Counselor mueller but also the career employees at the department of justice and the f. B. I. These partisan attacks are baseless and reckless. They are undermining trust and confidence in the rule of law and this must not be tolerated. Its time for responsible senators on both sides of the aisle to speak up in defense of these institutions that are at the heart of our democracy. Its time to come together on a bipartisan basis to demand that mr. Mueller be allowed to follow the facts wherever they may lead. The f. B. I. Is also under attack. President trump has said that the agencys reputation is in tatters and i want standing is the worst in history. The truth is that the f. B. I. Continues to be the Gold Standard for Law Enforcement agencies worldwide. The prosecutors and the department of justice are superb professionals who adhere to a strict ethic of honesty and impartial kwreult as do the nearly 30,000 employees of the f. B. I. They put their lives on the line every day to protect the American People from violent criminals, from terrorists and from foreign agents who mean our country great harm. Just last month as the agency was being attacked on fox news, as equivalent to the sovietera k. G. B. , undercover f. B. I. Agents were hard at work stopping an isis supportinger who was planning a sporter who was planning a Christmas Day terrorist attack. This was one example of potential acts of terrorism disrupted by hardworking f. B. I. Agents last year and we see the headlines from some of those plots that were thwarted. In new york, in san francisco, in florida, and in oklahoma city. On june 13 Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein testified before our appropriations subcommittee. Because the attorney general has recused himself, mr. Rosenstein is the top d. O. J. Official overseeing the special counsel. At the hearing i asked him if he had any evidence of good cause for firing special counsel mueller. He answered, no, i have not. In response to my further questioning, mr. Rosenstein responded, you have my assurance that were going to faithfully follow that regulation, and director mueller is going to have the full independence that he needs to conduct that investigation appropriately. And more recently on december 13, testifying before the house judiciary committee, mr. Rosenstein was again asked if theres good cause for firing special counsel mueller. He responded with a firm no. Members of congress and commentators in the media who are now attacking the special counsel, the Justice Department and the f. B. I. For partisan political purposes are making a grave mistake. They wont succeed in deflecting Law Enforcement from its duties and missions, but they may well succeed in undermining the American Peoples faith and confidence in these institutions so vital to a healthy democracy. That is not only unfortunate, it is shameful. This is a remarkable moment in our nations history. A hostile foreign power has interfered in our president ial election. Our Law Enforcement agencies and a special counsel are working diligently to uncover the scope and methods of that intervention so we can prevent an occurrence in the future. Supporting these efforts isnt about party or partisanship. Its about patriotism and defending americas democracy which has been attacked and continues to be vulnerable to attack. Our democracy is being tested. Our Law Enforcement agencies are being tested. And we as senators are being tested. Our responsibility is clear. We have a duty to come together. Senators of both parties, to defend the independence of the Justice Department and the f. B. I. And we must insist that special counsel mueller be allowed to conduct and complete his investigation without political interference. Thank you, madam president. I yield the floor. Promise all time has the presiding officer all time has expired. The question is on the brown nomination. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to change their vote . If not, the ayes are 92. The nays are zero and the nomination is confirmed. Under the previous order the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table. The president will be immediately be notified of the senates action. The clerk will the senate will be in order. The senate will be in order. Please take your conversations out of the well. The clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk cloture motion. We the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of walter david counts ii of texas to be United States district judge for the Western District of texas, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of walter david counts iii of texas to be United States district judge for the Western District of texas shall be brought to a close. The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or to change their vote . If not, the yeas are 90, the nay is 1. The motion is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk nomination the judiciary, walter david counts, iii, of texas, to be United States district judge for the Western District of texas. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oklahoma. Mr. Lankford mr. President , once more i am coming to the floor to talk about the basic rules of the senate and how we actually get on legislation. We have spent all of this week on four District Court judicial nominations. The entire week. No legislation. Because we cant get on legislation. In 2013, we were in a similar situation to this. That was the Minority Party at that point being the republicans were slowing down the process in the senate on nominations to the democratic party, at that point, the majority, and so republicans and democrats sat down together and said this is a problem. We cannot get to legislation. And republicans and democrats together with 70plus votes made a twoyear rule change in the senate in the 113th congress. It was a simple rule change. Two hours of debate for District Court judge, eight hours of debate for just about everybody else, 30 hours of debate for circuit court, supreme court, and cabinet nominations. It was a bipartisan agreement that worked very well for that twoyear time period. At the end of that twoyear time period, it had a sunset on it, and it expired. The hope was we would relearn how to be able to do this. Now, i wasnt here in the senate at that time, but i have talked to multiple people about that process. What happened instead was during the first year of that, there continued to be ongoing frustration, and so my democratic colleagues used whats called affectionately the nuclear option, to be able to change the rules of the senate to say that they can bring individuals with only 51 votes, not 60, and then they used the rule on top of that that they had changed to bring people at greater speed, which they did. And for the rest of the next year, used it that way. We now come to this time period. Let me give you an example of what im talking about and the frustration of this. From 19 let me go back and try to confirm my number to make sure i get it right for all the Senate History here. From 1967 until 2012, there were 46 cloture votes invoked. That means they requested a cloture vote, and it went all the way to be a vote. 46 of those on judges and executive branch from 1967 to 2012. Last year, there were 46 cloture votes in this body just in one year. What was from 1967 to 2012 before the total number democrats did to republicans in one year last year. The statement keeps coming up over and over again why cant we get on legislation . Because each day is full with dead time, debating nominations, nominations like what passed today unanimously in the senate, but we had to have cloture time set aside for it. This has got to be fixed. The rules of the senate are set by the senators. In 2013, the senators stood up and said this has to stop, and fixed it. I am recommending again that the senate once again implement the same rule that democrats led republicans to do in 2013 now in this year, and instead of doing it for one congress, make it the rule. If it was a good idea for democrats in 2013 and 2014, why is it not a good idea for republicans and democrats now . That simple rule is when we cant agree on a candidate, we would only have two hours of debate on a district judge. This week remembering for the entire week it took the whole week to do four of them. We could do two hours of debate for each one if its a District Court judge, eight hours for just about everybody else, or 30 hours of debate, supreme court, circuit court, and cabinet level nominations. You would think that that would be a slam dunk. So far, it has not been. For some reason, my democratic colleagues say that rule was good for us, but its not good for you, and its not good for the future of the senate. I believe that it is, that it was a fair rule then, its a fair rule now. Enough debating about the rules of the senate. Lets get on to the business of the senate and actually do what the American People sent us here to do. Interestingly enough, there is also a very obscure rule in the senate called rule 31, that if at the end of a year there are still nominations that are pending out there, that those nominations would have to be returned to the white house and they would have to start all over again. Now, if the senate can agree by unanimous consent to say okay, we understand these are all in process, by unanimous consent just to agree to those things and to be able to hold them on the calendar. Let me give you an example of that. Under president bill clinton at the end of his first year, there were only 13 of his nominations ever sent back to the white house. After the end of george w. Bushs first term, only two nominations were returned back to the white house. After president obamas first term, only eight were sent back to the white house. After President Trumps first term, 90 were sent back. Let me review again. Bill clinton, 13. George bush, two. President obama, eight. President trump, 90. I dont think my democratic colleagues understand that they continue to amp up the volume of obstruction, saying someones obstructed us in the past, so were going to do it ten times to you, understanding that, well, all that leads to is the next time republicans are in the minority, we do it ten times again, and it makes this worse. There is a way to fix this. We should come to that mutual agreement. We should resolve the rules of the senate. We have got to get on the budget. We have got to get on the Childrens Health insurance program. Weve got to get on to intelligence issues. We have got to get on to immigration. We have got to get on to infrastructure. We have got to get on to a lot of other things. But were stuck debating people. That should be an easy one for us. Im recommending to this body what my folks used to say to me, what is good for the goose should be good for the gander. If it was a great rule when democrats were in the majority, it should be a great rule when republicans are in the majority. Lets take clean, fair rules, apply it to everyone. Lets move on with the nomination process and lets get back to the business of doing legislation so we can get this resolved. With that, mr. President , i would yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call ms. Warren mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from massachusetts. Ms. Warren mr. President , are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are. Ms. Warren i ask that the quorum call be lifted and i be permitted to speak. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Warren thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , i rise today to discuss the Trump Administrations recent proposal to expand offshore drilling to more than 90 of the u. S. Waters. This handout to Big Oil Executives puts short term profits ahead of longterm health and livelihood of americas coastal families and ignores the growing threat posed by Climate Change. This administration is too weak kneed to stand up for american families, too weakkneed to say enough is enough when Big Oil Executives demand more. And Big Oil Executives keep demanding more because they dont like being told that any area is off limits. Big oil didnt like being told that the extraordinary natural cultural and historical value of bears ears and Grand Staircase escalante made them off limits, or fossil fuel development. So President Trump opened up much of the previously protected land for future drilling and mining. Big oil didnt like being told that the Arctic National wildlife refuge, one of americas last untouched expanses of wilderness, was off limits. So President Trump and this Republican Congress included a provision in the republican tax bill to allow drilling for the first time in this pristine reserve. And big oil didnt like being told that our coasts that provide the homes and livelihoods for millions of americans are off limits. So the Trump Administration, faithful as ever to whatever big oil wants, issued a proposed offshore Drilling Plan that would allow drilling in more than 90 of americas coastal waters. Now in doing so, the Trump Administration is threatening the Atlantic Coast with unwanted oil drilling for the first time in more than 30 years. Threatening to introduce new drilling rigs to the Pacific Coast for the first time in 30 years. Threatening the eastern gulf of mexico with drilling for the first time in more than ten years. And threatening to illegally reopen portions of the Arctic Drilling for areas that were permanently protected in 2016. Our coasts are working water fronts, supporting hardworking families. This unprecedented expansion of offshore drilling endangers hundreds of thousands of jobs that depend on the health of our oceans. In massachusetts, theyre shipping in and out of boston, tpreurbg from gloucester to new bedford. And tourism and Small Businesses on the cape and the islands. The ocean is our lifeline, as it is for so many coastal states and towns around the country. The multibilliondollar coastal economy has been a key part of the American Economy since our nations founding. Our coastal communities are united in opposition to an expansion of offshore drilling. They understand the risks that big oil imposes on them. Our coastal communities remember when the b. P. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred in 2010. One offshore oil well blew and caused the deepwater horizon drilling rig to explode. And what was the consequence . Killed 11 workers, injured 17 more, and unleashed one of the worst environmental disasters in human history. Nearly five Million Barrels of oil gushed into the ocean, contaminating more than 1,300 miles of coastline and nearly 70,000 square miles of surface water. Millions of is birds and marine animals died from exposure to the oil and to other toxic chemicals. The gulf fishing industry lost thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, and the spill devastated the gulfs coastal tourism economy. The environmental and economic devastation hit working families and Small Businesses across the entire region. A Commission Formed to investigate the b. P. Oil spill concluded that there were, quote, such systematic failures and Risk Management that they place in doubt the Safety Culture of the entire offshore drilling industry. The federal government vowed to crack down on the offshore drilling industry that had been cutting corners at the expense of worker safety and environmental safety. The bureau of safety and Environmental Enforcement studied ways to improve oil rig inspections and issued new rules to try to prioritize safety. But President Trump has abandoned that safety first approach. He ignores the lessons of the b. P. Oil spill. Instead he listens to his big oil friends. Last month the administration began rescinding key safety regulations designed to protect our coastlines from another b. P. Spill disaster. I just want to give one example of this. In 2016 the bureau of safety and Environmental Enforcement implemented new rules to require independent thirdparty certification of Safety Devices on oil rigs. Not a bad idea. To get someone independent to take a look at oil rigs before people put their lives at risk and hundreds of thousands of people could lose their livelihoods if an accident occurred. Yes, not a bad idea. But the Trump Administration has said that this commonsense approach is, quote, an unnecessary burden on industry. Now just to be clear, this socalled burden would amount to less than a penny on the dollar for an industry that already enjoys tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies. Less than a penny on the dollar to protect the livelihoods and maybe the lives of People Living on our coasts. The Trump Administrations insistence on padding the pockets of big oil while small coastal towns are left carrying all the risks is a perversion of how government is supposed to work. But this is what happens when the Republican Senate allows leadership positions at the department of interior to be filled with industry insiders who reward their past and in many cases their future employers rather than serving the American People. American families deserve forwardlooking leadership that builds for the future and ensures that america will lead in the necessary fight against Climate Change. But President Trump thinks leadership is handing over management of our Public Resources to the Big Oil Executives who are looking to stuff their pockets while they can. And he chooses to ignore the writing on the wall. Our planet is getting hotter. 16 of the last 17 years were the hottest on record, and our seas are rising at an alarming rate. Our coasts are threatened by furious storms that can sweep away homes and devastate even our largest cities. Many communities are just one bad storm away from complete devastation. Our naval bases are under attack not by enemy ships but by rising seas. Our Food Supplies and our forests are threatened by an endless barrage of droughts and wildfires. The effects of manmade Climate Change are all around us, and things will only continue to get worse at an accelerating pace if we dont do something about it. Will addressing Climate Change be tough . You bet it will. We will need to retool, to install offshore Wind Turbines instead of President Trumps offshore drilling rigs. But there is no country and no workforce in the world that is more willing and more able to tackle the challenges of Climate Change head on than the United States of america. Yes, it is hard, but it is what we do. It is who we are. The American People deserve leadership that knows the strength of the American People. Leadership that believes in the innovative resolve of American Workers ready to build Clean Energy Infrastructure of the world. Leadership that will deliver a clear message to the Big Oil Executives hellbent on protecting their own shortterm profits and who dont like being told that a place is off limits. Leadership that will not chain our economy to the fossil fuels of the past. Leadership that does not ignore the realities of Climate Change. And leadership that does not put our coastal communities at further risk of another Devastating Oil spill. The American People deserve leadership that works for their interests, not for the interests of big oil. Mr. President , i yield to my colleague. The presiding officer the senator from virginia. Mr. Kaine mr. President , i rise today on a happy occasion, to discuss a house bill, h. R. 984, the Thomas JordanIndian Tribes of virginia federal recognition act. This is a bill with a long history. Were joined in the chamber by the chiefs of six virginia tribes whose past, present, and certainly future are connected to this bill. I will speak briefly and then senator warner will be speak and the matter will be called up for a voice vote. Various objections have been heard and cleared and so were ready to move forward to this bill which passed the house in may. This is about virginia tribes that were here and encountered the english when they arrived in georgetown in 1607, the tribes of pocahontas and other wonderful virginians. They are living tribes, never recognized by the federal government for a series of reasons. First, they made peace too soon in a way and they have been punished for that. They entered into peace treaties with the english in the 1670s. Second, many of their tribal records were destroyed in the civil war. And third, a state official destroyed other of their records in the 1920s through the 1960s. But the power of these tribes having achieved state recognition, beginning many years ago, and they have never given up hope that they would be recognized by the u. S. Government just as they have been recognized for hundreds of years by the government of england. In fact, last spring, they went to england to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the death of pocahontas, and they were treated as sovereigns, treated with respect, and all they have asked is to be given the same treatment by the country that they love. This bill for tribal recognition was first introduced by a virginia governor, then senator george allen in the 107th congress. A house companion bill to the Senate Version was passed in may, and thats the third time that the house has passed this bill, first in 2009 first in 2007, and second in 2009. I have had many productive discussions as has senator warn er over the last months about the bill, various questions about the history, and we now are in a position where all objections have been cleared and were ready to move ahead. Its such a treat to be joined here by the chiefs. Its such a treat to be joined by my colleague, my senior senator, senator warner, who has worked tremendously hard on this, as have i, from the day he was governor. And i also have to give praise to congressman whitman on the house side who has worked very, very hard to get to this day. Its a fundamental issue of respect, and fairly acknowledging a historical record, and a wonderful story of tribes that are living, thriving and surviving and are a rich part of our heritage. This is a happy day to stand up on their behalf. With that, mr. President , i would like to yield to the senior senator. Mr. Warner mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from virginia. Mr. Warner mr. President , let me join my friend and colleague, senator kaine. We and some of the folks who are in the gallery today were not sure this day would ever come, but even here in the United States congress and the United States senate, occasionally we get things right. And boy, oh, boy, this is a day where we get things right on a civil rights basis, on a moral basis, on a fairness basis, and to our friends who are representatives of some of the six tribes who are finally going to be granted federal recognition, we want to say thank you for their patience, their perseverance, their willingness to work with us and others. This has become an issue over the last 20plus years. Democrats and republicans alike in virginia have acknowledged the fact that these six tribes whose history predates any european settlement in this country, whose history goes back, as senator kaine mentioned, where they were recognized by the United Kingdom and recognized by the British Government when they controlled our country, but through a series of circumstances in many cases abetted by backwards looking government earlier in the 20th century in virginia that discriminated against these native americans in ways that were outrageous, where in many ways records that told of their proud history and our commonwealth were destroyed after the civil war in fires in courthouses. These tribes have persevered, and today finally they are going to be granted the federal recognition and the respect that goes with that federal recognition, and they will be granted certain additional opportunities in terms of special education, housing grants, Affordable Health care services, and most importantly the ability to recover important artifacts in their history. As has been mentioned, this bill has already passed the house. Rob whitman, a republican member, has been a champion. Senator kaine and i both as governors in that role of governor, one of the things that happens every day every thanksgiving day is these tribes come in and in effect pay their taxes to the commonwealth of virginia. And while virginia has recognized these tribes for some time, every year when we would have this ceremony, one of the most moving ceremonies that i know i participated in as governor. I think senator kaine, think about senator allen, who was also a champion on this issue before us. These tribes would come in and say when will the United States government recognize their existence, their history, and their legacies . Well, that wait is finally over. In a moment, i am going to be asking for unanimous consent, and the long, long wait will come to an end. So, mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the Indian Affairs committee be discharged from further consideration of h. R. 984, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk h. R. 984, an act to extend federal recognition to the Chickahominy Indian tribe, and so forth. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection, the committee is discharged. Mr. Warner i know of no further debate on the measure. The presiding officer the senate will proceed to the measure. Is there further debate . If not, the question is on passage of the measure. All in favor, say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The bill is passed. Mr. Warner i further ask the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Inhofe mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oklahoma. Mr. Inhofe i ask unanimous consent that we proceed now to the vote the 1 30 vote. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. The question is on the nomination. Is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote