[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] cement the will to lead but to the next cabinet lovell, bernie confirmation been delayed to start by thinking the senior senator from texas to be fair to speak on behalf of the nominees. Also the fellow Committee Member from West Virginia prepared to offer introductory remarks for a a warm welcome to you and your family your willingness to become our next secretary of energy for. I enjoyed flu at federal of learning more about your leadership in texas and your accomplishments in the area of energy and environment. I love riffled will withhold any comments texas side is verses alaska size and i won. [laughter] we know you lars seeking half to lead had an interesting and critical time helping to make our nation a Global Leader of research and development encouraging scientific exploration to foster innovation. And with those laboratories but the greatest asset those that dedicate not just to their careers to those toughest challenges th
This is the best of this institution of how it performs. It has been embodied in the Public Service of carl levin for 36 years here. What you have heard is the testimonies on both sides of the aisle that because of how he has conducted himself as an individual and how he has conducted himself as a Public Servant and how he has conducted himself as a leader in this senate is exactly how this institution is supposed to function. Isnt it rather symbolic that on the last couple of days of the session the bill that will be passed is the bill that he has ushered and he never broke tradition. He made sure the Defense Authorization bill was going to be passed by hammering out the differences with the house and shepherding it through the parliament process. And its happened every year because of extraordinary leadership. I will close simply by saying that because he is all of the things that youve heard, the consummate gentleman, the humble Public Servant, the razor sharp mind, the best lawyer,
For representative government. When people at the bottom of the economic ladder feel that the government is not helping them, and in fact may be stacked against them, they will cease to vote or they will turn to the siren song of extreme elements in our society. History proves this to be true. Now, i dont have a cookie cutter answer or solution, but it must include more fair tax laws and trade laws, more job training and restraining, rebuilding our physical infrastructure and manufacturing. And i believe it must include some things seemingly unrelated like quality, free Early Education for every child in america. The answer to closing the inequality gap must include rebuilding labor unions and collective bargaining. If you trace the line over the last 40 years of the growing economic quality in america and also put that over another line showing the loss in the number of union workers, they are almost identical. I do not believe it is a stretch to say that organized labor, unions, buil
Time. The presiding officer without objection. Ms. Cantwell thank you mr. President. I thank the senator from north dakota. I know were going to be going back and forth on this issue and that we have speakers coming later this morning and were going to have time divided but i appreciate the senator of north dakota allowing us to join in the debate this morning and make a few mountains. And i do want to say i appreciate the senator from north dakotas hard work on the Energy Committee in general and i look forward to working with him on many Energy Policies. He and i have worked together on a couple of different agricultural issues, and i certainly appreciate his due diligence. But needless to say i dont agree with the process of moving forward with this motion to proceed to the Keystone Pipeline bill. Many of my colleagues here are going to be coming down, talking about the issues. Two of my colleagues including the senators from utah and arkansas along with the senator of north dakota,
Environment, and probably lots of others, but those are things that Everybody Knows that he has worked hard on. Throughout the years tom and i have served side by side in washington for the good of our home state. For three terms we worked together in the u. S. House of representatives. It was here in the senate our shared commitment to give Rural America a voice at the policy making table was sown. And for many years we worked together on the Senate Agricultural committee looking out for the millions of americans who choose to work and earn a living in Rural America. We worked together to advocate for Rural Infrastructure and investment, access to health care, Housing Technology and transportation. For the last three decades we have served alongside one another here in this distinguished body, the United States senate, an institution that both of us hold near and dear to our hearts. Although some of our silver tongued critics over the years may have described toms views as a bleeding