madam president, my remarks today to discuss the nomination of shaun donovan to be the director of the office of management and budget. this is a very important office. i have voted against mr. donovan in the budget committee and would like to take this opportunity to share with my colleagues my concerns. my concerns are not related to his character or his personality or his decency, but his experience and qualifications to serve as the nation's chief financial manager, the director of management and budget. alexander hamilton explained in federalist 76 why the senate was assigned a role in the confirmation process. quote -- "it would be an excellent check upon a spirit of favoritism in the president and would tend greatly to prevent the appointment of unfit characters from state prejudice, from family connection, from personal attachment and from a view of popularity. well, the president has the right to nominate and his nomination should be given deference, but as hamilton made clear when his nominee does not have the fitness necessary for a critical position, the senate should not p

out of shaun donovan. i am very honored to follow in your footsteps, and you did a fantastic job that everybody appreciates. i want to thank members of congress who are here, cognition and green and others. thank you all very much for being here. we want to thank you, all of the hud team that does a fantastic job each and every day. know, i went into public service because i felt very blessed in my own life to have great opportunities, and i wanted to do my part to ensure that other folks have the same opportunity. and that is why i'm so excited to be here working with you at hud because hud is the department of opportunity. everything that we do. everything that we do, whether working with local communities to refined life them or helping to ensure the responsible borrowers can get their first home, or helping after disaster has struck, we ensure that americans can reach their american dream. the great news and something that all of you know is that we have a man in the oval office who has also made creat

murray: madam president, i just came to the floor for the last minute of this debate to support shaun donovan's nomination to be director of the office of mapght and budget. i have worked very closely with him and i know he has the skills and experience to work with congress in creating jobs and tackling our long-term budget challenges fairly and responsibly. in his role as secretary of housing and urban development, secretary donovan has approved time and again that he has focused first and foremost on strengthening our middle class by expanding opportunities for feamenfamilies and communities. for his work following the housing market to reinforcing the age agency's role in providg affordable housing, to ensuring communities that are hit hard by natural disasters have the resources they need to get back on their feet, secretary donovan has been a highly effective and responsive leader and a great partner to news congress, democrats and republicans alike. and, madam president, secretary donovan's nomination passed through the budget committee with bipartisan support. i'm confident he will brin

following that, the senate will turn to the votes of shaun donovan, do douglas silliman, ad dana smith. at 2 p.m., the senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the nominations in the order listed. mr. president, i was late coming in here today. i had just completed a conversation with john kerry, the secretary of state of our country. because of his travel schedule and my schedule and the time difns, it's been difficult for us to talk the last 24 hours. but we were able to speak, as he was rushing to an airplane going to china and afghanistan. mr. president, he called me to lament what's going on in the united states senate about these nominations. he has 53 state department nominations pending -- 53. we have problems all over the world. we have the afghan war, we've got the problems with pakistan, we've got the middle east, which every country there is in some form of difficulty, we've got a problem in the far east, all kinds of problems there. it's all over the news today. we have the situation in israel, the palestinians, rocket fire coming from palestine, nondirected missiles, lik

former hud secretary shaun donovan be the white house budget director and then the u.s.ors for kuwait and qatar the expected votes on those nominations about 2:00 eastern. take you live to the floor of the u.s. senate as things are about to get underway. live coverage of the u.s. senate always right here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. o god, you are our god. we earnestly search for you, the source of our hope and the center of our joy.

politico reports a shaun donovan will not be the only new face at the office of management and budgetn he is sworn in as director today. melanie russell newman, who has the only be will be new associate director for communications and strategic planning. senator the playbook, bernie sanders and congressman jeff miller have reached an theement to reform department of veterans affairs legislation which will touch on short-term and long-term needs of the v.a., according to an aide. the two lawmakers worked continuously through the weekend to craft a deal before congress heads home for their five-week recess on friday. specific details of the agreement not immediately clear, but any legislation would likely give the v.a. secretary a broader ability to fire senior officials accused of mismanagement. the deal also expected to allocate money for veterans who have been waiting medical treatment for longer than 30 days, giving them the ability to lead the v.a. system for care. the deal must be approved by the full house and senate. the two lawmakers holding a news conference at 1:30 eastern ti