Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 652.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 656.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 654.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be discharged from further consideration of PN1608 and PN1333, and the Senate proceed to the consideration of the nominations en bloc.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to Executive Session for the consideration of Executive Calendar Nos. 658 through 688 and all nominations on the Secretary's Desk in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy; that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, a few announcements for the information of all of our colleagues. When we reconvene after meeting with our constituents and monitoring the pandemic response in our States, the Senate will first continue to fill critical vacancies in the executive branch. This week, we confirmed a new Director of National Intelligence. In just a moment, we will confirm a new Secretary of the Navy. But our Democratic colleagues would not let the Senate fill several more posts over at the Pentagon. So, as has sadly become the norm over the last 3 years, the Senate will be spending floor time and multiple rollcall votes on each of the following: an Assistant Secretary of Defense and the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. If you can believe this, I also had to file cloture on the incoming Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. If we had a nickel for every time our Democratic colleagues have claimed that congressional oversight of the recovery programs was important, the CARES Act would have paid for itself. Yet Democrats blocked the confirmation of the special inspector general to look over the program this week. The Senate will prepare to confirm these qualified people the hard way. Three years and counting of Democratic heel-dragging continues. Of course, there will be plenty of legislative business before us as well. Senators will continue to monitor the pandemic response and discuss ways to help the Nation pivot toward reopening and economic recovery. In addition, thanks to the hard work of Senators Gardner and Daines, we will be able to take up their bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act in the next work period. It is a milestone achievement to secure public lands and ensure their upkeep well into the future. We will have the National Defense Authorization Act so that we do not let this pandemic take our eye off the ball of our Nation's security. We will have much work to do in our home States next week. We will have much to do when we get back here after that. All around the Nation, Americans are taking precautions, but they are continuing to show up to do essential jobs and keep the Nation going. The Senate is not going to be any exception to showing up.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Executive Calendar Nos. 691 and 692, with the exception of Prestidge and Rivera; that the nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc with no intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res 556.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, week after week, this Capitol has been a study in contrasts. Call it the tale of two Chambers. Over here in the Senate, the lights are on, the doors are open, and we are working for the American people. All month, we have been in session, passing national security legislation, confirming key nominees, and holding hearings on the coronavirus crisis and the effectiveness of the historic rescue package the Senate wrote and the Senate passed. We are heeding medical guidance and taking new precautions, but we are showing up and getting things done. Over across the Rotunda, in the House, crickets--their lights are off. The doors are locked. The people's House has shown up for a grand total of 2 legislative session days since March. Well, 2 days in 8 weeks is a blistering pace. Last week, they flew into town to pass Speaker Pelosi's latest 1,800- page liberal wish list. Diversity and inclusion in the marijuana industry wasn't going to study itself, after all. That had to be an A-1 priority during this crisis. The Speaker's proposal was so unserious and so far left that it could not even unite her own conference. Even after a 2-month sabbatical, House Democrats could not contribute anything serious. Yet they did find the time to keep fishing for another impeachment. More than a year after the Mueller report thoroughly debunked the collusion conspiracy theory, Democrats are still pursuing the administration in court over that document. In a new Supreme Court brief the day before yesterday, House Democrats said they have the right to continue because--listen to this--the President's impeachment did not actually end with his acquittal. The House Democrats are now claiming the impeachment that ended in February is not really over. Their brief says they are weighing ``whether to recommend new articles of impeachment.'' And referring to Chairman Nadler's Judiciary Committee, ``the Committee's investigation did not cease with the conclusion of the impeachment trial.'' That is Chairman Nadler's argument in a court case. Perpetual investigation and perpetual impeachment--if only someone could have predicted this. If only anyone had warned that House Democrats' opening the Pandora's box of weak impeachments would affect our country into the future. Of course, Senate and House Republicans warned precisely that, and here we are. It is a suitable complement to the other ongoing incident, where a Federal judge has taken it upon himself to prolong a case that the actual prosecutors want to drop. These are fascinating legal standards. Investigations no longer end when a jury acquits someone and prosecutions no longer end when charges are dropped. The House Democrats would rather spend a fourth consecutive year trying to cram their politics into the legal system than actually govern the country during a pandemic Fortunately, as I laid out, the Senate is up to the job. Every single day, the historic CARES Act that we wrote and passed to fight this pandemic continues to come online. Direct payments hit families' accounts. Support for major industries helps to prevent mass layoffs. Resources for doctors, nurses, hospitals, and healthcare providers help to stabilize the system from coast to coast. The Paycheck Protection Program has saved tens of millions of jobs for American workers. From big cities to small towns, to industrial suburbs, to farm country, Senate Republicans' bold program is turning potential pink slips into paychecks every single day. To be sure, the program is imperfect. That was guaranteed when banks had to cram multiple years' worth of lending into a few weeks. Yesterday, we saw a glaring example of that imperfection. The legislation we passed contains specific eligibility requirements. One rule said affiliates of national nonprofits could not pose as small nonprofits and ask for money. But because time was and is of the essence, the legislation set up a process of initial self-certification with review to follow, rather than lengthy vetting upfront that would have slowed the emergency money for rightful recipients. We learned yesterday that the Nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, abused this emergency process and grabbed tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money for which they were completely ineligible. This is the organization that fired its new president last year because she was too focused on broader health issues and not sufficiently fixated on abortion above all else. Disrespecting human life is their central mission, and they just took advantage of a national crisis and helped themselves to tens of millions of taxpayer dollars they were clearly forbidden from taking. It goes without saying that the money must be sent back immediately-- right now. As we shine a light on Planned Parenthood's misrepresentations, we cannot let their actions jeopardize this important program with the tens of millions of Americans who are benefiting from it rightly. Remember, the PPP has pushed $500 billion into the economy across more than 4 million loans. The average loan size is just $118,000, giving paychecks instead of pink slips for tens of millions of Americans. My hometown of Louisville, KY, is home to the baseball bat factory that makes the world-famous Louisville Slugger. For a few months, the bat factory was a temporary casualty of COVID-19. This month, the manufacturer secured a PPP loan, and 171 employees were pulled off furlough and put right back on the payroll. So 171 family stories went from pain and chaos back to stability because of this program. That is just one business in one city in one State. There is also an automotive parts supplier and a hoagie shop in Michigan, a fresh flower shop in Arizona, a burger joint and a community nonprofit in North Carolina, and on and on and on. Four million loans across all 50 States and new loans are still being issued as we speak. This is what serious legislation looks like. This is what serious solutions can accomplish. Every day, the Senate's work is paying dividends to working families all across our country. The pandemic is not all we are working on. The Senate is also staying on top of foreign relations, national security, and the personnel business. Yesterday, the Intelligence Committee reported out the nomination of the next Director of the National Intelligence. The Armed Services Committee reported out nominations for Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. I hope our Democratic colleagues will not block the Senate from filling these key national security vacancies before we adjourn later this week.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, throughout this health crisis, the Senate, its Members, and our staffs have been lucky to have the steady leadership of Dr. Brian Monahan in our corner. Our Attending Physician has responded with the same ability and professionalism that have benefited Congress and the Supreme Court for more than a decade. His continued guidance is making it possible for the Senate to smartly and safely fulfill our constitutional duty to the American people. The last time our Nation faced a pandemic on this scale, the 1918 Spanish flu, the Attending Physician's office was still more than a decade away from even existing. Dr. Monahan has had to break unprecedented ground in his crucial role on multiple levels, but, true to form, he has adapted on the fly to serve his country. Dr. Monahan has developed detailed advice for Members and committees. His team is working around the clock to answer questions and to keep us healthy. Expertise and attention to detail are nothing new from our Attending Physician, who has spent a proud career in military service. The Senate is lucky that the public service of this decorated rear admiral and celebrated instructor has brought him to us. We certainly are grateful to him and his entire team. I am happy to report that we aren't the only ones taking notice. Mr. President, as a measure of our collective gratitude, I ask unanimous consent that this recent New York Times feature profile of Dr. Monahan be printed in the Record

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, we thank the good doctor for all he does for this institution and for his country.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the cloture votes with respect to the Manasco and Heil nominations occur at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively, tomorrow; I further ask that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, if cloture is invoked on the nominations, the confirmation votes occur at 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. tomorrow, respectively; further, that following disposition of the Heil nomination, cloture ripen with respect to the Badalamenti nomination; finally, that if any of the nominations are confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.