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[Pages S6986-S6987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CLOTURE MOTION
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination
of Stephen Hahn, of Texas, to be Commissioner of Food and
Drugs, Department of Health and Human Services.
[[Page S6987]]
Mitch McConnell, Thom Tillis, Richard Burr, Pat Roberts,
John Cornyn, John Hoeven, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Roger F.
Wicker, James Lankford, John Boozman, James E. Risch,
John Barrasso, John Thune, Roy Blunt, Lamar Alexander,
Mike Braun, Shelley Moore Capito.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum
call has been waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the
nomination of Stephen Hahn, of Texas, shall be brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Isakson),
and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Bennet),
the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), the Senator from Vermont (Mr.
Sanders), and the Senator from Massachusetts (Ms. Warren) are
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 74, nays 19, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 393 Ex.]
YEAS--74
Alexander
Baldwin
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Brown
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Johnson
Jones
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Lee
Manchin
McConnell
McSally
Menendez
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rosen
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Shelby
Sinema
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Van Hollen
Warner
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
Young
NAYS--19
Blumenthal
Cantwell
Duckworth
Gillibrand
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Klobuchar
Leahy
Markey
Merkley
Murray
Reed
Schatz
Schumer
Smith
Stabenow
Udall
NOT VOTING--7
Bennet
Booker
Burr
Isakson
Paul
Sanders
Warren
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 74, the nays are
19.
The motion is agreed to.
There is 2 minutes of debate on both sides before the next vote.
The Senator from Delaware.
Nomination of Aurelia Skipwith
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I take no joy today in rising to urge my
colleagues to join me in voting no on the cloture of the nomination of
Aurelia Skipwith to serve as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
To my disappointment and dismay, Ms. Skipwith has not provided
information pertaining to her activities at the Interior Department
that was requested by Senate Democrats during her nomination process.
Despite my repeated requests for this information since August--
requests made twice in writing and twice in person during her
nomination process--Ms. Skipwith has refused to produce information
that is routinely provided by other nominees. She even suggested--get
this--that I file a Freedom of Information Act request for the basic
information I seek. I worry, once confirmed, Ms. Skipwith's
forthrightness will only worsen, which will severely impair our ability
to conduct meaningful oversight over the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Ms. Skipwith's lack of candor has elevated questions that already
existed about her qualifications, her commitment to environmental
conservation, and whether she can ethically lead the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. I believe it is irresponsible to confirm a nominee
given these serious outstanding issues. I urge my colleagues to join me
in voting no on cloture.
I thank the Presiding Officer.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, the Senate is considering the nomination
of Aurelia Skipwith to be Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
The agency needs Senate-confirmed leadership in place, and Ms.
Skipwith is well qualified to serve as the Director. She has a degree
in biology from Howard University, a degree in molecular genetics from
Purdue University, and a law degree from the University of Kentucky.
For almost 3 years, Ms. Skipwith has served as the Department of the
Interior's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
At her nomination hearing, Ms. Skipwith was introduced by Democratic
Congressman William Lacy Clay, of Missouri. He said Ms. Skipwith was
``one of the most talented, hardest working and driven persons that I
have ever known.''
I encourage every Senator to support her nomination.
I yield the floor.
____________________
