working 
for the American people or he might just be working for himself. We 
will have no way to know.
  President Trump has apparently asked Mr. Ross to lead American trade 
policy. He claims to want aggressive enforcement of antidumping and 
currency manipulation rules, which sounds great, but when Ross actually 
has this job, is he really going to be thinking about American workers 
or will he be thinking about how to make his KGB buddy from the Bank of 
Cyprus just a little richer or will he be thinking about how to help 
out his own oil tankers circling the globe or will he be thinking about 
his offshore companies and his coinvestors from China or will he be 
thinking about the next billion dollars he plans to make?
  The American people should not be left guessing about who Mr. Ross 
will be working to protect. There is significant reason to believe the 
President of the United States has substantial financial ties with 
Russia, but nobody actually knows any of the details because he has 
failed to reveal his tax returns.
  Now President Trump expects the Senate to rubberstamp his nomination 
of a top banker to Vladimir Putin's buddies to run the Commerce 
Department of the United States. This is dangerous and I will vote no. 
Mr. Ross's financial ties with Russians and his worldwide business 
deals are not the only problem with this nomination. He is practically 
a cartoon stereotype of a Wall Street fat cat with no interest in 
anyone but himself. Ross ran a secret club of top Wall Street tycoons 
called Kappa Beta Phi. I am not making this up. It is actually true.
  So he runs this secret club, which apparently gathers every year to 
get drunk and entertain themselves by putting on off-color skits that 
make fun of the millions of Americans they have swindled over the 
years. That certainly reflects Mr. Ross's world view. This is a man who 
made a fortune from the housing crisis at the expense of working 
families. After buying the servicing rights to over $100 billion in 
subprime loans, Mr. Ross swiftly got to work cheating borrowers out of 
their homes.
  Here are just a few of the examples of Mr. Ross's approach to 
business: lying to borrowers about loan modifications; charging 
borrowers fees that were not authorized; taking payments from 
borrowers, then not applying those payments to their loans; forcing 
homeowners insurance on borrowers who already had homeowners insurance; 
robo-

[[Page 3020]]

signing fraudulent foreclosure documents.
  The violations were so widespread, his company had to settle with 49 
States. Let me repeat that--49 States. A man who builds a fortune off 
illegally cheating people out of their homes has no business running 
our Commerce Department.
  So let's summarize. Mr. Ross has extensive ties to Russia. He plans 
to keep making money from his major oil shipping companies while 
working as Commerce Secretary. He has made billions off the backs of 
struggling homeowners, and in his free time he hangs out with Wall 
Street tycoons who sit around and make fun of everyone else. This is 
disgusting. For all of these reasons--for any of them, really--I urge 
my colleagues to reject this nomination.
  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. SASSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________