Bblg of. Mr. Sanders mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Sanders thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , as everybody knows, the Republican Party now controls the u. S. House, the u. S. Senate, and the white house. We also know that unless a budget agreement is reached by december 22, the United States government will shut down, which will cause serious harm to our country, including the men and women in the armed forces and our veterans. Mr. President , i do not know why the Republican Party, which controls all the branches of government, wants to shut our government down. I think thats wrong. I think a shutdown will be very hurtful to people from coast to coast. Now, President Trump said earlier this year, he tweeted, quote, our country needs a good shutdown, end of quote. I strongly disagree. I dont think we need a good shutdown. I think we need to reach an agreement on a budget which works for the middle class of our country and not just the wealth
Vote vote vote the presiding officer is there anyone wishing to change their vote . Is there anyone remaining to vote . On this motion the yeas are 87. The nays are 9. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report. The clerk nomination, department of transportation, derek kan of california to be under secretary fo secretary of transportation for policy. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senator from south dakota. Mr. Thune madam president , i rise to voice my strong support for the nomination of derek kan. The Commerce Committee held a hearing on his nomination on june 8 in 2017 and reported his nomination favorably out of the committee on june 29 of 2017 by voice vote. Its now november 9. Over four months since the nomination was reported out of committee. This noncontroversial well qualified nominee has been languishing in the senate for far too long. Its truly unfortunate, madam president , when we have to go through the cloture process on this particular nomine