they've gone to their first protest march or made their first call to a member of congress or maybe even taken the leap and put their names on a ballot for the first time. it can be such a rush to look around a room of, full of people ready to fight alongside you, to feel that energy, to imagine that better things are possible. you too will experience setbacks, defeats and disappointments. there will be days when you will wonder whether it's worth it. what i want you to know is that even today, even on the worst day of my political life, i feel like it's all been worth it

politics, paul wellstone told us, is about the improvement of people's lives. i know that the work i've been able to do has improved people's lives. i would do it all over again in a heartbeat. for a decade now every time i would get tired or discouraged or frustrated, i would think about the people i was doing this for and it would get me back up on my feet. i know the same will be true for everyone who decides to pursue a politics that is about improving people's lives. and i hope you know that i will be fighting alongside you every step of the way. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor.

mr. sullivan: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: madam president, i ask that following disposition of the balash nomination the senate proceed to consideration of executive calendar 167 as under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: madam president, i have five requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the l approval of the

majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. sullivan: madam president, today i'm gratified that we are finally debating and going to be voting on the nomination of joe balash to be the u.s. assistant secretary of interior for lands and minerals. i've been coming down on the floor, like a lot of my colleagues, making the case about how it's taken too long to get good people into the federal government. i'm sure i'll have to give that speech maybe a few more times. i hope not. but to finally get people who want to serve, been nominated by this president, who have been confirmed by the senate, to move them. it doesn't help the american people that we just delay well-qualified americans who want to serve their country just

for the heck of delaying. but it's happening. but i'm not going to focus on that today. i actually want to thank the democratic whip, senator durbin, who was actually very helpful in trying to move this nomination, which has been stalled on the senate floor for many weeks now. joseph balash was nominated by the president in july, so i appreciate that cooperative spirit from my colleague from illinois, and i want to thank him again for that. but, madam president, this is a really, really important position in the u.s. government. the assistant secretary of lands and minerals management entails supervision and seeing the bureau of land management, the bureau of ocean management,

environmental enforcement and the office of surface mining reclamation and enforcement. very, very important for the entire country. it's particularly important for states like mine, the great state of alaska, but so many others where the federal lands make up an enormous part of our state. my colleague and friend, senator lee, from utah yesterday was talking to a number of us about how much federal lands constitute different states in terms of the overall percentage, and a lot of americans don't know this. usually if you live on the east coast, you don't have big federal lands as part of your state, but in states like alaska, 61%, idaho 61%, utah 6 3-r%, nef -- 63%, nevada almost

80%. this is enormously important. so this is a very important job. i'm glad to see we're finally getting a vote on it because it's important to help manage resources that we have in abundance but also protect the environment. we all love our environment. alaska has the most pristine, beautiful environment in the world and we know how to protect it. we also have enormous opportunities for jobs in energy on public land, and what's in all the federal statutes that joe is going to be in charge of implementing is that you can do both. you can do both. you can protect the environment of this great nation and you can

also utilize these incredible resources that we have on public lands. so that's, in essence, what his job is going to be all about. and i would say, and i would encourage my colleagues to look at joe balash's confirmation hearing and look at his background because he is probably one of the most qualified people to hold this job in the entire country -- in the entire country. joe balash comes from a long, distinguished career of public service in alaska. he was the commissioner of natural rear sources in alaska. -- resources in alaska, he was the deputy commissioner of natural resources in alaska. that job in alaska manages one of the largest portfolios of

land, water, minerals, oil, gas, timber of any place in the world -- in the world. not just in the country. very few countries have more resources than we do in alaska. for years joe balash was in charge of those, managing those. that makes his super well qualified for this job. and that job as d.n.r. commissioner, he oversaw 100 million acres of uplands state land in alaska. this is obviously bigger than most states in america. 40 million to 60 million acres of submerged lands and tide lands and resources that included managing over a half million barrel of oil production a day. joe oversaw a workforce of over

1,100 people as commissioner of the department of natural resources and a budget of $170 million a year. joe understands how to build consensus, how to navigate state and federal lands issues and interests, and importantly, how to work to responsibly develop our resources, grow ow economy while -- our economy while always understanding that our lands sustain us, instringent environmental safeguards are absolutely necessary for all americans. let me say this, madam president, one other thing about joe balash. you can look at the bio, you can look at the experience, but you also need to know the man. joe balash worked for me when i was the commissioner of the department of natural resources as my deputy, and he's worked for the past almost three years as my chief of staff here in the

senate. and perhaps more than any other issue, experience, super hard worker, he's a man of integrity, a man of character, a man who cares deeply about his country and wants the best for americans and wants the best for alaskans. i can't think of anyone whose more qualified -- experience, character, integrity, knows the issues, cares about the environment. so i am strongly encouraging my colleagues to vote for joe. now, he was voted out of the e.n.r. committee in september, the environment and natural resources committee, with the support of every senator in that

committee with the exception of one. so when the committee looked at him and they looked at his experience and they looked at his background and they heard about his integrity and character, there was an enormous bipartisan -- bipartisan -- support for joe. so i'm hoping we'll see that here in a few minutes when we come to vote. i understand one of my colleagues, unfortunately, is going to come down to the floor soon and encourage a vote against joe. i'm still not sure why. maybe it's something related to a recusal issue between state and federal lands in alaska. again, i'll be interested to hear about the recusal issue. most recusal issues, by the way, that we heard about as we look at confirmations in the senate relate to people who have interest in the private sector,

and perhaps those private sector interests impacting policy decisions. but when you have someone who has worked on land issues in a state, the idea of making yourself be recused because you have expertise and policy from your state job when you go into a federal job, to me, seems, well, outrageous. but we'll see what that argument is, but i do know that joe balash will follow the rules and regulations as it relates to ethics and conflicts in a steadfast way because i know who he is. so, madam president, again, i encourage all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this extremely well-qualified nominee who has the character,

knowledge, expertise, experience for a very important job for the country and someone who is going to do a great job for secretary zinke and president trump. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: it is not. ms. cantwell: thank you, madam president. the department -- our wildlife refuge and wilderness areas, as

the supreme court said more than a century ago, it is the secretary of interior's responsibility to see that none of the public domain is giving it away to anyone who is not entitled to it. as the steward and guardian of stewardship of public lands, the secretary must represent the government and the people of the nation as a whole, not special interests or even the interests of a single state. but the secretary does not do his job alone. he has delegated his responsibly -- responsibility for lands and minerals management to the sis atant secretary and he has supervision over the bureau of land management. the assistant secretary needs to be someone who can discharge this important duty fairly and impartially. equally important, though, he must be seen as, for the american people, someone who is capable of being a good steward of their public lands and not as someone who comes to the job

with a predisposition of the public lands or special interests. an unbias decision maker is a core process, a principle that no one can be the judge in his own case has been the hallmark of anglo american law for over 400 years. to me, confirming mr. balash as assistant secretary to the land minerals. in 2014 there was a claim filed for 20,000 acres of the arctic national wildlife refuge with the bureau of land management. the alaska department of natural resources sought to move the long recognized boundary of the refuge. it asked the bureau of land management to convey over 20,000 acres of the refuge that would then be outside the refuge boundary to the state of alaska so that those lands could be leased for oil and gas development. mr. balash was the head of alaska's department of natural resource at the time it made its

claim to the bureau of land management. the bureau of land management properly rejected alaska's claim. alaska appealed the bureau decision to the interior board of land appeals where the appeal is now pending. if the senate confirms mr. balash to be assistant secretary of land and mineral management, he will exercise the secretary's discretion and supervision over the bureau of land management. he will be in a position of reversing the bureau of land management's decision which originally denied alaska's claim. moreover, secretary zinke has the shorty to take -- authority to take the jurisdiction away from the board of the land of appeals and delegate that authority to mr. balash. mr. balash may become the interior department's judge that he initiated at the commission of natural resources so this is my main concern.

i asked mr. balash his plans to recuse himself from participating in the department's consideration of alaska's claim. i believe that mr. balash thinks that he will comply with whatever the inspector general says the rules are, which is basically one year of recusal of being involved in that situation. that said, mr. balash, even under these current rules, could be in the position of being the final arbiter on a case he previously brought on expanding alaska's claim to the arctic wildlife refuge. he alone could make the decision. he alone could series the decision that he came and made claim to the bureau of land management, a claim that was turned down, he could reverse that. so for that reason i am not supporting mr. balash's nomination to this position today. there are so many things that we

have right now that are an unrelenting assault on our public lands and of by -- by this administration. we have have seen and you precedented use of extra ordery procedures to protect the public lands an environment. we've seen the secretary of interior unlawfully postpone implementation of lawful rules and we have witnessed and seen legislation on the arctic wildlife refuge running through here without the proper processes and procedures and we saw them use extra order ordinary procedure not to balance the budget it was a intended but to circumvent regular order. only this week we witnessed president trump launching an unprecedented, unlawful assault on our national monuments. mr. balash, i fear, may become an unwilling but still a participant of these salts of

salts on our public lands. that is why i cannot at this point give my support to this nomination. i know my colleague from alaska has worked with him. i respect his opinion in this position. i hope he'll respect mine. i do not think that at this point in time, without a better recusal, i can support mr. balash's nominationism thank the president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: madam president, i'm here with my colleague from the state of alaska, senator sullivan. we've heard his comments, very strong support of the nomination of joe balash to be the assistant secretary of the interior for land and minerals management. as he has indicated, he speaks as one who has great insight and

knowledge having worked with mr. balash for a period of years. as we think about those who are willing to step up and serve in this new administration, i think it is particularly telling that when we have personal knowledge, when we have had these relationships, when we know intimately of a person's work ethic, of their dedication to issues as their willingness to serve, that we pay particular attention to that. i, too, stand in strong support of joe balash for this position, and i thank the secretary of the interior for placing his trust, placing his confidence in mr. balash to serve on his team there at the department of the interior. you not only have an individual that knows intimately the subject area to which he has been appointed, joe is from a

community by the name of north pole. we're all thinking about the north pole as we get closer to christmas here. i would suggest that just being from alaska is enough to convince me that he's qualified for this position. but honestly, the breadth and depth of his experiences and again his commitment, his care, his passion, his dedication for serving not only the people but the lands that we hold so dear is, i think, a great tribute to joe balash. i've known and worked closely with him for years now, from the time that he was at the department of natural resources with then-senators -- then-commissioner sullivan to the time that he has served as the chief of staff for senator sullivan. but both of those jobs have

allowed mr. balash to demonstrate time and time and time again his competence, his expertise on a wide range of issues, but particularly the stewardship of our public lands. and we had an opportunity while in the energy and natural resources committee to listen to a little bit of his background, his upbringing, and how he became so personally involved and intertwined with our public lands. then you think about the role that he played when he was at the state as commissioner of natural resources. he had direct responsibility and management and protection of 101 million acres of the state of lay alaska. this -- state of alaska. this is larger than the state of california. 101 million acres. he also had control of a state park system containing 3.3 million acres of land, more than

twice the size of delaware. so he's used to dealing with lots of area of land. and the complicated and complex issues that are associated within. he generally understands how we can develop our resources while protecting the environment and sustaining the health of wildlife and ecosystems. he is able to balance, he is able to understand people, he is able as he has demonstrated as a manager managing land, managing energy, minerals, timber, water, and renewable energies in a state as diverse as alaska. and in our state -- i'm sure that senator sullivan has noted this -- we have a constitutional mandate. it's written into our state's constitution that we manage lands for the maximum benefit of our people. and that means working with folks from all different sorts of backgrounds. you don't get to pick and

choose. but we've all got our opinion, many competing points of view. and joe is able to do that and do that well. it's not easy to navigate but i think joe balash has proven time and time again that he's capable and he's willing to work with everyone, whether they are hunters, whether they are tribes, whether they're in the environmental community, the conservation community, his ability to work with folks from all sides has been proven. and now he's ready to take this next step, to take it up a notch to the broader federal level. and i believe that he will make an exemplary assistant secretary, not just for those of us from alaska but for our entire country. he'll oversee the bureau of land management, the bureau of ocean, energy management. the bureau of safety and environmental enforcement and the office of surface mining, reclamation and enforcement. he will largely be the department's point person for the management of our nation's

working lands, those lands that are not reserved for conservation purposes. and it will be his responsibility to strengthen our energy and mineral security for generations to come. and there's no doubt, there's no doubt in my mind but that he's the right person to take this on. he's -- i mentioned he's from north pole. okay. he was a two-time state champion wrestling champion. that takes a little bit of discipline. i think he will be well suited and will be an able partner with secretary zinke. but really an advocate for the american people. he's proven that he's got the work ethic to produce the value that americans need and deserve from their public lands. and i know that the management -- his management of the department's assets, whether it's promoting responsible energy development or ensuring access to federal lands for

sportsmen activities will be carried out with a dedication to transparency, to accountability, and enter results. on the sports side, i understand he's a accomplished buck hunter, and we recognize him for that. mr. balash was considered by those of us -- the presiding officer: the senator's time has expired. ms. murkowski: i ask unanimous consent, madam president, for two more minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: thank you. mr. balash was considered by thoat of us on the energy committee in early september. he was reported out two weeks later with strong bipartisan support. he has done everything that members on both sides of the aisle have asked him to do. he's waited patiently over the course of nearly three months as we seek to confirm him. now, it was just mentioned by the ranking member that he has concerns about his ability and the recusal process. madam president, it was made very clear in committee to questions to mr. balash as well as the follow-on with questions

for the record about some of the issues that senator cantwell has raised. and i think it's important to note that he pledged -- mr. balash pledged very clearly to consult with and follow the counsel of agency ethics office. he did that in committee, in statement. he provided the same response in his qfr's. he said i will consult with the department's designated agency ethics official regarding this matter and fully comply with the ethics rules of the agency. so, madam president, these are issues that have been asked. they have been answered. certainly to the satisfaction of the energy and natural resources committee and to this chairman and to those who reported favorably on him from the committee. so we are at that point where the senate is now asked to confirm mr. balash. i wish it had come a little bit earlier, but we are here where we are. i again thank the secretary for

nominating joe balash for this very, very important and key role at the department of interior. i thank joe for being willing to continue his service to our nation. i join senator sullivan and a lot of alaskans in being tr tremendously proud of him. and i would urge all members to support mr. balash's nomination to be our next assistant secretary of the interior for land and minerals management. with that -- i yield back all debate time and ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or to change their vote? if not, the ayes are 616789 the noes are 38. -- 61. the noes are 38. the nomination is confirmed. the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid on the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. under the previous order the senate will proceed to the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: environmental protection agency, susan parker bodine of maryland to be assistant administrator. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to speak about the confirmation of susan bodine to lead the environmental protection agency's office of enforcement and compliance assurance. for those who may not know,

that's a big job. this is an incredibly important job. the e.p.a.'s enforcement office protects the health of our citizens and environment by ensuring everyone is playing by the same rules. when bad actors don't follow the rules that we have put in place to maintain a clean and healthy environment for all americans, it is e.p.a.'s enforcement office that holds them accountable. in the past the actions taken by this office at e.p.a. have led to reductions in toxic air pollution as well as to the cleanup of contaminated land and waterways across our country. in fact, last year alone, e.p.a.'s enforcement work required companies to invest some $13.7 billion. i'm say that again. $13.7 billion in similar cleanup efforts. i said from time to time and also from the time that she was nominated, susan bodine's resume

suggests not just to me but almost all of us can play a constructive rule if she was appointed to serve. she has served as a staff member in both the house of representatives, united states senate for over a decade. she also spent time working in the administration of george w. bush. given that bred lt of experience i believe -- breadth of experience i believe she has a good understanding of the relationship that should exist between the separate but equal branches of our government and the critical role that e.p.a.'s enforcement office plays. when she was dmom natured for this position, she was kind enough to come to my office and spend a considerable amount of time with me, with my staff to discuss the job and her qualifications which i appreciated very much. she spoke of the work she had done for senators inhofe and barrasso both of whom have taken seriously their oversight roles at the e.p.a., epw faces. from the day we met, miss bodine

and i met in my office. i made it explicitly clear while i think she's well qualified for this job, i also take seriously the oversight role that we play on the environmental and public works committee. from the day of that meeting with ms. bodine until now, my request has been simple yet fairly simple -- e.p.a. should provide complete, adequate, and timely responses to the committee that oversees the work of that agency. absent a serious commitment to do so, i have consistently said that i'd be unable to support moving forward almost any e.p.a. nominees. and i've also said from the very beginning that i do not make such statements lightly or with any sense of joy. but i believe firmly that this body and its members have a constitutional duty to perform rigorous oversight and that we must protect that responsibility, regardless of which party happens to be in power.

over 200 days is far too long to wait for responses to serious inquiries like those about toxic pesticides that the e.p.a. has deemed safe after the previous administration proposed banning it. i know that no matter who is in charge, we can do better than that. now, as my democratic colleagues and i know all too well, we are not the majority party. we don't control the senate or its activities, who is confirmed here or who is debated on the floor. for instance, despite my many objections, bill wehrum was confirmed to head up the office of air and radiation. so my repeated requests have not just been that, with the hope that all of us as members of this body could agree that certain responsibilities are more important than political wins. some of my republican colleagues have supported me in this, and i am grateful for that support. as of late, i see that e.p.a. is making a good-faith effort to begin to respond to our

requests, requests of the minority within the environment and public works committee. i'm now satisfied with many of these responses -- not all, but many of these responses that they have set so far, and i am pleased that we are seeing some real progress. i'm hopeful -- i think i speak for the democratic members of the environment and public works committee and the democratic members of the senate -- that we're hopeful that this progress will continue. i've been privileged to serve in this body for some 17 years now. i think my colleagues know me well and inside think they no that i -- they know that i try to be fair. i have voted for some of president trump's nominees. i do not have and have never had an interest in delay for the sake of delay. i said just last week that if a subset of the letters that were due back from e.p.a. were completed in short order and were truly responsive, we could make progress on nominations. the the agency has done its part and now we're here today with

ms. bodine set to be confirmed by this body -- not next week, not next week, today. i hope this is the beginning after new chapter and that e.p.a.'s responses to our oversight requests will be more timely going forward. having said that, my sincere congratulations to susan bodine, her family, thanks to her family for sharing with us a good woman. i look forward to continuing to work with her in her new role. i think i speak again nuclear my colleagues on the committee and in the senate, we look forward to continuing to work with her in this new role she will play when she is confirmed here in a few seconds. we want to make sure she will ensure e.p.a.'s enforcement office remains an indisexpensable and credible cop on the beat. an indisexpensable and -- indi dispensable and credible cp on the beat. with that, i yield back my time,

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: i yield back our time. the presiding officer: all time is yielded back. the question is on the bodine nomination. all those in favor say aye. those opposed, say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confidence. 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 kansas. mr. moran: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business for debate only and with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection.

mr. sasse: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mr. sasse: thank you, mr. president. today the judiciary committee had the opportunity to advance the nomination of steve gras, one of the foremost appellate attorneys in the state of nebraska. the judiciary committee has now heard and soon the full senate will be hearing about the impeccable credentials of mr. grasz. steve has served with distinction for nearly a dozen years. during that time hedonned -- he defend our state's laws with human military and deanscy. whether he was litigating before the u.s. supreme court, steve's professionalism earned the respect of republicans and democrats aligning members of the committee became familiar with steve and in particular his recommendation from president obama's u.s. attorney for

nebraska deborah gilig. she wrote to the committee, quote, steve has always enjoyed a reputation for honesty, impeccable integrity and dedication to the rule of law, she wrote to our committee. she continued by noting that, steve, quote, possesses an even temperament. steve has earned the support of republicans and democrats back in nebraska and i hope that when his nomination comes to the floor of the senate, he will -- we will take to heart all of the support that he has across the political spectrum and from well-respected lawyers across our state. thank you for the time, mr. president. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: mr. president, across the country families are decorating their christmas trees. they're singing along to holiday playlists, they're searching for that perfect gift for the ones

they love, and they're making travel plans to see their families. holidays are a time for joy and togetherness, a time for faith and family, a time for gratitude and hope. holidays are not a time for fear. and yet without action congress may leave hundreds of thousands of families across america in fear this holiday season. i am referring of course to the 800,000 dreamers across america whose lives have been thrown into jeopardy by the administration's decision to end the deferred action for childhood arrivals program, or daca. daca is a program that made it possible for 800,000 undocumented youth across this country, including 22,000 in my home state of new jersey, to come out of the shadows. to step into the light and to follow their dreams without fear

of deportation. it's been months -- months -- since this administration decided to end daca. and despite what some of my republican colleagues say, the consequences of this cruel and reckless decision are not some distant threat. more than 11,000 dreamers have already lost their daca protections and work permits. so to anyone who thinks we have until march of next year to take action, you're surely mistaken. for these young people who grew up in the united states, who know no other home or country, who today live in fear of deportation, the crisis is here and the crisis is now. ending did a did a has created ending daca has created a national community that is playing out in our communitie communitiesseech and every day -- eve and every day. tens of thousands of daca

recipients are likely to lose a they are status on or before march 5. so what exactly are we waiting for and why wait at all? there is no legitimate reason for the president to have ended daca, a crisis that was avoidable. but now it is here and it is our job to fix it. president trump essentially told congress, the ball is in your court. well today i want to know from my colleagues, when are we going it take our shot? if we have the votes -- and i believe we have the votes -- isn't it time that we held a vote? we know there's overwhelming support from the american people -- republicans and democrats alike -- for america's dreamers. it's not fake news. poll after poll from quinnipiac to "the washington post" to even fox news shows the american people want a solution. and we know there is solid support for the dream act here

in the senate. i've seen my colleagues share the photos of the dreamers they meet. they post the stories among those brave young people fighting to stay in the country they know and love. but they deserve more than an instagram post or a friendly tweet. deserve action. every day that goes by, more and more dreamers find themselves of being sent back to countries they simply don't know or even remember. so let's take a moment to remember exactly whose lives we're talking about when we talk about dreamers. in my mind we're talking about the motherhood and apple pie of the immigrant community and the question of immigration. we're talking about young people brought here as children through no choice of their own. every child that is a dreamer is

someone who only knows the united states of america as their country, who the only flag they pledge allegiance to is the flag of the united states of america. the only national anthem they know is the "star spangled banger." children who have grown up in america are american in every sense of the word except on paper. dreamers are studying in our colleges, playing on our sports teams, serving in uniform in our military, risking their lives on behalf of what they consider to be their country, growing our economics obeying our laws, and most of all loving our country, too, because it is their country as well. they aren't undocumented aliens. they are americans who happen to be undocumented. and that includes 220,000 dreamers in my home -- and that

includes 22,000 dreamers in my home state of new jersey. sarah grew up in hillside, new jersey. her parents brought her to this country from costa rica at the age of three. she was three years old, mr. president. as sarah recently wrote in "the star ledger" new jersey has been my home for as long as i can remember. today she's had a hardworking college student, thanks to daca. that's how she was able to get a work permit, find a job, and work her way through union county college. sarah was preparing her applications to transfer to seton hall university and earn her four-year degree when the trump administration announced the end of daca. now sarah says her future is one big question mark. without daca, i'll go back to zero. no driver's license, she says, no job, no possibility of paying for my education. i have to wake up fearing

deportation every day. so when will we accept some responsibility and recognize that it is our inaction here in the united states senate that contributes to sarah's fear every day? or take adriana gonzalez of tom's river, new jersey. as the "asbury park press" recently wrote, adrianna is a girl who would play soccer with special needs children, a flute player. so like most dreamers, she isn't known by her peers as an undocumented immigrant. she is known as a asthmatic young woman -- as a smart, young woman with a bright future and something to contribute to her community. or how about renito of elizabeth, new jersey, studying civil engineering at college. i can't think of anyone -- or of anything, i should say, more backwards than deporting a

hardworking student who dreams of becoming a civil engineer. we need civil engineers engineer. we give people from different parts of the world permits to come to the united states to do these engineering jobs that we don't have enough domestic people to do. here is a young man who's grown up in america, who is american in every respect, and who's in essence pursuing a career path that would inure to the national economic interests. his story is just one more reminder that our country can't afford to lose america's dreamers. by $460 billion over the next decade. daca gave dreamers like renito

the freedom to pursue his dreams but it also gave him a sense of security. he recently wrote on "nort "northjersey.com," that the day that i i receive my work permit and social security card was the day i finally felt proud of who i am. i felt recognized. i felt safe. that sense of belonging, of acceptance, of safety was ripped away by the president's decision to end daca. but so long as congress fails to act, we are complicit in prolonging the very real fear that dreamers -- 800,000 dreamers -- feel today. the fear that, that knock on the door is not your family or neighbor but an immigration agent ready to whisk you away from your family. the fear that we see when these

young people believed in our government, came forth, went through a criminal background check, and now have all that at risk. the willingness of daca recipients to share their stories speaks volumes about their inl death, their courage, and the trust they put in us as elected officials. so i'm reminded of psalm 56:3, when i am afraid, i put my trust in you. well, dreamers like sarah, ariana, renito put their trust in the united states of america when they applied for daca. they came out of the shadows, they registered with the department of homeland security. they passed criminal background checks. they handed over personal details about themselves and their families to authorities they have been forced to hide from their entire lives. daca recipients went through all of this to get a two-year

renewable work permit and the promise of protection from deportation. that's the limited bargain they made. and yet, we have eviscerated -- or i should say the administration has eviscerated that limited promise and struck fear in the hearts of all of these families. so i ask my colleagues, democrats and republicans, was their faith, their trust, their belief in the u.s. government's word a monumental mistake? were they wrong to believe we could put partisan politics aside and come together and do the right thing in this case? will the united states senate go home for the holidays without lifting a finger to make sure these promising young students feel safe in their homes, in their schools? in their communities? they have become an integral

part of american families and many are starting a family of their own. 25% of daca recipients have young children. do we want these mothers and fathers to be torn from their children and sent back to their country that they never called home? do we not have an obligation to protect american children from the trauma of losing a parent? do we not have a moral responsibility to keep families together? isn't that one of the basic concepts that we have? will we sit idly by as the implementation of the administration's policy that says whether you are selling drugs in your streets -- which i'm all for deporting -- or earning a's in our classrooms or serving in our military, everyone is fair game for deportation. no one is safe, not even children who know no other home. that's a wrongheaded policy. that's not law and order.

that's fear and chaos. so we're not compassionate in our sense of urgency. how many more dreamers have to lose their daca status before we stand up and do what is right? time for temporary fixes is over. the time for empty gestures is over. the time for heartfelt words is over. it's time for us to stand up for these young people, and it's time for us to act. it's time for us, democrats and republicans, to use whatever legislative vehicle is necessary to pass the dream act. so whether it's a continuing resolution or a straight vote here on the floor, it's time for us to get this done. let's put an end to the fear and uncertainty hanging over so many families this holiday season. let's summon our collective compassion. let us pass the dream act. let us do it now.

and let the congress not go home for the holidays unless we have a solution to this question. for me, it is a moral imperative that these young people who know no other country but the united states, who are americans in every other sense of the word, not have to live this holiday season in the fear that that knock at the door is about someone other than a family member or their neighbor. mr. president, with that i yield the floor and observe the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you,

mr. president. i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the environmental protection agency needs strong and experienced leadership. that's why i come to the floor today to speak in support of president trump's nomination of susan parker bodine to serve in the office of compliance at the e.p.a. her expertise and her experience make her an exceptional pick to lead this office at the agency. she has extensive environmental policy knowledge from years working as an attorney, staffer on capitol hill and leadership at the e.p.a. from 2016 to 2009 during -- from 2006 to 2009 she served in solid waste and emergency response. she served as the staff director on the house committee on transportation and infrastructure subcommittee on water resources and the environment. most recently susan served as my

chief counsel at the senate environment and public works committee. that's why i know susan is committed to finding commonsense ways to protect america's land, air, and water. in this new role she will work to help communities and small businesses comply with the law while holding polluters accountable. democrats and republicans alike agree that she is the right person for the job. matthew stanislaw, a former obama administration employee once shade she is a stand-up person. ben grubles, currently maryland's secretary of the environment said she's tough and fair and committed to public service. susan is an excellent pick to lead the e.p.a.'s office of enforcement. taking on

critical task. it is a big job. i can think of no better candidate for this job than susan bodine. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: quorum call:

mrs. fischer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mrs. fischer: i ask that it be vitiated, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. fischer: mr. president, i rise today to talk about my support for the senate tax reform bill and to encourage congress to help american families. our economy and our workforce have changed over the last few decades and our tax code must catch up. if we want to build a better future for our children, we must tackle problems for families juggling responsibilities between their homes and their workplaces. we have a chance to make history here. the senate-passed bill included my strong families act which would be the first nationwide paid family leave policy passed by this body. this proposal h