[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 10110]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            VOTE EXPLANATION

 Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I was necessarily absent for the 
cloture vote on the nomination of Neomi Rao to be the Administrator of 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the White House 
Office of Management and Budget.
  On vote No. 155, had I been present, I would have voted nay on the 
motion to invoke cloture on the Rao nomination.
  This administration has dedicated itself to undermining many of the 
commonsense regulations that protect public health, workers, consumers, 
students, and the environment.
  Ms. Rao's previous writings show that, as OIRA Administrator, she 
would likely continue this trend and actively work to prevent any new 
regulations from being implemented.
  She has previously called for increased political oversight of 
independent agencies, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 
and dramatically limiting the regulatory authority of other Federal 
agencies.
  This is concerning as OIRA plays a critical role in the Federal 
regulatory process and often determines how new regulations are 
implemented.
  Therefore, I would have voted against cloture on Ms. Rao's nomination 
as I do not believe she will adequately defend agencies' duties to set 
safety standards that protect the public.

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