Tina Smith

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, that the preambles be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 28; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Bryan nomination, postcloture; further, that all time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m. and the Senate recess following the cloture vote on the Garnett nomination until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; further, that if cloture has been invoked on the Garnett nomination, all time be considered expired at 2:15 p.m.; and, finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Tuesday's sessions, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Ms. SMITH

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

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration of S. 1146 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Ms. SMITH

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

Ms. SMITH. 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.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 31; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the Maddox nomination postcloture; further, that all time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m. and that following the cloture vote on the Lew nomination, the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; further, that if cloture is invoked on the Lew nomination, all time be considered expired at 2:30 p.m. and, upon disposition of the nomination, the Senate resume legislative session to consider Calendar No. 198, H.R. 4366; finally, that if any nominations are confirmed during Tuesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Ms. SMITH. For the information of the Senate, Members should expect additional rollcall votes during Tuesday's session.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today in support of Jessica Looman to be Administrator for the Wage and Hour Division at the Department of Labor. And I want my Senate colleagues to know a little bit about Jessica, whom I have had the opportunity to know well and to work with since 2011. Jessica is from St. Paul, MN. She has worked as an attorney and advocate, as a labor leader heading the Minnesota building trades, as a public sector leader, and as a lifelong champion for workers. And in all her roles, Jessica has earned the reputation for being thoughtful and innovative and fair. She is respected for her skill leading large, complex organizations and getting results and working productively with diverse groups of people to find good solutions and common ground. Before I was Minnesota's Senator and Lieutenant Governor, I served as chief of staff for the Governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton. And when we needed a leader who was trusted both by business and by labor to be a leader at Minnesota's Department of Labor and Industry, we selected Jessica, who served both as assistant commissioner and also as deputy commissioner. And Jessica impressed me and everyone with her leadership, her competence, and her commitment to fairly and diligently enforcing the law. She led Minnesota's efforts to ensure safe, fair, and healthy workplaces and labor standards. And she led our effort to expand apprenticeships. Jessica was respected by business and labor alike for her commitment to establishing reasonable, effective workplace rules and regulations. A couple of years later, when we needed a strong leader to take on Minnesota's Department of Commerce, Jessica was our first pick. In that role, she again showed her skill as an executive leader, leading successful statewide initiatives and growing Minnesota's clean energy jobs. So I have no doubt that Jessica will be a fair and pragmatic Administrator for the Wage and Hour Division, which is responsible for enforcing some of our Nation's most important laws governing minimum wage and overtime pay and child labor standards. As Administrator, Jessica will have direct impact protecting the interest of hard-working Americans, like the waitress whose boss is stealing her tips, or the building trades' carpenter or laborer who has the right to earn the prevailing wage on Federal projects so that they can support their families, or the worker who isn't being paid for the overtime hours that they have worked. Ms. Looman's values are rooted in fairness and the promise that all work has dignity and should be respected. One of the things that I have learned in my time in public service is that, if you understand both sides of an argument and you really listen, you can usually find a solution that works. Jessica exemplifies this approach. In all of the years that I have worked closely with her, she always approaches issues with that keen desire to understand what both sides need and what they want and then to find a solution that both sides can agree is fair. And let us be honest, sometimes regulations can seem subjective and hard to understand. And Jessica gets this, and so she is always looking for a path that is reasonable, that protects people's rights, and that follows the law but that is reasonable. I think that this is why she is respected both by employers and by labor, first in Minnesota and now at the U.S. Department of Labor, and it is why she will make a strong, respected, and trusted Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. I urge my colleagues to support her confirmation. Her reputation as a respected, effective leader has been built over years of hard work, fighting for working people, and she has a track record of successfully building coalitions and consensus, even when there are real and difficult challenges to bridge.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 406, submitted earlier today.

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Executive Calendar No. 148, that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Ms. SMITH

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

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned under the provisions of S. Res. 406 until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 17; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Hall nomination, postcloture; further, that all postcloture time be considered expired at 11:30 a.m. and that following the cloture vote on the Munley nomination, the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; that if cloture is invoked on the Munley nomination, all time be considered expired at 2:15 p.m.; finally, if any nominations are confirmed during Tuesday's session, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's actions.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. 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.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 331, submitted earlier today.

Ms. SMITH. 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.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 329, submitted earlier today.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. I know of no further debate on the resolution.

Ms. SMITH. I ask unanimous consent the preamble be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Ms. SMITH

Ms. SMITH. Madam President, I have four requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate: