mr. bridenstine says which is that it's sort of difficult to tell how much climate change is attributable to human activity. the consensus is that climate change is caused primarily by human activity and jim bridenstine doesn't say that that is true, and that is terrifying. forget our views for the moment about what kind of energy picture we think america should pursue. this is about whether you're going to rely upon people who actually know things or you're going to rely upon your own politics and your own ideological. and when you have final launch authority, you better rely on science. during his confirmation hearing, mr. bridenstine testified that he did not know about the scientific consensus on climate change. he suggested that there were other contributing factors that played more of a role. but the fact is this, almost every climate scientist, 97% of all climate scientists have concluded humans are the primary cause of climate change. there are two explanations for his answer. either mr. bridenstine has not bothered to read up on the scientific consensus, on the most pressing scie

nasa congressman bridenstine's records suggest that he will do otherwise. mr. president, i don't come to this decision lightly. i hold nothing against him personally. he's a very likable fellow. my decision is not politically motivated. in fact, i supported the nomination of the chief financial officer, jeff dewitt, because he was qualified for the job as the chief financial officer, and he was confirmed without a problem and is in that job. and, of course, if congressman bridenstine is, in fact, confirmed, i will work with him for the good of our nation's space program. my opposition to this nomination comes from decades of experience and an understanding of nasa's history, and having lived through some of its darkest moments. i have no doubt that the nominee is passionate about our space program, and i don't doubt his intentions. i think that what's not right for nasa is an administrator who is politically divisive and who is not prepared to be the last in line to make that fateful decision on go or no go for launch. mr. president, therefore, i will oppose th

mr. president, that's why i'm very concerned that representative bridenstine not only is not committed to science, he flat out rejects clear scientific consensus. as i've said before in a june 13 speech he delivered on the floor of the house of representatives, representative bridenstine repeated the debunked claim that, quote, global temperatures stopped rising ten years ago. in a march 2013 tweet from him failed to recognize the difference between local weather conditions and the broader planetary climate. that is a basic scientific concept. and those are just a couple of examples, and this may be just one issue, but it is really telling. and i believe that representative brideningstein's failure to accept fundamental scientific truths about earth's climate will make him an ill-suited and dangerous choice to lead an agency with science at its core. secondly, mr. president, is my concern about his ability to lead an inclusive and forward-looking agency, given his history of hateful, of demeaning and divisive comments and positions. i've noted this before, but it bears repeating. represen

mr. speaker. my bipartisan amendment reflects several policy recommendations that have been proposed in various forms over the last several years, including representative bridenstine's space renaissance act. state spaceports have become part of our national launch infrastructure contributing hundreds of millions in infrastructure improvements to launch sites to better support nasa, d.o.d., and commercial launch. spaceports like the mid-atlantic regional spaceport in virginia which launched -- launches objectals a.t.k.'s and rockets have provided new, low cost capabilities to nasa, defense, and commercial users while also improving resiliency and responsiveness. the recent nasa re-authorization act, which passed the house science committee, by an overwhelming bipartisan vote last week, included language urging nasa to fully leverage such spaceport investments to meet infrastructure demands to support national missions. as we now consider this f.a.a. re-authorization act, it's also important to note the faur currently plays a critical role in licensing and working with these spaceports as they grow their infrastructure and capabilities to support a variety of missions

mr. bridenstine puts these ideals at risk and is not qualified to lead this agency. i urge my colleagues to oppose his nomination. i urge a no vote. thank you, mr. president. i yield back and i question the presence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. toomey: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to end the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. toomey: thank you, mr. president. i rise this afternoon to recognize and celebrate with my constituents and friends from the seat community of pennsylvania and beyond. i want to start with the acknowledgement that my -- acknowledgement of certain words may be off. i am delighted to have so many wonderful representatives of the sikh community. i want to thank hem and all of -- them and all of the members of the sikh community who made this trip down to washington, d.c., to participate in a celebration for an important holiday and to raise awareness about the sikh commu

mr. bridenstine, the whole number of the house is 429. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir. pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on april 19, 2018, at 3:16 p.m. that the senate agreed to senate resolution 474, relative to the death of the honorable john melcher, former senator for the state of montreal. signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a further communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir. pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on april 23, 2018, at 1:02 p.m. that the senate agreed to without amendment house concurrent resolution 115, appointment, canada-u.s. intraparliamentary group chairman, canada-u.s. intraparliamentary gr

congressman bridenstine's record suggests that he'll do otherwise. mr. president, i don't come to this decision lightly. i hold nothing against him personally. he's a very likable fellow. my decision is not politically motivated. in fact, i supported the nomination of the chiefle financial office -- chief financial officer, jeff dewitte because he was qualified for the job as chief financial officer, and he was confirmed without a problem and is in that job. and, of course, if congressman bridenstine is, in fact, confirmed, i will work with him for the good of our nation's space program. my opposition to this nomination comes from decades of experience and an understanding of nasa's history and having lived through some of its darkest moments. i have no doubt that the nominee is passionate about our space program and i don't doubt his motivation or his intentions. i think that what's not right for nasa is an administrator who is politically divisive and who is not prepared to be the last in line to make that fateful decision on go or no go for launch. mr

the clerk: nomination, national aeronautics and space administration, james bridenstine of oklahoma to be administrator. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. 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 james bridenstine of oklahoma to be administrator of the national aeronautics and space administration signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: would you without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate resume legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 465 submitted earlier toda