Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Page S3235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Nomination of Susan Combs
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I have come to the floor to speak in
strong support of the nomination of Ms. Susan Combs, of Texas, to be
Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget at the
Department of the Interior.
This is one of five Assistant Secretary positions at Interior, and,
as the title suggests, it is critical to the Department's ability to
function. The individual who holds this position is responsible for
overseeing everything from the annual budget request to financial
management, procurement, and policy and program analysis.
The President's nominee, Susan Combs, is very well qualified. She has
previously served as a State representative, as agriculture
commissioner, and as comptroller in her home State of Texas. Over the
years, Ms. Combs has worked extensively with the Department of the
Interior, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has
helped her gain substantive expertise about a range of issues that she
will face in her new role.
My only wish is that we could have confirmed Ms. Combs long ago.
Instead, due to holds and delays here on the Senate floor, she
ultimately had to be reported from the Energy and Natural Resources
committee on three separate occasions--in 2017, in 2018, and again this
year. She is not controversial. Each time, we reported her with
bipartisan support. But she has now been forced to wait for a total of
nearly 700 days for confirmation, meaning she will have held up for
longer than she will be able to serve, at least in the current term.
I appreciate Ms. Combs' willingness to serve our country. I
appreciate her patience over the course of nearly 2 full years, which
is testament to just how broken the nominations process had become, and
her commitment to see this through. I also thank Leader McConnell for
scheduling this vote and encourage every Member of this Chamber to vote
in favor of confirmation.
Mr. BROWN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and
consent to the Combs nomination?
Mr. BROWN. 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 bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander) and the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran).
Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr.
Alexander) would have voted ``yea'' and the Senator from Kansas (Mr.
Moran) would have voted ``yea.''
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker),
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Gillibrand), the Senator from
Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and
the Senator from Massachusetts (Ms. Warren) are necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Perdue). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote or to change their vote?
The result was announced--yeas 57, nays 36, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 141 Ex.]
YEAS--57
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Jones
Kennedy
King
Lankford
Lee
Manchin
McConnell
McSally
Murkowski
Murphy
Paul
Perdue
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shelby
Sinema
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Wicker
Young
NAYS--36
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Brown
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Kaine
Klobuchar
Leahy
Menendez
Merkley
Murray
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--7
Alexander
Booker
Gillibrand
Markey
Moran
Sanders
Warren
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.
The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
remaining votes in this series be 10 minutes in length.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________