[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S4534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





             UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I would ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following 
nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 151, 152, 153, and 154; that those 
nominations be confirmed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or 
debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; 
and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action 
and the Senate then resume legislative session.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Tennessee is recognized.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I reserve the right to object, and I 
rise to object to this unanimous consent request.
  The VA, for years, has made promises that they have year after year 
failed to meet. For years, veterans and their family members have 
called my office, whether I was in the State senate or over in the 
House or here in the Senate. They are distressed by the lack of service 
they receive from the VA. My caseworkers would work tirelessly with 
these constituents, only to end up frustrated by a very unresponsive 
VA. This is unacceptable. It has become the culture of the VA, and this 
is something that has to change.
  Now, for weeks, the committee has been asking for feedback on 
legislative proposals which have the potential to affect the workflow 
and the capacity of the VA. The VA has been silent on this even though 
we have asked for their views and have asked them to weigh in. The 
reason we have asked them for this is the VA has a backlog of over 
180,000 cases. Their wait times this year have continued to escalate. 
They are not going down.
  So, yesterday, I had a call with Secretary McDonough expressing my 
concerns with the lack of feedback that the committee has received on 
what is shaping up to be the most consequential legislative effort in 
the veterans space in an entire generation. The formal response that I 
received today was incomplete, but it contained a promise that they 
would have more fulsome feedback by July 30.
  I will continue to keep my hold on these pending VA nominees until I 
receive the official views on the COST of War Act, on the toxic 
exposures bills. We owe our veterans. We owe it to them to get this 
right. Therefore, I object to the unanimous consent request, and I will 
continue my hold on these nominees.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Montana is recognized.

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