Procedural vote for the nominee for the Credit Administration board. Now live coverage here on cspan2. The president pro tempore t senate will co to order. The chaplain, dr. Black, will the chaplain let us pray. Eternal master, continue to be our shelter from lifes storms and winds. You have provided us with your presence and a reminder in hebrews 13 5 that you will never leave or forsake us. May this knowledge of your watchcare sustain our senators through this challenging season. Grant that their work will become more meaningful and effective as they cultivate a greater awareness of your divine companionship. We pray in your loving name. Amen. The president pro tempore please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united stat of america, and to the republic fowhich it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. Grassley madam president . The presiding officer t senator from iowa. Mr. Graley one minute for morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley each 52 weeks of the year i do four telephone news conferences with different groups of journalists. Most of the journalists are iowans. So each week without failure, a familiar voice opens one of my press calls with a very thoughtful question on some matter of interest to folks in the heartland of america. For more than two decades at the omaha world herald, joe morton has cut through the beltway noise to deliver real news to my constituents in iowa and those in nebraska. Sadly his tenure at the paper ended just before thanksgiving. So i want to take this opportunity to thank joe for his decades of keeping americans informed about the work of their elected leaders. So i say best of luck to joe in wherever the future takes him. And if anybody in this area is looking for a dedicated journalist, you ought to consider joe. I yield the floor. Mr. Connell madam president . E presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell the latest results of vaccine trials continue to suggest that our victory over the coronavirus is on the horizon. But here in washington the additional relief that would help families, workers, schools, and Small Businesses cross the finish line has been held up for months while Democratic Leaders pursued an allornothing approach. When the speaker of the house put forward the socalled heroes act back in may, multiple, multiple House Democrats called it out for the political stunt that it clearly was. One democrat said it was not focused, rushed to a vote too fast. And it doesnt help us accomplish the core mission of helping struggling people. Well, after several months of with no progress, the same democrat just said a few days ago that Senate Republicans proposal, quote, is a bill we can pass. We should negotiate that to the finish. Even speaker pelosis own members think our Senate Republican bill is better than hers. Well, lets hope our democratic colleague will finally let us make law in all the enormously important areas where we do not even disagree. In the meantime, the senate will proceed with pressing business on the executive calendar. Well vote to confirm several more well qualified nominees beginning today with taylor mcneel, the president s choice to serve as u. S. District judge for the Southern District of mississippi. I hope each of my colleagues will join me in supporting this impressive nominee and those who will follow. Now, on an entirely different matter, madam president , as the 116th congress draws to a close, i once again face a task thats among my favorite and least favorite jobs at this particular time. Bidding farewell to some of the people we proudly call colleagues and friends. But ill take any excuse to brag about the impressive men and women we get to work alongside every single day. Today ill begin with the junior senator for arizona Martha Mcsally. For the last two years senator mcsally has held the seat formerly occupied by our dear friend john mccain. Itsen fitting our maverick was followed by a fellow veteran and pilot who has approached her service to the people of arizona with such unabashed pride. By her own account if you would ask a schoolage Martha Mcsally who was apparently mote shy and prone to motion sickness where a career in cockpits and then in politics sounded appealing, shed have looked at you like you were crazy. But even then the future of full bird colonel and senator was already on her way to a life defined by service. When martha lost her father, a navy veteran at a young age, his final words to her were, quote, make me proud. Make me proud. With this challenge in mind, the youngest of five children took her academic and athletic talents to the u. S. Air force academy. The plan was to earn a trip to medical school through military service. Back then a groundbase career must have sounded like a sensible plan. After all, being a combat pilot wasnt an option. Back then for female officers. And besides she was on the wrong side of the height requirement for any pilot seat. No women and no people her size were eligible at the time. But after a ride along Training Mission in an f16 during one of her summer assignments, cadet mcsally realized that flying was just too cool to pass up. Some doors were going to have to make to open to make it an option. But if those doors werent open already, then Martha Mcsally was prepared to bust them down. That meant shaking off three straight rejections for a medical waiver of the height requirement. It meant inventing new tests to prove her exceptional aptitude not only among the female candidates but the entire pool. It meant not taking no for an answer and ruffling as many feathers as needed until she got to serve. Of course none of these skills and talents would sound at all familiar to us here in the senate, not at all. By the time our future colleague won her spot as the first woman behind the stick of a combat fighter mission, she was charting a unique course in more ways than one. Her place in the squadron had made history and the jet she flew, the a10 war hog had a unique place of its own. The a10 flies low over the battlefield. It provides close air support, hunting and destroying threats to Friendly Forces on the ground. Its a machine gun on wings that holds special respect among combat military. Now, many seasoned soldiers have a story or two about pilots like Martha Mcsally swooped in to get them out of a bind. Her flight hours were clearly clearing the way for her fellow Service Members in more ways than one. Her trailblazing helped change the perception and treatment of women in our armed forces. In one instance she took the d. O. D. To court over unfair dress codes for female Service Members overseas and won an important change in policy. Pretty quickly folks caught on to the fact that when colonel mcsally put her mind to something, it got done. So naturally when the then congresswoman was sworn in here in the senate, she dove right into tracking down answers for her fellow arizonans, solutions for american Service Members, and the care and justice her fellow veterans deserve. From her first day senator mcsally reminded everyone here that Public Service is personal. That what we do here has a direct impact on the lives of millions of americans. So after swearing the oath on a bible, recovered from the bombing of the u. S. S. Arizona at pearl harbor, she brought her experience and expertise to solving issues that are personal to her and to others who have worn the uniform. In solidarity with her fellow a10 pilots and the forces they protect, senator mcsally fought to preserve and fund that unique weapon. Using her role on the Senate Armed Services committee, she let her own painful, personal experiences with Sexual Assault in the military fuel the pursuit of justice for fellow survivors. She authored, expanded protections for Service Academy students who experienced assault. She proposed new preservation requirements for Service Records to promote accountability. And she made sure each was included when the Senate Passed defense authorizations. Her service to men and women in uniform didnt stop with those on active duty. Senator mcsally was also championing expanded care and services for our veterans as they transition back to civilian life. Greater federal support for telehealth and suicide prevention, expanded veterans treatment courts, so many important changes have been enacted because Martha Mcsally made them happen. Last year it came to her attention that one remarkable 95yearold Arizona Veteran had not received the formal recognition h he deserved. She made sure he got that purple heart hand delivered and dozens of young airmen on hand to honor him. So, madam president , the junior senator from arizona has charted a singular course. She has balanced respect for tradition with an eye toward the future. She opened countless new doors for others. At every single step our colleague has done it with dignity, faith, and a deep love of her state and her country that she cannot help but wear on her sleeve. She departs with a long list of accomplishments and every reason to hold her head high. Whatever life after the senate takes her, wherever life after the senate takes her, im confident our colleague will continue to be the most enthusiastic advocate for her state, for its people, its prosperity, and its natural wonders. That includes all the interesting creatures that she and her fourlegged wingman boomer meet when theyre out hiking its trails. No, im pretty certain Martha Mcsally is not through fighting yet. So martha, on behalf of not just the senate but the nation, thank you so much for your service to our country in uniform and here in the senate. We wish you all the best in the bright days to come. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, taylor b. Mcneelf mississippi to be unit states district judge for the Southern Districtf mississippi. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of auorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call th roll. Quorum call quorum cal mr. Schumer madam president. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Scmer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer now, madam president , yesterday, i mentioned the several bigticket items left on the congressional agenda before the end of the year. Over the next few weeks, the Senate Must Pass an appropriations bill to keep the government funded. We must pass the annual defense bill, a piece of legislation that congress has passed every year for nearly 60 years in a row. And a top priority as well is a major covid relief bill. We are in a moment of Genuine National catastrophe. The rates of new cases, of hospitalizations and deaths are the highest or near the highest at any point during this awful pandemic. The economic fallout of the pandemic spreads and spreads. November saw the largest single twoweek jump in unemployment benefit applications since early april. Enhanced job benefits are only a few weeks from expiration. The time has come for congress to pass a bipartisan covid relief bill that meets the needs of our workers, our families, our schools, and our businesses. The republican leader of this chamber knows very well that the only way to pass legislation in the senate is with a measure of bipartisanship. But time and time again, the Republican Leaders idea of action on covid has been to bring partisan legislation to the floor and then demand everyone accept it. Every single iteration has included poison pills designed to ensure that the bills fail, not consensus proposals. Thats not what these poison pills are at all, and he knows darn well that democrats dont agree to them. Well, thats no way to do business around here. The leaders view seems to be that the only things that should be considered in the next covid relief bill are items that republicans approve of, even if the needs of the country go way beyond whats on their narrow list. So i would plead again to the republican leader and to my colleagues on the other side, we need to come together. Both sides, both sides must be willing to compromise. While the republicans in this chamber enjoy a majority, they must grapple with the fact that democrats hold a majority in the house. We cannot make a law without democrats in the house and, frankly, democrat votes in the senate, because there are a good number of republicans who wont vote for any proposal. So we need a true bipartisan bill, not another round of partisan republican proposals put forward by the leader, and then he makes take it or leave it demands and thats it. We need to come together and come to agreement that not that will not satisfy any one of us completely but gets the job done. I hope that as we get closer to the end of the year, the partisan posturing on the republican side will give way to some genuine compromises. Now on another matter, president elect biden continues to roll out an impressive slate of candidates he intends to nominate to his cabinet and other key administrative positions. They provide an incredibly stark contrast to the caliber of the nominees the Senate Considered over the past four years. Not only are president elect bidens nominees exceptionally qualified and familiar with the institutions to which they are nominated, but they have a broad range of backgrounds and experiences. They actually look like america. Today i will be meeting with president elect bidens intended secretary of state tony blinken and his intended director of National Intelligence avril haines, who is the first woman to be nominated to serve in that position. Like most americans are doing these days, our meeting, quoteunquote, will take place over a video chat, and im looking forward to asking both of them about their views on a range of issues concerning american diplomacy, foreign policy, national security. And how to repair some of the damage to americas reputation and relationships abroad done by the past administration. Now after what all we went through over the past four years, i would expect that almost all of president elect bidens nominees would be widely acceptable to the senate. Senate republicans after all, Senate Republicans confirmed several trump nominees who lack the necessary qualifications, who are mired in ethics scandals, and who made outrageous and inflammatory comments in the past. Republican senators often argue a president deserves broad deference when it comes to appointments and will past controversy that at any other time would be disqualified. President elect bidens nominees of course are in a different universe. Were already starting to see the flip start to the switch start to flip now. To take one example. Senate republicans reacted to the historic nomination of neera tanden to run the office of management and budget by calling her, quote, a nut job and expressing alarm over critical tweets in the past. After spending four years pretending they didnt see the latest insane tweet from President Trump, Senate Republicans seem to have found a newfound interest in the twitter feeds of bidens cabinet selections. With respect the office of management and budget, Senate Republicans lined up to approve Russell Vought after he was at the heart of the scandal that led to President Trumps impeachment, withholding security aid to an ally at war, ukraine. If Senate Republicans are worried about someone with a partisan background at o. M. B. , perhaps they shouldnt have voted to confirm Russell Vought who used to work not just at the heritage foundation, but for its partisan advocacy arm. If Senate Republicans are concerned about someone who made comments, controversial commence running o. M. B. , perhaps they shouldnt have qirnd Russell Vought who once said muslims do not know god because they have rejected jesus christ his son and they stand condemned, unquote. That was the previous o. M. B. Director. The republican majority confirmed him despite these inflammatory comments and despite his conduct as interim director and despite his career as a partisan warrior. But a few critical tweets about substantive policy positions have caused Senate Republicans to label ms. Tandens nomination, quote, radio active. She is an imminently qualified nominee who would be the first woman of color to run the office of management and budget. As biden p continues to name his team, im sure well hear more of these overblown complaints from republican senators. But after the caliber of nominees that this republican majority confirmed over the past four years, it will be impossible, impossible to take them seriously. The Senate Committee should prepare to hold hearings on president elect bidens nominees in january immediately after the georgia election. The Senate Committees should prepare to hold hearings on president elect bidens nominees in january immediately after the georgia elections. Thats customerary for a new president. The senate holds several hearings in january so that key cabinet officials can be confirmed on january 20 and shortly