bill northey is that average, everyday iowan who cares about agriculture and its future. senate agriculture committee chairman roberts and ranking member stabenow have made it abundantly clear that they have no objection to mr. northey. as both indicated in a joint statement that said in part, and i'm quoting, bill northey is a qualified and respected public servant who knows agriculture firsthand, and he will serve rural america well at usda. end quote. now the ranking member joined us earlier, and she went a step further by saying to bill, saying this to him, quote, i know that you are a farmer. you understand these challenges annow that our farmers need leaders that will speak up for them when their voices are not being heard. end quote. he was voted out of the ag committee unanimously. let me state that again. he was voted out of the ag committee unanimously. and if you didn't hear that, let me say it a third time. he was voted out of the ag committee unanimously. democrats and republicans believe that bill northey is a leader, and he is being held hostage over an unre

bill northey should be confirmed by this body. he has overwhelming bipartisan support. taking a nominee hostage to try enforce an ill-conceived policy change is only going to cause more problems for this body in the future. i don't know what the next step is, but i think that bill northey is such a good person for this position. i'm going to continue to work at long as he wants me to work for his nomination to proceed. and before i yield the floor, i will ask unanimous consent to put in the record an article that -- on this issue of the philadelphia refinery. i yield the floor. mr. cruz: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: a few observations about the colloquy that has occurred. one, we had two friends of ours from the democratic side of the aisle who spoke energetically in support of this nomination, but i found it striking that our democratic friends had nothing to say to the union members who are facing the risk of losing their jobs. senate democrats often portray themselves as friends of organized labor, friends of union members.

federal reserve has one of the most porngt economic policymaking rules in the nation as you know, bill northeyping down. and the close proximity to wall street has led to the selection of an individual with close ties to the financial sector. in your view, how important is it that the strong commitment to the maximum and plum mandate responsibilities to look at the gender, race and ethnic backgrounds need to be given consideration. are you prepared to exercise your power as chair to reject such candidates as the next new york fed i know you have a lot on your plate, but i have to put this question to you. because we have got to do better about diversity. and particularly at the highest levels not only am i looking at what is happening with the new york fed and the possibility there, but we have to look at our own fed and think about howdy verse fied is it at the top management levels help me out, what do you think about this >> thank you, ranking member watters. i have been involved, this is the seventh process to the reserve president since i joined the need in 2012 so i'm very familiar with