releasing it the day after thanksgiving, but it backfired because it was a slow news day and people realized what was up. they realized it was a deliberate attempt by the administration to deep six something that's important to all americans and something that all americans can see with their own eyes, which is the escalating impact of doing nothing about climate change, whether it's wildfires, floods, rising sea levels. if you look at the report if you live in the chesapeake bay area, you have to be worried. cleefg storm events -- increasing flooding. in annapolis, if you talk to the superintendent, he's worried about the impact. as this report makes clear, if you have a rising chesapeake bay, you will see islands in the chesapeake bay disappearing all because this body refuses to take any action and decides to

instead kowtow to the president of the united states who, i would like to quote very quickly when asked about this the other day, said the following. he was asked why he doesn't believe in climate change. this is the president of the united states. i'm quoting, one of the problems that a lot of people like myself, we have very high levels of intelligence but we're not necessarily such believers. he goes on to say, quote, and when you're talking about an atmosphere, oceans are very small and it blows over, and it sails over, i mean. we take thousands of tons of garbage off our beaches all the time that comes over from asia. it just flows right down the pacific. it flows and we say where does this come from. and it takes many people to start off with. and then he goes on in this bizarre answer. this is the president of the united states responding to a question about the reality of

climate change. so, mr. president, i hope that we will get back to where we were on climate change in this body in 2006 and work on a bipartisan basis to do something, because the costs of doing nothing are rising every day and hitting americans and people across the world. finally, mr. president, when it comes to denying the facts, including the facts presented by his own administration, we have a president of the united states who apparently doesn't believe his intelligence community. and this is just another rewind the tape moment. we remember after helsinki when the president sided with president putin and said, no, the russians were not involved in the 2016 elections despite the unanimous conclusions of all the u.s. intelligence agencies. and now we know from reports

that the c.i.a. has determined with a high level of confidence that the crown prince of saudi arabia was involved in and helped orchestrate the assassination of jamal khashoggi in the saudi consulate in is -- in istanbul. and instead of accepting the conclusions of the c.i.a., the president instead has become the mouthpiece for the saudi regime. early on he played into all their cover stories. just yesterday we had a briefing in the united states senate. we had the secretary of state. wewe we had the secretary of defense. guess who did not show up the director of the c.i.a. pretty clear the president did not want her reporting what our

findings are. when you have the secretary of state write in the "wall street journal" complaining about what he called caterwauling in the united states congress, you bet people in the united states senate are upset about the fact that an american resident, a writer for a major american newspaper got murdered in the consulate, the saudi consulate in istanbul, and the president of the united states wants to not only just look the other way, but is actually complicit in providing the cover story for the crown prince of saudi arabia. so there's a lot of caterwauling going on because the president made this other bizarre statement that began with the sentence, the world's a dangerous place, and then went on to somehow justify ignoring the saudi conduct in the murder. well, yes, the world is a dangerous place, and it's made a

lot more dangerous when the president of the united states looks the other way when one of our so-called allies, and an important ally in some respects, is actually complicit in the murder of an american resident overseas. that makes the world much more dangerous for all americans and all people around the world. and so, madam president, it's important the united states act to hold the crown prince accountable and it's also important that we stop giving saudi arabia a green light on all sorts of other conduct. this is a crown prince who kidnapped the prime minister of lebanon. this is a crown prince who blockaded qatar against our best interests. this is a crown prince that essentially threw out the canadian ambassador because she had the temerity to tweet about saudi human rights abuses against women in saudi arabia. and the reason the crown prince thought he could get away with

killing an american resident in istanbul is because this president has given him a blank check to do whatever he wants, and that includes yemen. madam president, i'm going to close with making a few remarks about yemen, because what we've seen is an administration that is essentially giving a blank check to the saudi war in yemen and has backfired, and has actually strengthened the hand of iran. the houthis are an indigenous movement in yemen. the saudi conduct has given iran an opening in a way that it did not have before. and so the best way is to get all the parties to the peace table to have a negotiation, and we're not going to get the saudis to the peace table if the president of the united states continues to look the other way for all their bad conduct. and that's why it's important that next week the united states senate pass the resolution that

was discharged here to the floor yesterday and send a clear message about what we stand for. thank you,thank you, madam pres. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: madam president, i ask for consent to speak for up to ten minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? is there objection? objection is heard. ms. warren: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

ms. warren: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: madam president, i ask for consent to speak for five minutes. the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. ms. warren: i'm sorry. madam president, i ask the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. ms. warren: madam president, i ask for consent to speak for five minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? hearing none. ms. warren: thank you, madam president. ten years ago greedy financial institutions crashed our economy and crushed working families all across this country. millions of americans lost their jobs, millions lost their homes, millions lost their life savings. that crisis was no accident. it was no act of god. it was caused because

washington looked the other way while greedy wall street bankers scammed hardworking american families, and it can happen again if we let it. if we learned anything from the financial crisis that nearly drove our economy over a cliff, it's that american families desperately need a strong consumer watchdog. before the crisis, financial institutions sold consumers predatory loans that were like grenades with the pins pulled out. when they exploded, they wiped out trillions of dollars in wealth and caused millions of people to lose their jobs, their savings or their homes. the consumer financial protection bureau was created to level the playing field for consumers and make sure that washington never again looks the other way while millions of families get squeezed. on june 18, 2018, president donald trump announced his intent to nominate kathleen laura kraninger as director of the cfpb. she is a senior

political appointee who spent more than a decade working on homeland security policy on capitol hill. she has never, i repeat never, worked on consumer protection issues either in public service or the private sector. she has zero track record of standing up for consumers. the white house championed ms. kraninger's experience as a manager when announcing her nomination. a white house official stated that ms. kraninger will, quote, bring much-needed management experience to the cfpb. really? a quick search on google shows that's bogus. ms. kraninger's tenure at o.m.b. has been marred by systemic management failures. as an official with primary responsibility at the homeland security, she was one of the officials responsible for managing and implementing president trump's zero tolerance policy. the policy resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe in which thousands of children were ripped

from the arms of their mamas and daddies and thrown into cages. ms. kraninger also bungled the response to the three catastrophic hurricanes of 2017. under ms. kraninger's leadership, o.m.b., budget requests in the wake of hurricanes irma, maria and harvey were too little too late and ms. kraninger oversaw a budget that if enacted would have exacerbated the nation's affordable housing crisis. it isn't miskraninger's management experience that got her a giant promotion, it is her enthusiasm for mick mulvaney's anticonsumer agenda that earned her this reward from president trump. how do i know that? i asked ms. kraninger if she disagreed with one single action that mr. mulvaney took during the year he controlled the cfpb and she said, quote, i cannot identify any actions that the acting director mulvaney has taken with which i disagree. not a single one.

that means she agrees with mulvaney's decision to drop a lawsuit against payday lenders who were charging vulnerable borrowers 900% interest. she agrees with his decision to gut the cfpb's office that fights lending discriminations which was designed to make sure communities of color aren't targeted with the most abusive loans like they were before the financial crisis. she agrees with mick mull mulvaney's decision to stop the checks that ensure banks don't charge our military sky-high interest rates. she agree with mulvaney's decision to give student loan companies a free pass when they rip off students. and she agrees with mick mulvaney's decision to load up the cfpb with more than a dozen political appointees to muzzle the cfpb's professional staff and keep them from doing their job. it is hard to imagine a stronger indication that

ms. kraninger intends to continue the harmful trajectory of weakening the cfpb to benefit big financial institutions at the expense of consumers. ms. kraninger has absolutely no experience in consumer finance whatsoever, but she has been nominated to head up the consumer financial protection bureau because she is passionately committed to keep it from leveling the playing field for working families. no thanks. we have a lot of hard decisions to make in this body, but this one is a no-brainer. hardworking american families deserve a fire in the director of the cfpb. when they fight for consumers students can manage loans. when the cfpb fights for consumers service members can serve their country without worrying their families will get crushed by debt. when the cfpb fights for consumers seniors can retire with dignity. when the cfpb fights for

consumers 29 million families gets checks for over $12 billion from financial institutions that cheated them. that happened in just six years. working families need a cfpb director who is a fighter with a proven track record of making the consumer marketplace safe and aggressively pursuing companies that cheat their customers. kathleen kraninger is not that person. let's do our job. let's reject this nominee. thank you, madam president. the presiding officer: under the previous order the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of jonathan a. kobes of south dakota to be united states circuit judge for the eighth circuit. 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 jonathan a. kobes of south dakota

to be united states circuit judge for the eighth circuit shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays be mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. a senator: a senator: -- with the senator from oklahoma mr. inhofe if he were present and voting, he would have voted yea. he is absent due to a family

emergency. mr. flake:ful i were permitted to vote, i would vote nay. i therefore withdraw my vote. the presiding officer: the senator has that right. vote:

vote:

v.p. the vice president: on this vote the yeas are 49, the nays are 49. the senate being equally divided, the vice president votes in the affirmative and the motion is agreed to. the vice president: the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: the judiciary, jonathan a.kobes of south dakota to be united states circuit judge for the eighth circuit.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: i come to the floor to talk about an important conservation program, the land and water conservation fund. this is one of the crown jewels of our nation's conservation efforts. the preservation, protection, and conservation of our public lands is something we take great pride in in our western country. in fact all four corners of our state and this great country take great pride in the lapped and water conservation fund and the efforts it pursues to maintain our public lands, to show our public lands, to allow the exploration of our public lands, use of our public lands for generations to come. the land and water conservation

fund has had over 40,000 projects in its existence, billions of dollars in consumer spending driven by the outdoors, $2 billion in state and local tax revenue driven by our love of the outdoors. hiking, hunting, fishing, skiing in the winter, rafting in the spring, all tied to the incredible conservation work that we do through these programs like the land and water conservation fund. colorado's outdoor recreation opportunities have made it the destination -- not just part of the year but all of the year for people looking for adventure opportunity for our great outdoors. as i mentioned, we generate $28 billion in consumer spending just in the state of colorado for our outdoors, our outdoors economy. land and water conservation fund isn't just about preserving land for -- because we want to conserve the land. it's about our economy. it's about our recreation economy. it's about those $2 billion in states and local tax revenue generated by that. it employs over 200,000 people

in an outdoor economy. land and water conservation fund is a critical part of that. we have this economy because of our public lands, the extensive efforts that we have undertaken to conserve them in a condition that the next generation will also get to enjoy. one of those tools, though, that tool, the land and water conservation fund, has lapsed. it's been 60 days since the land and water conservation fund expired. bills that would permanently reauthorize land and water conservation fund have cleared committees of jurisdiction in both the house and the senate. the land and water conservation fund authorization full funding has bipartisan support, democrat, republican support, house and senate support. it's an access program. to sustain access to land that would otherwise be cut off. public lands held and owned by the american people that we don't have access to, we can't get to that land even though we own the land, the american people own that land because it's closed off. the land and water conservation fund allows us to get to that land, to recreate on that land,

to hunt on that land. in the days leading up to the land and water conservation fund expiration, a report was published by the theodore roosevelt partnership. it published some figures that talked about the inaccessible numbers of acres in the american public land system. it identified over 9.5 million acres in the united states that was inaccessible to the public because of surrounding private land. in colorado alone, there are over 250,000 acres of land, public lands, that are closed off to the public. that translates into just shy of 400 square miles of public land in colorado. 400 square miles of public land in colorado. almost the size of rocky mountain national park that can't be used to hike, to hunt, to fish, because we can't access it. we can't access it to explore and hope to think and dream, all those things that our public lands represent.

the land and water conservation fund can be used to help access that land, to find ways to utilize that land, that 400 square miles of property that the public owns can be utilized by the public through programs like the land and water conservation fund. i want to talk about this picture right here. this is the superintendent of the black canyon of the gunderson national park. the black canyon had a land and water fund purchase acquisition. you can see it here on the rim of the canyon. that was at risk of being sold to a developer. the park is right here. this is the park. imagine if this rim of the canyon would have been developed what that would have meant. it the would have prevented this national park from meeting the ideals and aspirations of what we believe it should be, what it means to be a national park. imagine had the 2,500 acres on the rim of this canyon being sold what it could have done to this public land. -- that surrounded it. the planned acquired provides access to gold medal fly-fishing on the gunderson river.

it creates opportunities for the national park service to provide more family-friendly hiking and serves as a potential source of water that will reduce the cost of hauling water, like they do now. it will a win for all involved. you can see it right there what it means. this is a picture of the great sand dunes national park. near it is a 12,000-acre ranch, which borders the sand dunes on three sides. it's been 60 days since the land and water conservation fund has expired. but this program, this chunk of land was bought by the nature conservancy before that and is going through the process to be incorporated into the park using lwcf dollars. this is an important access to existing lands, 12,000 acres to our existing public lands. you can see the great sand dunes in the background there, preserving access to those

public lands, keeping beautiful lands for health chit wildlife habitat. the national park service through lwcf states that the program provides matching grants for state and local park projects that aren't just inside boundaries. just last week three state parks were awarded funding through the lwcf. funds were awarded to crawford state park to complete a trail between the east and west sides of the park, including the construction of two pedestrian bridges. road improvements will be funded at chatfield state park, to include resurfaceing asphalt and bicycle lanes. funding awarded through the lwcf to cherry creek park. the water conservation fund isn't just about the west. it is about the east as well. it is not just about our

national forests or b.l.m. lands or national parks. it is about bike trails, playgrounds, those little slices of heaven amongst the concrete of the our urban corridors s i urge my colleagues to come together to find ways to fund the lwcf. when we think about what our public lands mean to this country, you can go back to the words of venus mills, one of the founding fathers of rocky mountain national park who said within the parks is glor us are room within which to find ourselves, to think and hope, to dream and plan to rest and resolve. that's our public lands. we have a chance to act before this congress closes, to reauthorize, fully fund the land and water conservation fund and i am going to fight tooth and nail to make sure we get that job done. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio.

mr. brown: our job in this body in public service is to fight for the people whom we serve. for taking a government's salary, your job is to fight for the people who make this country work. the big special interests have their own lobbyists. they are at their beck and call. our job is to fight for everyday americans. that's why we create asked the consumer financial protection bureau. the consumer bureau's job is to crack down on wall street predators and people who cheat the system and shady lenders who prey on hardworking families. the people in this town may have collective amnesia about what happened a decade ago, they may have forgotten the financial crisis crisis, the housing crisis, but families who lost their homes, lost their retirement savings, lost their jobs, lost their college funds haven't forgotten. my wife and i live in cleveland, ohio, in zip code 44105.

my zip code a decade ago, the first half of that year had more foreclosures than any zip code in the whole united states of america. i see every day the blight and the damage of that foreclosure crisis brought to us mostly by wall street. the consumer bureaucrat is supposed to look out -- the consumer bureau is supposed to look out for danger before it crashes downed and robs people of their jobs and homes and savings. the first six years on the job, that's what public servants at the consumer bureau d they returned $12 billion to 29 million americans who had been scammed and cheated and ripped off. the consumer bureau follows in this country's proud tradition of progressive achievements -- worker safety laws, overtime protections, collective bargaining rights, social security, medicare, safe drinking water laws -- all those things that help our country grow, that helped build a middle class, that help enhance quality

of life. but over the last year mick mulvaney has turned an agency meant to stand on the side of the american people into yet another outlet for the financial industry to push it's agenda. the same people who line up outside the majority leader's office down the hall, the same lobbyists line up at the consumer protection bureau and push that same wall street agenda. mick mulvaney said to workers and service members who are served on the consumer bureau, to students and seniors who are served by the consumer bureau, he said, you're on your own now. don't expect any protection from us. it's not just an attack on consumers. it's an attack on the dignity of the work. americans work hard whether they swipe a badge or punch a clock, whether they work for salary, whether they work for tips. whether they're raising children or taking care of an example. ing parent, americans work hard. they work hard to earn a paycheck, to buy a home, to send their kids to college, to save for retirement. every day they find themselves

under attack from scam debt collectors or they see their pensions being raided by hedge fund billionaires. when we let financial predators strip away at the people in zip code 44105, strip away americans' hard-earned dollars, we undermine that dignity of work, we undermine the dignity people should have when they retire, we undermine the dignity of work that makes this country great. how do you look americans in the eye who are working that second or third shirt if shift -- shift if their government is going to line up with shady wall streeters. it comes down toss which side he stand on. mick mulvaney, he's been on the side of wall street. now we have to ask ourselves the nominee, kathy kraningerers,

whose shied is thee on? we tried to get answers from her. in her job she oversaw the agencies that ripped children from their parents at the border. she was involved in that. we asked ms. kraninger to show us what her role was in that policy. she didn't defend t she just refused to respond. she came in front of the committee. she wanted this nomination, wanted to be confirmed, wanted this promotion and she would not even answer questions. she wouldn't respond to letters about her involvement. we then asked her whose side was she on after a devastating hurricane left millions of american citizens, american citizens don't forget, in puerto rico, without water, hospital, shelter, we asked her to show us who she was fighting for when the government failed to provide relief. she didn't try to defend her position. she didn't deny anything. she just refused to answer. again, she wants a promotion, she wanted a job. she refused to ask questions that we asked, that senator

whitehouse or others or i asked on behalf of the american people. then we asked who side she'd be on if she were head of the consumer financial protection bureau. would she be on the side of lobbyists or would she be on the side of those who have been harmed? would she be on mick mulvaney's side or would she fight for workers and service members and students and seniors? it's one of the questions she did answer. she said, i cannot identify any action that acting director mulvaney has taken with which i would disagree. not one. we know exactly whose side ms. kraninger will be on. she's with mick mull vein notification which means she is he's with wall street and the payday lenders. she is not on the side of the 29 million americans who have saved $12 billion because the consumer bureau existed. she is not on their side. she is not on the side of her neighbors, my neighbors in her home state, my home state of

ohio who lost their homes and their jobs and their retirement savings to wall street greed. she's not on the side of people who work for a living. she's on the side of big corporations like g.m. that are shutting down the operation in lordstown presumably, costing 5,000 people their jobs, moving some of those jobs overseas. she has no experience in banking or financing or consumer protection. heart one and only qualification, she will be a rubber stamp for special interests. i call on everybody in this body, i call on the president, let's find somebody who will take this job seriously, who will fight with -- fight for the people who make this country work. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. risch: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. mr. crapo: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: the senate in a quorum call. mr. crapo: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. crapo: i rise to speak in support of the nomination of kathy kraninger to be the director of consumer financial protection. ms. kraninger has had a distinguished career in public service with exposure to a diverse set of federal agencies and brings significant leadership experience at federal agencies and on capitol hill. she has served as associate director at the office of management and budget since march of 2017. in that capacity, she oversees nearly $250 billion in budgetary resources for seven cabinet departments and 30 other federal agencies, including the bureau. in addition, she serves as o.m.b.'s principal policy

official for issues related to the treasury department, the department of housing and urban affairs and federal financial regulators. prior to her time at o.m.b., she should in leadership positions at the department of departmentf transportation and the department of homeland security. as well as having served on the staff of several congressional committees. as director of the bureau, ms. kraninger would be charged with overseeing the market for consumer financial products. services, enforcing many consumer financial federal laws and protecting consumers. the bureau's supervision, regulation, and enforcement decisions have an immense impact on consumers' access to critical financial products and services. at her nomination hearing, ms. kraninger reiterated her dedication to fulfilling the bureau's congressional mandate, ensuring all consumers have access to markets for consumer financial products and services

that are fair, transparent and competitive. at her hearing, ms. kraninger identified what her first four priorities would be if confirmed. ensuring the bureau is fair and transparent, including the use of robust cost-benefit analysis; notice in comment rulemaking and tailoring regulations to ensure that consumers are not unnecessarily and smaller companies are not disproportionately harmed. improving collaboration with other financial regulators in the states on supervision and enforcement. limiting data collection to only what is necessary and strengthening its protection. and making sure that the bureau is held accountable. she was also forceful in saying nothing is more destructive to competitive markets and consumer choice than fraudulent behavior. under my stewardship, the bureau will take

aggressive action against bad actors who break the rules by engaging in fraud and other illegal activity. it's god miskraninger -- it's good she will strengthen the protection of consumer's personal financial information. i have long been critical of big data collection activities by private organizations and federal agencies, particularly that of the bureau and its encroachment into the private financial lives of americans across this country. the bureau's data collections is especially concerning in light of the number of high-profile cyberattacks in recent years and news about how outside groups have collected private information from facebook users. it's important that the bureau and oral federal agencies -- and other federal agencies and private organizations review their data collection processes and narrow and enhance those processes to

better protect consumers' personal information. big data and privacy issues will be a major priority at the banking committee in this next congress. there is growing support to give people the necessary tools to protect their privacy and opt out of certain data collection. i'm confident that ms. kraninger is well prepared to lead the bureau in enforcing federal consumer financial laws, protecting consumers' sensitive personal financial information, and increasing its transparence and accountability. transparency and accountability. in fact, many of these issues were key points of discussion during ms. kraninger's nomination hearing. senator tillis asked ms. kraninger about the bureau's immense power and level of accountability. ms. kraninger told the banking committee, i have noted that my focus is on running the agency as congress established it, but certainly working with members of congress, i'm very open to changes in the structure that will make the

agency more accountable and transparent. responding to a question senator toomey posed about the bureau's potential impact on small businesses, ms. kraninger said, i absolutely believe that there is a limited intent for the bureau to be engaged in small business oversight or engagement there, so that's something that should be limited. senator moran asked ms. kraninger about providing greater calculator -- clarity to company's overseeing by the bureau to which she responded i agree it is critical to have clear rules so that lenders, creditors and consumers themselves know what the rules are, that they are not somehow told after the fact that they broke a rule they weren't even aware of or that they had somehow changed without any proper notice and comment process. to really understand the impacts and the opportunity to

tailor. in addition, numerous key stakeholders have written to the banking committee in support of ms. kraninger's nomination, and to emphasize the positive attributes that prepare her to lead the bureau. ms. kraninger has received widespread support from the community banks and credit iewns, -- unions, consumer banks, housing organizations and realtors and auto dealers. rebecca ramey, president and c.e.o. of the independent community bankers of america said i believe she understands the critical role played by community banks in creating access to consumer and small business credit. and supporting prosperity in american communities. this perspective will strengthen the bureau's rule making. i also believe she has a strong commitment to making the bureau accountable, effective, and efficient.

rob flick nichols -- rob nichols, president and c.e.o. of the american bankers association said ms. kraninger detailed her substantial government and management experience that would help her lead the bureau, and she committed to satisfying the bureau's mandate of ensuring consumers have access to financial products and services that are fair, transparent, and competitive. we welcome that commitment and her pledge to maintain transparency and accountability if confirmed. jim nussle, president and c.e.o. of the credit union national association, said that until the bureau's structure moves from a single director to a bipartisan commission, consumers and regulated entities will be best served by a senate-confirmed permanent director leading the bureau. dan berger, president and c.e.o. of the national association of federally ensured credit unions said a

senate confirmed full time director of the bureau will help provide regulatory certainty and clarity while providing important leadership and long-term focus that will allow credit unions to continue to meet the needs of their members. neil bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer of the u.s. chamber of commerce said ms. kraninger's experience will serve her well as the director of the bureau, especially as it aims to be a more transparent and accountable agency. richard hunt, president and c.e.o. of the consumer bankers association said that until the bureau moves from a single director to a bipartisan commission, it is imperative that the bureau have a permanent and full-time director to fulfill its mission and we look forward to working with ms. kraninger on commonsense regulations that protect consumers while also allowing a well-regulated banking system to serve families, small businesses, and local communities.

c.b.a. is grateful to acting director mick mulvaney for his leadership at the agency and for his willingness to listen to the opinions of all stakeholders. the bureau was the most polarizing part of dodd-frank and it is not surprising that the confirmation votes of then-nominee richard cordray and not kathy kraninger are contentious. some of ms. kraninger's opponents have raised questions about her potential involvement with respect to the administration's zero tolerance policy and the administration's response to hurricane maria. i asked ms. kraninger during her nomination hearing, to what extent, if any, she was involved in the development of the administration's zero tolerance policy or the administration's response to hurricane maria. she responded, i had no role in setting the zero tolerance policy. she also said with respect to hurricane maria, the office of management and budget,

including myself, we have a role in reviewing that disaster declarations recommendations that go to the president, so we are involved from that point. we also put together at the office of management and budget, the supplemental request that the administration puts forward to the hill when they are necessary. clearly -- again quoting -- clearly additional resources were needed last fall in the office of management and budget supported the president in putting forward those requests that congress considered and obviously responded to, providing the resources necessary. since director cordray's departure, i know some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been frustrated by the bureau under acting director mulvaney's leadership. given changes at the agency over the last year and frustration felt on both sides of the aisle, now is an appropriate time to reconsider the fundamental structure of the bureau, to increase its

accountability and transparency. i continue to support a bipartisan commission instead of a single director, a congressional funding mechanism, and a safety and soundness check. it would also be appropriate to give the bureau its own inspector general. for the past bureau, the bureau has been -- for the past year the bureau has been led by an acting director. it is time for the senate to confirm a permanent director. i support ms. kraninger and urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes on her nomination. mr. president, i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: i ask unanimous consent that the vote scheduled for 1:45 commence now. the presiding officer: is there objection? 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 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of kathleen laura kraninger of ohio to be

director, bureau of consumer financial protection, 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 kathleen laura kraninger of ohio to be director, bureau of consumer financial protection, 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: