Wednesday, November 19, 2014

7:12 p.m. Senate adjourns until 9:30am on Thursday.

6:40 p.m. Senator Grassley spoke on immigration.

6:36 p.m. ML Reid passed by UC: S Res 584 commending Gerald Linell; UC that when the Senate completes business it adjourn until 9:30am Thursday.  Morning business until 2:00pm.  Votes at 2:00pm on confirmation nominations that achieved cloture earlier today, as follows:

  1. Executive Calendar #928, Pamela Pepper to be a US district judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
  2. Executive Calendar #930, Brenda K. Sannes to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York.
  3. Executive Calendar #1032, Madeline Cox Arleo to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey.
  4. Executive Calendar #1033, Wendy Beetlestone to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
  5. Executive Calendar #1034, Victor Allen Bolden to be United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut.

Following these roll call votes, the Senate will proceed to the following nominations, which are all expected to be confirmed by voice vote:

  1. James Pettit to be Ambassador to Moldova.
  2. Pamela Spratlen to be Ambassador to Uzbekistan.
  3. Tamara Ashford to be a Judge of the US Tax Court.
  4. Paige Marvel to be a Judge of the US Tax Court.
  5. Cary Pugh to be a Judge of the US Tax Court.
  6. Ramin Toloui to be a Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury.
  7. Lisa Mensah to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development.
  8. George Krol to be Ambassador to Kazakhstan.
  9. Luis Moreno to be Ambassador to Jamaica.
  10. Donald Lu to be Ambassador to Albania.
  11. Brent Hartley to be Ambassador to Slovenia.

 

6:31 p.m. The Senate returned to session, ML Reid proceeded to wrap-up; proceeding to and confirming the following nominations:

Jon Holladay to be Chief Financial Officer, Department of Agriculture.

Maureen Cormack to be Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Allan Mustard to be Ambassador to Turkmenistan.

Earl Miller to be Ambassador to Botswana.

Judith Cefkin to be Ambassador to Fiji, and to serve concurrently as Ambassador to Kiribati, Nauru,Tonga, and Tuvalu.

Robert Yamate to be Ambassador to Madagascar, and to serve concurrently as Ambassador To the Comoros.

 

4:47 p.m. The Senate stands in recess subject to the call of the Chair to attend an all Senators breifing on ISIS.

4:46 p.m. Cloture was invoked, by a vote of 51-44, on the nomination of Victor Allen Bolden to be District Judge for the District of Connecticut.

4:27 p.m. Cloture was invoked, by a vote of 58-38, on the nomination of Wendy Beetlestone to be District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

4:05 p.m. Cloture was invoked, by a vote of 56-40, on the nomination of Madeline Cox Arleo to be District Judge for the District of New Jersey.

3:50 p.m. Cloture was invoked, by a vote of 54-42, on the nomination of Brenda K. Sannes to be District Judge for the Northern District of new York.

3:35 p.m. Cloture was invoked by a vote of 58-39, on the nomination of Pamela Pepper to be District Judge to the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

2:50 p.m. Senator Blumenthal spoke on immigration.

2:20 p.m. Senators Murray and Boxer spoke on immigration.

2:00 pm Senate Democrats began an hour long debate on Immigration Reform.  Senators Reid, Schumer and Murray spoke in favor.

1:55  p.m. Senators Enzi and Alexander spoke on small business tax and online sales tax.

1:21 p.m. Senator Hatch spoke about the Trade Secrets Act and intellectual property rights.

1:10 p.m. Senator Barrasso spoke about affordable health care.

1:05 p.m. Senator Thune spoke about change in the Senate.

12:45 p.m. Senator Donnelly paid tribute to Abdul Rahman (Peter Kassig).

12:35 p.m. Senator Stabenow spoke about immigration.

12:24 p.m. Senator Moran paid tribute to Steve Bachus on his retirement, and to Marianna Beach on her recent death.

12:05 p.m. Senator Whitehouse speaks for the 80th time on climate change.

12:00 p.m. Senator Cantwell spoke on net neutrality.

11:44 a.m. Senator Cornyn spoke on immigration.

11:25 a.m. Senator Durbin spoke about immigration, adds two nominations, Executive Calender #’s 966 and 967; Michele Sison  to be Deputy Representative to the United Nations; and Representatives to the UN General Assembly.

10:49 a.m. Senators Grassley, Klobuchar, and Landrieu spoke about National Adoption Day.

10:37 a.m. Senator Harkin thanked Senator Grassley and spoke about his own career.

10:33 a.m. Senator Grassley wished Senator Harkin a happy 75th birthday and spoke on his career.

10:15 a.m. Senator Blunt spoke on the Keystone Pipeline, immigration, and President Obama’s policies.

9:45 a.m. Senator McConnell spoke on Pfc. Joshua A. Gray of Kentucky.

9:32 a.m. ML Reid and Senator Leahy spoke on Republican obstruction and surveillance reform.

The Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m. and proceed to morning business.

Cloture votes will occur on the judicial nominations below if a time agreement is reached. If not, the cloture votes will begin Thursday, November 20, one hour after the Senate convenes.

    • Pamela Pepper to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
    • Brenda K. Sannes to be a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York
    • Madeline Cox Arleo to be a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey
    • Wendy Beetlestone to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • Victor Allen Bolden to be a United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut