March 12, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 48 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
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Nomination of James P. Danly (Executive Session); Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 48
(Senate - March 12, 2020)
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[Pages S1721-S1722] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Nomination of James P. Danly Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I will be voting to confirm Mr. Danly's nomination to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. I am doing so because I believe he is well qualified for the job. He has been the Commission's general counsel for the past 2\1/2\ years. He understands the complex legal issues that come before the Commission. I voted to report Mr. Danly's nomination, both last November and again last week, on the strength of his qualifications, not on politics. I urge my colleagues to do the same. The position to which Mr. Danly has been nominated is one of five seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. By law, no more than three of the five seats can be held by one party. Only three of the seats are now filled--two by Republicans and one by a Democrat. The other Democratic seat has been vacant since last August. Traditionally, when both a Republican seat and a Democratic seat have been vacant, past Presidents have sent nominations to fill both at the same time. I am deeply disappointed that this has not happened this time. The politics involved in this town are outrageous. It is truly outrageous that even proper decorum, simple civility, and just a little bit of procedure are not even considered anymore. The White House has had a highly qualified candidate to fill the Democratic seat for over a year, who has been totally vetted and has gone through all the processes that we have, but the President and his staff have still not sent us her nomination. I think they are scared. I hear this because she is a very, very bright, very smart, very articulate, and very intelligent person. She knows the issues, and she is well respected in her field. By breaking the longstanding practice of pairing nominations and not sending us a nomination for the Democratic seat, the administration undermines the bipartisan structure of the Commission. I made a commitment to Mr. Danly that I would support his nomination because he is well qualified, and I will honor that commitment and vote to confirm him. Two wrongs don't make a right here, but this has got to stop. Both sides have to stand up and say: Mr. President, this is a tradition. This is what we do. This is customary of what has been done, and it gives us a five-member FERC, which is extremely important for energy in our country and the reliability that we depend on. But as I told my colleagues on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, when we voted on Mr. Danly's nomination, I will not support another nominee unless we get both. This has to stop, and I am asking my colleagues on the Republican side to please help us with some kind of structure and some kind of procedure back into the operation. We need to start acting as a Senate and not be guided by the politics--the toxic politics--and this tribal mentality. I want the President to send us the nominations so we can have a fully functioning committee. So with that, I ask all of my colleagues, please, let's vote for the qualifications of the person, not the politics of the person. Also, let's make sure we have a complete, working Commission and not just a partial Commission that is overweighted. With that, I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Danly nomination? Mr. MANCHIN. 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 Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Perdue), and the Senator from Florida (Mr. Scott). Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran) would have voted ``yea.'' Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Washington (Ms. Cantwell), the Senator from Minnesota [[Page S1722]] (Ms. Klobuchar), 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 52, nays 40, as follows: [Rollcall Vote No. 72 Ex.] YEAS--52 Alexander Barrasso Blackburn Blunt Boozman Braun Burr Capito Cassidy Collins Cornyn Cotton Cramer Crapo Daines Enzi Ernst Fischer Gardner Graham Grassley Hawley Hoeven Hyde-Smith Inhofe Johnson Jones Kennedy Lankford Lee Loeffler Manchin McConnell McSally Murkowski Paul Portman Risch Roberts Romney Rounds Rubio Sasse Scott (SC) Shelby Sinema Sullivan Thune Tillis Toomey Wicker Young NAYS--40 Baldwin Bennet Blumenthal Booker Brown Cardin Carper Casey Coons Cortez Masto Duckworth Durbin Feinstein Gillibrand Harris Hassan Heinrich Hirono Kaine King Leahy Markey Menendez Merkley Murphy Murray Peters Reed Rosen Schatz Schumer Shaheen Smith Stabenow Tester Udall Van Hollen Warner Whitehouse Wyden NOT VOTING--8 Cantwell Cruz Klobuchar Moran Perdue Sanders Scott (FL) Warren The nomination was confirmed. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip. Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that with respect to the Danly nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________
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