ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent to use leader time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: thank you, madam president. before i get into the substance of my remarks, i always listen diligently to my friend from kentucky. there is a number that's missing in his charts. it's called 1.5 trillion. the reason we don't like government spending is because, he thinks, a lot of it's wasteful, okay. but the reason ultimately is also because there is a huge deficit. our side scratches at the heads -- at our heads, not only with our friend from kentucky but of everyone on the other side who rails about too much government spending and creation of the deficit when they created the deepest hole they could have with the tax break that could have been paid for by closing loopholes. and a group, a bipartisan group had put something together that would have reduced the corporate rate to...

the motion is agreed to. mr. mcconnell: so, mr. president, yesterday the intelligence committee took an important step toward confirming gina haspel to become the next director of the c.i.a. a bipartisan majority voted to report her nomination favorably to the senate. i look forward to promptly moving to a confirmation vote. the committee's confidence is indicative of the strength of miss haspel's testimony and her 30-plus years record of c.i.a. service. throughout the process, she demonstrated candor, integrity, and a forthright approach to the committee's questions. she displayed the talent and expertise that make her uniquely qualified to face america's biggest national security challenges, whether in the area of counterterrorism or renewed international competition among great powers. out of the spotlight, whether at langley or deployed abroad, miss haspel has quietly earned the respect and admiration of those who matter most. that's the men and women of the c.i.a. and...