The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“Nominations (Executive Session)” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the Senate section on pages S2297 on April 9, 2019.
The Department oversees more than 500 million acres of land. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the department has contributed to a growing water crisis and holds many lands which could be better managed.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Nominations
Mr. McCONNELL. Later today, the Senate will vote to advance the nomination of Daniel Domenico to serve as U.S. District Judge for the District of Colorado.
After we vote on his confirmation, we will do the same for Patrick Wyrick, nominated to a vacancy in the Western District of Oklahoma.
Mr. Wyrick is a two-time graduate of the University of Oklahoma and held a clerkship in the Eastern District of Oklahoma at the outset of his legal career. That career included time in private practice, as the State's Solicitor General and, most recently, as Associate Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
I am sorry to say that this week will mark 1 year since Mr. Wyrick's nomination was first received in the Senate. I hope each of my colleagues will join me in long-overdue support for its prompt consideration on the floor.
Over the course of the week, as I have outlined, we will consider four other well-qualified nominees who have been waiting on the Executive Calendar for far too long. We will build on the action taken last week to restore some reason and sanity to the nominations process, which has suffered in recent years under the burden of partisan obstruction.
Before the week is through, we will also turn to the nomination of David Bernhardt to lead the Department of the Interior. The Senate has confirmed Mr. Bernhardt twice before to serve that Department as Deputy Secretary and as Solicitor. When you hear the nominee and review his credentials, it is easy to see why. Mr. Bernhardt has significant private practice experience, as well as a past record of service at the Department.
Along the way he has earned the respect of those who rely on the public lands the Department of the Interior is charged to oversee, from Native American leaders to sportsmen's groups. He has been praised as a
``proven leader'' who ``act[s] with integrity'' and has ``the right approach and skill set.''
I hope each of my colleagues will join me in voting to confirm him later this week.
