>> the senate about to gavel in after a week long day for me break it senators will resume debate on president trump's pick to be the agricultural department top lawyer at 5:30 p.m. on limiting debate if approved, the final vote will take place later this week. other nominations take place this week. live now to the floor of the united states senate. the chaplain: let us pray. o lord, our god, how excellent is your name in all the earth. we continue to be astonished that you have chosen us to work for your kingdom. give us the wisdom to strive to ensure that your will is done on earth

even as it is done in heaven. lord, we are grateful that you have surrounded us with the beauty of the earth and the glory of the skies. we praise you for the opportunity to spend our lives for causes greater than ourselves. today, direct the steps of our senators, opening doors that no one can shut and closing doors that no one can open, according to the wisdom of your loving providence. we pray in your great name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag

of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the following nomination

which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of agriculture, stephen alexander vaden of tennessee to be general counsel.

mr. cornyn: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: there is no quorum call. mr. cornyn: i appreciate that, mr. president. members of congress are making their way back to the nation's capital after celebrating thanksgiving with home -- with the folks at home, their friends and their family. to me, this holiday offered a little bit of respite and time for reflection, a time to pause with our families and think about what we have to be grateful for. and this year, i am particularly thankful for the organizations that i have met with when i was back home in texas who have donated a lot of their most

valuable time, their most valuable resource. thousands took time out of their family celebrations to provide meals and assistance to those less fortunate. i also had the opportunity to join the ranks of some of my other volunteers like mayor steve adler of austin with whom i served meals at the h.e.v. feast of sharing in austin, also an annual event. i donned an apron and gloves to help prepare turkey for the annual thanksgiving dinner in san antonio where more than 50 companies and more than 4,000 volunteers partnered to cook and serve meals. raul jimenez, who is famous in san antonio for his contributions there, who has now left us, but he in 1979 started this dinner with the goal of feeding 100 of san antonio's elderly families and those less fortunate. 39 years later, his daughter and

grandson, raul jimenez iii, carry on this tradition and serve meals to feed 25,000 hungry san antonioians. during the holiday season, we all have a chance to express our gratitude by extending a helping hand, providing a meal or maybe just simply offering words of encouragement. i was grateful that i was able to join with some of the remarkable and selfless volunteers doing just that when i was back home. but i want to make sure we bring that same attitude here back to congress where i have the privilege of representing 28 million of my fellow texans. not only the attitude of gratitude for the great privilege of living in a country such as ours, but also feeling the weight of responsibility to actually produce results for them. my discussions with my constituents when i was back home ran the gamut of possible

topics, but what i keep hearing is they feel like they are doing much better economically. this is an economy that has been invigorated and yes they have a bit more money in their pockets to spend on holiday gifts. but you know, when i enter the beltway here in washington, i don't read a whole lot about how well people are doing, the confidence and enthusiasm they have in their station in life and their prospects for the future. mainly what we see on cable tv and on social media is how congress is being fraught with divisiveness and burdened by partisan politics that paralyzes us from getting anything done, and we see this narrative splashed across headlines and picked apart on cable news shows. when i go back home, i find that most of my constituents aren't

particularly concerned with who is up and who is down and the purely partisan politics they see going on here in the nation's capital. they are concerned about making their lives and their families' lives better, putting food on the table and enjoying the fruits of their labor. they want to see their elected officials likewise doing the same and solving the real issues that affect their lives. over the last two years, i think it's important to sort of reflect on what it is that the senate and this congress have been able to do under this new administration. our record i think is pretty clear, and of course americans responded by giving us an even greater majority of the leadership, the republican leadership in the senate next congress. in the last two years, we promoted policies to foster economic growth and job creation and opportunities for all americans, regardless of their station in life. and by doing that, we have made historic gains, and i want to

mention just a few of those now. let's start with the tax code. the first time in 31 years that the tax code has been tackled and reformed. the cuts and jobs act lowered tax rates across the board for every tax bracket. it doubled the child tax credit and helped american businesses become more competitive in the global economy. the savings created by these reforms have been real for americans across the country. they mean an extra tank of gas each month, more food on the table, or a month owes worth of rent. for parents, they mean textbooks for their kids, school supplies, as well as -- are well within financial reach and saving a little bit more for that college education is now possible. robert from wylie, texas, wrote me recently to say he and his daughter have been both pleasantly surprised by the increases in their paychecks. robert said that he appreciates

the effort put forth by the current administration and looks forward to more being done to help the average american worker. american workers are the ones that have been left behind in the past, told to expect the new normal of stagnant economic growth and slow wage growth, but they are exactly the ones who are being helped the most now by these change in tax and regulatory policy. it started with the tax reform legislation, and i think the regulatory reforms we have been able to enact have made a big difference as well. the texas workforce commission announced recently that our state hit record low unemployment in october while the department of commerce announced the state's economy grew 6% in the second quarter. that is a red-hot growing economy. these are monumental leaps forward that were felt in all corners of our state. confidence in the economy across the country is at its highest

level since 2004. small business owners, the primary engine of job creation in our country, small business owners' confidence is at a near record high levels and optimism among u.s. manufacturers has soared to an all-time high. is this a coincidence? well, i don't think so. is this a result of policies produced years ago during a previous administration, as some people would claim? i don't think so. but we have done some things, important things on a bipartisan basis together like removing some of the burdensome dodd-frank banking regulations so that we can expand access to capital, which means more loan money available for small businesses and families and particularly for farmers and the farming community. we took important steps to reduce the regulatory burden on all employers and job seekers alike by giving states the tools

to remove barriers to certain professions through occupational licensing reform. some of the occupational licensing requirements in our states are basically nothing but incumbent protection, trying to freeze out people who wanted to learn a new skill only to learn that it was uneconomical to do so or the licensure requirement made that burden just too high. we also worked to help provide for our veterans, a noble undertaking in and of itself, and those especially that make the transition from military life to civilian life. one bill that we passed called the jobs for our heroes act made it easier for veterans to get commercial driver's licenses, and the american law enforcement heroes act makes sure veterans get hired by local law enforcement agencies when they come out of the military with the very skills they need to provide for our police agencies working to keep our communities safe.

in each of these cases, we have tried to listen to what my constituents and our constituents were telling us so we could implement targeted changes meant to improve the lives of the people we are honored to represent. particularly around thanksgiving but year-round, i am reminded of how grateful i am for the sacrifices made by those who have served our country in the past and those who presently wear the uniform of the united states military. many a times, they are the very ones who spend their holidays deployed overseas in places far away from their families. and i'm proud of the historic effort that we have made on a bipartisan basis to provide support for those who are currently serving our country and those who have previously served. that started with the veterans administration which was past due for reforms. this is an immense bureaucracy of more than 300 -- i believe

330,000 employees, and we needed to pull that agency into the 21st century to better serve the veterans under its charge. i'm sure omar bradley, general omar bradley who led the v.a. after world war ii would not recognize the system in place today, he would not recognize what we have transformed the v.a. into, but he would have recognized it as it previously existed because it basically was the same system in place since world war ii. but now we have taken important steps like passing the historic v.a. mission act which has modernized the veterans' appeals process and the electronic health care system. we have reformed veterans' health care benefits and improved accountability within the v.a. and we have provided the largest funding increase in history for veterans' care and veterans' services. when it comes to other institutions that help provide

safety and security for the american people, we were able to provide for the men and women of the coast guard with bipartisan support. our bill ensures the coast guard could continue to protect our ports, stop illegal drugs from reaching our borders, and save lives. earlier this year, we made the greatest investment in our military in history with the passage of the national defense authorization act for the 58th consecutive year. this was appropriately named for our friend and colleague, senator john mccain. the defense bill supports our men and women in uniform by providing the tools and resources they need to keep our country safe. it includes the largest boost to service members' pay in ten years. but it's especially noteworthy that this year will mark the first time in about a decade that the defense department won't operate under a temporary

spending measure known as a continuing resolution, and that's important because of bipartisan support where we funded roughly 75% of the government so far. we have still got more to do, on time and through regular order. in fact, we passed the most on-time appropriations bills in 22 years. but in addition to these historic strides, we have also passed landmark legislation to combat the drug addiction crisis that has plagued every corner of the country. this bill is designed to help stem the tide of drugs flooding across our borders but also help those who are suffering from drug addiction get the recovery support that they need. we continue to support communities by passing first of its kind legislation to make our schools safer and stop online sex trafficking. i think each one of these successes is worthy of mention because, really, the legislative record of this current congress,

the 115th congress is pretty remarkable, one of the most productive since my time in the senate, but it's meant unprecedented victories for american workers and families and communities as well as our service members. we still have a mission, though. we need to finish out the 115th congress as strong as we began it, and we only have a few weeks left to do that. that starts by continuing our historic pace of confirming the president's judicial nominees which already total more than 80 with two supreme court justices confirmed just this congress, the 115th congress these last two years. in the coming weeks, we will continue our work on the farm bill to provide support for our nation's ag community, and in my home state, that's one out of every seven working texan gains their income from working in the agriculture sector. everyone's heard the saying thank a farmer three times a

day. well, it's the farmers and ranchers back in the lone star state i think of that -- that i think of when i hear that. texans know as well as anybody the unpredictability of mother nature which can ruin a crop or an entire season in the blink of an eye, and that's why passing a farm bill is important, to give our farmers and ranchers the predictability and the certainty that they need and they deserve, insofar as we can, since we can't control mother nature. as you can see, we have got our work cut out for us in these remaining weeks. i mentioned earlier that americans chose to send senate republicans back to washington with an even greater majority, but americans also chose a democrat majority in the house of representatives. leader mcconnell recently called the senate, quote, fertile soil for bipartisan work. and it's true. it's the way the senate is constructed and built with our unique rules when it comes to considering and voting on

legislation. we're ripe for the possibilities of solving some of the biggest legislative question marks facing our government and facing our nation, but now our friends in the house with a democratic majority need to make a choice. they need to choose to make noise or they can join us to make law and improve the lot of american citizens. aim confident of what we will choose on this side of the aisle because we'll do exactly what we have done over the last two years -- continue to make substantial progress for the american people. we'll want to make sure that we extend a hand to our democratic colleagues in the house, and they can make their decision, i hope to join us in continuing to make progress on the part of the american people and not just create more chaos and confusion. and accentuate the divisiveness

that we know already plagues our political system and our country. it is important that we in congress demonstrate that we're up to the challenge and that we are worthy of the trust of the people we represent. the american people. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i'd note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the democratic leader is recognized. mr. schumer: are we in a quorum? i ask unanimous consent in a the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. first, let me welcome everybody back from thanksgiving, which i hope was a joyous one for everyone here today. on a subject not so joyous.

the majority leader indicated that the senate will move to the pending nomination of thomas farr to the eastern district of north carolina. i've been in the senate long enough to see questionable nominees, frankly from both parties, but thomas farr is unquestionably one of the worst. it's hard to believe president trump nominated him. it's even harder to believe senate republicans are considering him again. this is a man who stands for disenfranchisement of voters, particularly minority voters. that is what he stands for. you can try to parse it any way you want, but that is what he has done. that is not america. he spent his long legal career working against the rights of unions in addition, but he has demonstrated to be a dye in the wool partisan with particular hostility to voting rights.

we all know that north carolina has done more -- more to hurt voting rights than just about any other state. that is a good title for a state that is trying to be more progressive and forward looking. we all know that. and we also know that justice roberts will go down in history as one of those who worked to take away voting rights when he authored the shelby decision and stated that he didn't believe that -- more or less he stated that he didn't believe that discrimination existed any longer so we wouldn't need section 5 of the voting rights act. and that allowed people like mrh carolina to do a wholesale taking away of voting rights. particularly those of

minorities. after challenging multiple congressional maps drawn by north carolina's democrats, farr vigorously defended the congressional maps drawn by north carolina's republicans, and even this conservative supreme court, often so insensitive to the voting fairness and rights of minorities, the supreme court actually overturned this map for discrimination -- discrimination, not partisanship, discrimination. farr defended north carolina's restrictive voting laws, the law, passed by a very conservative republican legislature, requested data on the use by race -- by race of a number of voting practices. after receiving the data, north carolina republicans made five changes to voting and registration, every one of

disproportionately hurt the voting ability of african americans. under the law, even citizens who showed government employee i.d.'s, student i.d.'s or i.d.'s used to receive public assistance were not allowed to vote. here is what the fourth circuit said. it said the law, quote, had discriminatory intent and, quote, targeted african americans with almost surgical precision. farr, as he defended this law, said it was a minor inconvenience for voters. this is despicable. despicable. a law is particularly designed to prevent african americans from voting, and we are nominating such a man to the court of appeals when he was

chief cook and bottle washer for much of the time these laws came about? i don't care what your party is and i don't care what your political ideology is, how can you have this man in the court? he was involved in another sorted affair regarding african americans. in 1990, farr was the lawyer for the reelection campaign of jesse helms, during which the department of defense alleged that 120,000 postcards had been sent over overwhelmingly to black voters intending to intimidate them from voting. is that amazing? that man is the man we're elevating. i believe the republican party is going to have huge trouble in the future, and they'll shrug their shoulders. they'll say this is political correctness.

no it isn't. it is because they tolerate things just like this. not all, but too many. right now we only have one person on the other side of the aisle who said that he would vote against farr. i don't care what the marching orders are, it's wrong. here, in response to a question from ranking member feinstein, farr denied that he had, quote, participated in any meeting in which the postcards were discussed before they were sent. unquote. however, the deputy chief of the voting section of the department of justice's civil rights division said farr's response was contrary to the facts. in effect, that d.o.j. person was saying farr did participate. we don't know the exact circumstances of the mailing, but at minimum it's disturbing that farr was involved, often directly, in defending multiple attempts by north carolina republicans to disenfranchise

african american voters. as the congressional black caucus said, quote, had the white house deliberately sought to identify an attorney in north carolina with a more hostile record on african american voting rights than thomas farr, can could hardly have done so. it's well said. i don't care if you're a republican. i don't care if you're a democrat or something in between. we should not elevate a person to the federal bench who has spent a good part of his career defending those who want to undermine the rights of americans to vote. and let's look at the circumstances of this nomination . you know, mitch mcconnell brags how many seats he's filled. it's because these seats were held back because we respected the blue slips when we were in the majority. and there were a lot of empty seats. well, this one is the longest

running judicial vacancy in the united states. why you might ask has the seat remained open for so long. republican senators blocked two obama nominees, both of whom were african american women. let me say that again. republican senators from north carolina -- they may not have been. it's in that circuit. republican senators blocked two owe obama nominees, both of whom were african american women. and now we put this man in their place? and all because leader mcconnell and chairman grassley changed the rules and eliminate the last bit of comity by eliminating the blue slip? each of those women would have been the first african american ever, not just the first african american woman, but the first african american ever to serve in that judicial district when

the population of that district is 27% african american. two women, new knocked out by republican senators under the tradition of the blue slip, both african american, in a district that's 27% african american, they're not on the bench and we're nominating this man who has stood steadfastly against the right of people in this case black people to vote. that is despicable, despicable. considering farr's record on voting rights, on the disenfranchisement of african american voters in particular, his nomination to the eastern district vacancy is not just a dash of salt in the wound, it's the whole shaker.

i would plead, plead with my republican colleagues after an election in which voting rights and voting suppression were major issues in states like georgia and florida, at a time when our president always says elections are fixed and americans' faith in the well spring of our democracy, the right to vote and it to be counted and correctly tabulated in a fair way, what message does the senate send if it approves farr's nomination? this is our democracy. for the first time in the history of america, nasty creatures are gnawing at its roots. the tree could fall down. i hope it won't. it's a strong tree. but it could fall down and it will be aided and abetted by

those who put people like mr. farr on the bench. i voyeur sif rousely -- voice sif lousily oppose his nomination and urge my colleagues to do the same. the acting attorney general, it's been three week, almost three weeks since president trump tapped mr. whitaker to be the acting attorney general. since that time i along with democratic leader pelosi and ranking members of key members in the house and senate, we sent a letter to the department of justice asking for a formal update on whether mr. whitaker must recuse himself from the russia investigation given that he's had a long history of criticizing it. we've not yet received a response. it's three weeks. no response. we sent a letter -- i sent a letter to the department of justice asking its inspector general to look into whether

mr. whitaker and the white house had any improper or unlawful conversations prior to his appointment. again, no response. in the meantime, we've learned that before joining the department of justice, mr. whitaker served on the advisory board of a company accused of scamming and deceiving consumers. we've learned he received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions for four -- four years after his campaign ended. doesn't seem like a campaign contribution, does it? something else far more evil was at stake. and he got them just before he became senator sessions' chief of staff. sorry, just before he became attorney general sessions' chief of staff. and we've learned amazingly that he's received $1.2 million in compensation for unspecified work for a shadowy,

conservative, dark money organization that refuses to disclose its donors. the more the public learns about mr. whitaker, the more troubling his appointment becomes. he's hardly the most honorable man given all this. and he's the acting attorney general without any review by anyone other than president trump who has shown that he wants the justice department to be his personal arm of attack, not rule of law but to go after his enemies and lay off his friends. beyond the shady business dealings, the most important thing is that mr. whitaker won't recuse himself from the russia probe despite publicly expressing his bias against the investigation. clearly he's shown he's willing to meddle in the investigation and that in all likelihood is why president trump appointed him. what a sad place we're in. we need to come together here in the senate, democrat and

republican, to pass legislation to protect the special counsel's investigation. we already have the bill. it's bipartisan, two republicans, two democrats. it's passed committee on a bipartisan vote. chairman grassley to his credit voted for it. and now we have urgent reason to consider it here on the floor. if the majority leader refuses to give it the vote it deserves, democrats will push to include it on the must-pass spending bill that we must approve in the next few weeks. mr. president, i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum calling dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: with the thanksgiving holiday behind us, we're reminded that this year and this congress will soon come to a close. the past two years have been a time of historic accomplishments on behalf of the american people, historic tax and regulatory reform, landmark legislation to combat the opioid epidemic, a return to regular order appropriations, much-needed reforms and resources for our men and women who wear the uniform today and for our veterans. the list goes on and on. as the 115th congress comes to a close, my colleagues will have much -- much, indeed, to be proud of. but we aren't finished yet. the senate still has a full

plate of important business that we must complete before the end of the year. at the top of the list are more nominations, well-qualified individuals the president has chosen for executive and judicial service. since of the beginning of this congress, the majority has taken the senate's role in the personnel business very seriously. we've taken every opportunity to process nominations efficiently and fulfill our responsibility to advise and consent. of course, thanks to a concerted delaying effort from our colleagues across the aisle, a number of of important offices remain unfilled. accomplished nominees have waited patiently on the senate calendar. important posts have remained vacant while my colleagues on the other side of the aisle slow-walk nominations and force a record-breaking number of cloture votes. we're two years into this administration.

the president deserves his team. our constituents deserve the government they voted for. so as we have this entire congress, we'll continue to make nominations a top priority for as long as need be. the nominees we'll consider this week are highly regarded and well-equipped for public service. we'll begin with stephen vaden, who's been nominated to serve as general counsel to the department of agriculture. mr. vaden is a graduate of vanderbilt and yale law school. he brings experience from multiple federal court clerkships and from years in practice in administrative law and appellate litigation. the nominee was voted out of agriculture with bipartisan support, including that of the ranking member. so i would urge each of my colleagues to join me in voting to advance mr. vaden's nomination this afternoon and to confirm him this week. then we'll turn to more nominations for the department of commerce, for the federal

judiciary, for the bureau of consumer financial protection. i look forward to confirming each of them without undue delay. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. nelson: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: i ask consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. nelson: madam president, i intend to be giving a number of speeches over the course of the next couple of weeks to comment on various matters that i have had the privilege of working on. and i want to say that with regard to the election, well, things turned out a little differently than grace and i had expected. but let me say i have been very, very blessed, and that's because i've had the privilege of serving the people of florida and our country for most of my life. and i don't think anyone could have been more honored by having a lifetime of public service.

i was not victorious in this race, but i still wish to strongly reaffirm the cause for which we fought. a public office is a public trust. first, i want to say thanks to all who have rallied to our cause both here in the senate and in florida. you knocked on the doors, you walked the precincts, you made the phone calls, you contributed your time and your resources. and with an optimistic heart, i wish to say something else. we may have been heavily outspent, but we were never outworked. to all floridians, i say to

you, whether you voted for me or for my opponent or you didn't vote at all, i ask that you never give up this fight that a public office is a public trust. and there are a lot of other things that fall under that category of public trust. you must fight to protect the fundamental right to health care and against any attempt to roll back our progress on things like preexisting conditions. most everybody has a preexisting condition. if it's not required that an insurance company cover you, then either your rate is prohibitively high or else you don't get coverage at all.

and out of 20 million people in the state of florida, 8 million people have a preexisting condition. and you must continue the fight to preserve the natural wonders of our state, from the everglades to the pine forest, to the beaches and the offshore waters. say no to drilling off our coast, not one rig off of our coastline not only for the sake of our environment, the sake of our tourism economy and for the sake of the largest military testing and training area for the united states military in the world right off of our coast. and as a country, we need to continue to launch rockets and

to explore the heavens. i have seen the blue brilliance of the earth from the edge of the heavens, and i will fight on to save this planet, our homes, and our cities from the spreading plague of greenhouse gases that infect our atmosphere and play havoc with our weather and risk the planet, our children and grandchildren will inherit. every single one of us needs to keep fighting to strengthen social security and medicare for generations that are yet to come. it's your medicare. it's your social security. you pay into these programs. they belong to you and not to

the politicians who are plotting to rob you of your retirement. i will continue to fight on and on for the inalienable human rights that are the soul and glory of the american experiment. civil rights, women's rights, lgbt rights and the sacred right to vote. we must end all forms of voter suppression, make it easier for americans to vote and honor the ideal that we are governed by the majority and not by minority rule. there are great decisions ahead that will shape the course and character of america in the 21st century. yes, i will continue to fight

and to fight hard for what's right, and i will also encourage others to seek common ground with their colleagues and the other side of the aisle. inevitably at times that effort will fall short, but we have to try. we have to move beyond a politics that aims not just to defeat but to destroy, where truth is treated as disposable, where falsehoods abound, and the free press is assaulted as the enemy of the people. whether an institution such as this congress will be effective in the future is whether the people that make up this

institution can get along. well, we will retreat from the tieblism that has -- from the tribalism that has captured american politics, where men and women of goodwill can come together as the good book says, come, let us reason together. there's been a gathering darkness in our politics in recent years. my hope today can be found in the words of john f. kennedy, who said civility can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. thank you all for the privilege of a lifetime of public service. god bless you and god bless our country. madam president, i yield the floor.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. a senator: madam president, if i might for one second. is there a quorum call? the presiding officer: there is not, senator. the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: i represent the great state of georgia, which is north of the great state of florida, and i have had the privilege of serving with this gentleman for a long time in a lot of capacities. he made a huge contribution to his state and country. we worked together on the prayer breakfast in the senate and many things like that. i want to commend him for his speech, his remarks and his lovely wife amazing grace. thank you to the people of the -- to the people of florida and the united states of america.

mr. corker: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: thank you, madam president. i rise today to speak in support of steven vaden to be the next jen counsel of the -- general counsel of the u.s. department of agriculture. i know this is a position you care about deeply as the presiding officer many having grown grown-up and worked on a family farm in west tennessee, steven has critical insights into the issues facing the agriculture community. his experience in law and understanding the needs of farmers will be an important asset at usda and congress's work to help rural america to prosper and grow. under steven's tenure as acting general counsel since march of

last year, it has promoted department accountable and has responded to civil rights issues and it is my belief that steven will continue to do so once confirmed. i am pleased to see that the senate is acting on steven's nomination and i urge my colleagues to support his confirmation. with that, i yield the floor. thank you.

the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: madam president ,

within a few minutes the senate will vote on ending debate on the nomination of steven vaden -- stephen vaden, the general counsel of the united states of the department of agriculture. i'm glad to see that. i'm here to strongly support mrs to support him. stephen vaden grew up on a family farm in union city, tennessee, way out in the west end of our state and he has academic credentials for this job which is also strong. he attended vanderbilt university and yale law school. he's had two strong mentors, judge julian gibbons who was with the sixth circuit and once my counsel and judge maze. he has practiced with two

distinguished law firms in washington, d.c. so he has hands-on academic credentials, he has hands-on farming credentials. he has strong background in legal training. he has the strong support of his congressmen from west tennessee. this is davey crockett's congressional district in tennessee. the tennessee farm bureau president has said that mr. vaden has a passion for agriculture that can't be taught but that is necessary for the job of general counsel. secretary perdue, agriculture secretary perdue has said a mr. vaid enhas a firm gra grasp on the issues facing agriculture and has an understanding of the breath and complexity of regulation, those regulatory burdens placed on our producers. the secretary finished by saying

that our farmers, ranchers, foresters, and prouders will be well served by his counsel. i know the distinguished presiding officer has a hands-on interest in agriculture, so do many other members on both sides of this aisle. i strongly recommend stephen vaden to my colleagues. i urge a yes vet on ending the -- vote on ending the debate and once that has ended, i urge a yes vote on his confirmation by president trump. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee.

mr. alexander: i ask consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22, do hereby bring to a close debate on the nomination of stephen alexander vaden, of tennessee, to be general counsel of the department of agriculture, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of stephen alexander vaden of tennessee to be general counsel of the department of agriculture shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: have all members voted? any member wish to change their

vote? on this motion, the yeas are 49. the nays are 45. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i understand there's a bill at the desk due a second reading. the presiding officer: the leader is correct. the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: s. 369 -- 3649, a bill to provide for programs that prisoners will recidivate. mr. mcconnell: in order to place the bill on the calendar under rule 14 i will object to further proceedings.

the presiding officer: objection having been heard the bill will receive its second reading on the next legislative day. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the indian affairs committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate proceed to s. res. 702. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 702 recognizing national native american heritage month and celebrating the heritages and cultures of native americans and the contributions of native americans to the united states. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed. is there further debate? if not, all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon

the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the commerce committee be discharged from further consideration of s. res. 687 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 687 congratulating the boston red sox on winning the 2018 world series. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceed. without objection, the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed. mr. mcconnell: i further ask 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. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following senate resolutions which were submitted earlier today: s. res. 704, s. res. 705 and s. res. 706. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measures en bloc? without objection.

the senate will proceed en bloc. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the vaden nomination expire at 12:15 on tuesday, november 27, and that if the vaden nomination is confirmed 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. for clarification of the senate, s. 3649 was placed on the calendar. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tuesday, november 27.

further that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour 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 following leader remarks the senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the vaden nomination as under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until