Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Today the Senate will vote to confirm the President's choice to serve as Secretary of the Interior. As I have discussed this week, David Bernhardt is no stranger to the Department. He has served twice before. In fact, this body has confirmed him twice before. Each time his professionalism and dedication proved us right. As Solicitor and as Deputy Secretary, Mr. Bernhardt has offered capable leadership and a firm grasp on the complex policy environment surrounding our Nation's public lands.

His expertise has not gone unnoticed. Praise for Mr. Bernhardt has poured in from a list of more than 40 stakeholder organizations; from agriculture, trade, conservation, and Native American organizations.

They describe him as a leader whose ``experience is sorely needed.'' They laud his commitment to ``make the lands he manages accessible to the recreating public.''

So we have before us an opportunity to confirm a well-qualified steward of our Nation's public lands and resources. Yesterday, a bipartisan majority of our colleagues voted to end debate on his nomination, and I hope each will join me in voting yes once more later today.

Of course, confirming Mr. Bernhardt will be just the latest in a series of many Executive Calendar accomplishments. Following on the heels of last week's turn back toward the Senate's historic tradition concerning nominations, we have been able to approve a number of the President's nominees at a much more reasonable pace in the last several days.

I have noted, with particular interest that, for all the breathless warnings my Democratic colleagues issued about the kinds of people we would be confirming, these unobjectionable nominees have actually mostly coasted through on a bipartisan basis.

We saw support from both sides of the aisle for Roy Altman to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and for Daniel Domenico to the District of Colorado.

We saw an overwhelming bipartisan vote in favor of confirming GEN John Abizaid to serve as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and a voice-voted confirmation for Jeffrey Kessler to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce.

These are not lightning-rod people whom my Democratic colleagues would have eagerly debated and investigated for an additional 30 hours. They are the kind of thoroughly qualified public servants who used to sail briskly through the Senate without opposition.

Now, even as my Democratic colleagues continue to require us to file cloture on individuals whom they actually go on to support, we are able to fill out the President's team at a more reasonable clip. There are still many empty seats left to fill, but this week's progress marks a great new beginning not just for the administration that needs its personnel but for the health of this institution.

Tax Reform

Madam President, on another matter, over the past year or so, I have dedicated a large part of my time on the floor to discussing the performance of the U.S. economy, and at no point have I struggled to find things to say.

Seemingly every day, we have been greeted by headlines that tell the same story: Under the political policies of a pro-growth, pro- opportunity Republican agenda, Americans are experiencing a remarkable economic moment.

More than 1 year ago, I mentioned on the floor that weekly jobless claims had reached their lowest level since 1969. Last week, the Labor Department reported that by this measure, the U.S. economy has set yet another new record. What was already a nearly 49-year low has now dipped further to a nearly 50-year low.

My colleagues and I have been busy highlighting the American stories behind these numbers--stories of recovery and prosperity being written in all sorts of communities, in all corners of our country.

More than 1 year since a generational overhaul of the Federal Tax Code lifted burdens from American job creators, entrepreneurs, and working families, the headlines are continuing to pour in.

With Tax Day just around the corner, millions of working families have filed for the first time under a law that has allowed, according to nonpartisan analysts, the vast majority of Americans to keep more of their money. They have pocketed higher take-home pay, wage increases, and special bonuses, and they benefited from the booming job market these policies have helped ignite.

But old habits die hard. The Washington Democrats who were content to watch as the Obama era piled up 75 percent of new jobs and 90 percent of population growth to the biggest metropolitan areas are back to their same old tricks.

In recent months, we have seen a steady drip of leftist daydreams making their way into press conferences, resolutions, and out on the 2020 campaign trail: a massive rewrite of American election laws and a power grab on an individual's right to exercise political speech, a mandatory, one-size-fits-all government-run replacement for private healthcare for over 180 million Americans, and an estimated $93 trillion in taxpayers' money to be spent testing out new Federal social planning schemes and abolishing the affordable energy sources American families rely on. Tax Day seems like an especially fitting day to tell Washington Democrats no thanks--no thanks.

The Kentuckians I represent prefer to keep more of their own hard- earned money. They prefer to make their own decisions about their own families instead of ceding more power to bureaucrats.

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