Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived.

Mr. McCONNELL. I move to concur in the House amendment to S. 140, with a further amendment.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion to concur with amendment.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays on my motion.

Mr. McCONNELL. I have an amendment to the instructions.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays on my amendment.

Mr. McCONNELL. I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today the Senate completed its work on the personnel business for this week the way we started--by confirming a talented nominee to be a Federal district judge in Kentucky. President Trump nominated Rebecca Jennings to be the first woman to serve as a district judge for the Western District of Kentucky. Widely recognized for her outstanding legal talents and judgment, Ms. Jennings has earned the support of Kentucky's legal community. In fact, dozens of her peers wrote that ``she has a first-rate analytical mind and superb judgment. She is principled, thoughtful, and hard-working.'' These qualities are exactly what I believe we need on the Federal district courts. Our colleagues on the Judiciary Committee agreed, advancing Ms. Jennings' nomination to the Senate floor on a voice vote. Just moments ago, the Senate fulfilled its responsibility, confirming another well-qualified nominee for Kentucky and for the Nation, both of which will be well-served by Rebecca Jennings on the bench. I hope the Senate can build on this momentum and continue confirming more of the President's abundantly qualified nominees without undue delay.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the nomination.

Mr. McCONNELL

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

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 with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. McCONNELL. I now ask for a second reading and, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3 p.m., Monday, April 16; further, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. Finally, I ask that following leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of the House message to accompany S. 140 and that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the cloture vote on the motion to concur be at 5:30 p.m., Monday.

Mr. McCONNELL

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

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, all postcloture time on the Pizzella nomination expire at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow and the Senate vote on confirmation of the Pizzella nomination; further, 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; finally, that there be 2 minutes of debate equally divided prior to each vote.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this morning, Speaker Ryan announced to his colleagues that he will be departing the House at the conclusion of the 115th Congress. Two and a half years ago, Paul Ryan was drafted by his colleagues to lead the House through a new era. Like a true leader, Paul stepped up to the plate. He answered his colleagues' call with exactly the earnest, selfless, and focused approach that has defined his entire career in Congress. The results have been beyond impressive. Capping off a remarkable 20-year career in Congress, Paul's speakership has yielded one significant accomplishment after another for his conference, his constituents in Wisconsin's First Congressional District, as well as the American people. True to his career-long reputation as a champion for pro-growth economics, Paul helped lead the way on last year's once-in-a-generation rewrite of the Nation's Tax Code. Thanks in large part to his personal passion and expertise, reform became a reality, and our economy is charting a new course toward greater prosperity and greater opportunity. On its own, this generational accomplishment would secure the Speaker's legacy as a transformational conservative leader, but, of course, it is far from the only fruit of his speakership. His leadership was vital to securing everything from the largest year-on- year increase in defense funding in 15 years to the remaking of the way we treat and find cures for rare diseases. What is more, Paul has paired that ambitious agenda with infectious good cheer and an unflagging commitment to serve all Americans. Amidst all the stresses and pressures of leadership, Paul's optimism and energy never waned. It has been a sincere pleasure and a real inspiration to work alongside this humble servant and happy warrior. I am glad we can count on his continued leadership through the rest of this year because our work together is far from finished. I look forward to collaborating closely these next months to implement more of the inclusive, pro- growth, pro-opportunity agenda the American people are counting on us to keep advancing.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now on another matter, yesterday the Senate confirmed the first of six nominees slated for consideration this week, Claria Horn Boom to serve as district judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky. She was confirmed 96 to 1. There was just one Senator in opposition. This is the kind of uncontroversial nomination the Senate could typically dispatch by a voice vote, but not these days. Over and over again, we have had to file cloture and exhaust floor time on amply qualified nominees who then soar through their confirmation votes by lopsided margins. Since President Trump took office, the Senate has had to hold 82-- 82--cloture votes on judicial and executive nominations. In the first 2 years of President Obama's administration, there were only 12 such cloture votes--12 for President Obama, 4 for George W. Bush, 8 for President Clinton, and already, just a few months into President Trump's second year, there have been 82. The numbers speak for themselves. Today we will have the opportunity to confirm yet another qualified nominee for a critical post. John Ring's nomination to serve on the National Labor Relations Board is an important next step to continue cleaning years of regulatory rust off of the American economy. It is a natural addition to the progress we have made scaling back unhelpful regulations that make it harder for American businesses to create jobs and make opportunities for American workers more scarce. Mr. Ring's confirmation will give the country a fully staffed NLRB once again and turn the page on the previous administration's efforts to remake this bipartisan Board into a one-sided political weapon. Even in a short amount of time last year, we saw just how much good a fully functioning NLRB can do for American workers when it calls balls and strikes fairly instead of bending over backward to meet Big Labor's every demand. Today we will have the chance to get things back to normal for the long term. Mr. Ring has a distinguished record in labor negotiation. I would urge my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm him today. After Mr. Ring, the Senate will turn to the nomination of Pat Pizzella to serve as Deputy Secretary of Labor. The fact that this Cabinet agency has gone 15 months without its No. 2 official is yet another testament to the historic obstruction visited on this administration by Senate Democrats. He has been sitting on the calendar for 6 months despite his ample qualifications. I would urge all of my colleagues to vote to finally advance Mr. Pizzella's nomination.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on another matter, this week we have been discussing the stark difference between the Obama administration's agenda and the policies that President Trump and this Republican Congress have implemented. During the Obama years, the overwhelming majority of all the limited new growth and new jobs went to the biggest and richest urban areas. Times were good if you happened to live in New York, San Francisco, or a few other places, but if you were one of the millions of Americans in our Nation's towns, smaller cities, suburbs, or rural areas, they were not so good. According to one estimate, between 2010 and 2016, 73 percent of all the employment gains in the country went to metro areas with more than 1 million residents. Practically everywhere else, Americans either treaded water or started sinking. This President and this Republican Congress were sent here to put this right, and because the American people gave us a chance to do so, they now have leaders in Washington who focus on cutting taxes instead of raising them, rolling back overregulation instead of piling on more suffocating rules, and looking out for the best interests of all workers and job creators, not just those in our biggest and wealthiest cities. The early results from our inclusive opportunity agenda are clear. After years of stagnation, we are beginning to see signs that rural America turned a corner in 2017. One analysis found that last year, rural areas outpaced the rest of the country in job creation, relative to the share of the economy they started out with. There is still much, much more to do, but these early promising signs add up to hundreds of thousands of new jobs. That is a sight for sore eyes in Kentucky, West Virginia, Montana, Maine, and so many other States. What about our smaller cities? I recently heard from my friend Senator Toomey that, because of this historic tax reform we passed last year, Carpenter Technology in Reading, PA, will invest $100 million in expanded manufacturing capabilities--$100 million in our economy and American workers because of tax reform. For this American manufacturer, founded in 1889, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act means a new hot rolling mill to produce the special alloys for aerospace and consumer electronics. They are also investing in 3D printing. This is what happens when manufacturers have the breathing room to bet on the U.S. economy and on their American workforce. Breathing room is exactly what our policy is giving them. Carpenter already employs more than 3,000 Pennsylvanians, and with this kind of major capital investment, I expect they will be competing for future generations of skilled workers as well. Pennsylvania should be proud of Senator Toomey. He is one of the leaders who have helped lead the charge for tax reform. It is a shame his colleague, the senior Senator for Pennsylvania, put party politics ahead of workers and taxpayers and voted to block tax reform right from the beginning. Fortunately, my Democratic colleagues failed to block tax reform from taking place, even though many now want to repeal the law that has led to new jobs, higher wages, and increased opportunities all across our country. Stories like these are just the first fruits of tax reform, regulatory reform, and all the other ways this Republican Congress is fighting for every American worker, job creator, and middle-class family.