Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I wish to speak about the two nominees who are coming back to back. I thank Senator Vitter for allowing us to move these forward. I thank the majority leader for bringing them up. We are down on the membership of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. We need to fill these positions. One of the nominees is Jeffery Baran. I will be very quick. Mr. Baran has had more than 10 years of experience, including his current role as staff director of energy and commerce on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he actually oversaw the NRC and he staffed 13 hearings overseeing the NRC. The other nominee is Mr. Stephen Burns, who has served in many roles, most recently as general counsel for the NRC from 2009 to 2012. He has a wide range of experience in policy and enforcement issues. As long as I have been around, I have not seen two more qualified nominees. I urge my colleagues to vote for cloture and then, when we vote tomorrow, yes on the nominations themselves. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate? 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 Jeffery Martin Baran, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, shall be brought to a close? The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. The bill clerk called the roll.”