Volume 163, No. 26 covering the 1st Session of the 115th Congress (2017 - 2018) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“NOMINATIONS” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Senate section on pages S1135-S1136 on Feb. 14, 2017.
More than half of the Agency's employees are engineers, scientists and protection specialists. The Climate Reality Project, a global climate activist organization, accused Agency leadership in the last five years of undermining its main mission.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NOMINATIONS
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, over the past several weeks, we have seen unprecedented obstruction from our colleagues across the aisle. This made the confirmation of the President's nominees the slowest in modern history. It has left several key departments without a permanent secretary at the helm for far too long. What is the point of the needless delay? What is the point? Our friends are slow-walking votes, not changing outcomes.
We took several important steps last night to move the nominations process forward. We confirmed Steve Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary. After 8 years of failing economic policy, stagnant growth, and a tough job market, it is clear we need a new direction to get our country back on track. We need a new direction on regulations--smarter and pro-
growth. We need a new direction on taxes--simpler and pro-jobs. If we are going to accomplish either of those goals, we are going to need new leadership at the helm of the Treasury Department. Secretary Mnuchin has real-world understanding of the private sector, and he is ready to work with both sides to get the economy moving.
Second, we confirmed Dr. David Shulkin as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The debt we owe our servicemembers and their families extends far beyond any program or benefit the government can provide, but through the VA, we should be doing everything we can to fulfill our commitments to veterans and their families, like the more than 300,000 veterans who call Kentucky home. Secretary Shulkin will be tasked with overseeing that our veterans in Kentucky and across the Nation receive quality and timely care. It is a heavy burden, but he seems up to the task. The chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Isakson, has a well-deserved reputation for working tirelessly on behalf of our veterans, which makes it notable that his committee voted unanimously to recommend Dr. Shulkin to the Senate and the full Senate confirmed him unanimously too.
We haven't seen much of that lately.
I am confident that Secretary Shulkin will work with Congress to build on the progress we have already made in expanding accessibility and improving accountability at the VA.
Third, I took the necessary procedural steps last night to allow us to confirm the rest of the nominees on the calendar: Representative Mick Mulvaney, the nominee for Director of the Office of Management and Budget, who can help get our Nation back on track fiscally; Scott Pruitt, the nominee for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, who can bring much needed change after 8 years of heavyhanded, job-killing regulations; Wilbur Ross, nominee for Commerce Secretary, who can help promote job creation and economic growth; Representative Ryan Zinke, nominee for Interior Secretary, who can help improve our Nation's land use and conservation policies; Dr. Ben Carson, nominee for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who can help reform HUD to better serve the American people; and Governor Rick Perry, nominee for Energy Secretary, who can help guide us toward smarter energy policies to grow our economy and strengthen national security.
Beginning with Representative Mulvaney, we can get each of these nominees confirmed soon. With cooperation from across the aisle, we can put them to work for the American people even sooner.
We will be able to put another important nominee to work just this morning, one who understands how to help businesses flourish. The last 8 years have been very difficult for our economy, for workers, and for small businesses. I am confident that the President's pick to lead the Small Business Administration, Linda McMahon, will prioritize growing jobs over growing government bureaucracy. In so many States, including mine, that is a welcome change of pace from Washington. Small businesses help drive America's economy, and they help drive Kentucky's economy as well. Almost half of all the private sector jobs in Kentucky--about 700,000--come from the more than 340,000 small businesses across the Commonwealth. These small businesses not only grow the economy, but they also serve important roles in our communities.
Mrs. McMahon, who has built a company from the ground up, understands the many challenges small businesses can face. She certainly has come a long way from sharing a desk with her husband and leasing a typewriter. I commend her for her willingness to serve her country, and I look forward to her confirmation later this morning.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant Democratic leader.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the Democratic leader, Senator Schumer, is likely to come to the floor soon, and I will certainly defer to him at a later time, but I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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