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Floor Speech

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, later today, the Senate will vote on the nomination of Pam Bondi to serve as Attorney General. Ms. Bondi is an experienced prosecutor who has earned a reputation as a tenacious lawyer who is tough on crime.

In her 18 years as a State prosecutor in Florida's Hillsborough County, Ms. Bondi worked with law enforcement, visited crime scenes, and spent countless hours in the courtroom.

Those who know Ms. Bondi have spoken of her toughness and her skill as a prosecutor. They have also spoken of her character, of her willingness to work with anyone to solve a problem, and of her deep commitment to the victims of crime and their families.

In 2011, Pam Bondi became Florida's first female attorney general. At that time, so-called pill mills were a major problem in the State and a major contributor to the opioid crisis.

On the campaign trail, Ms. Bondi would hear heartbreaking stories of addiction and loss, and families would give her photos of the loved ones lost to the scourge of drugs. As attorney general, she filled her office with those photos and got to work.

She worked with the Florida Legislature to pass a bill to crack down on the pill mills, which our colleague, then-Governor Rick Scott signed into law.

And that was just the start. She tracked issues like human trafficking, and she worked with her counterparts in other States, regardless of party and politics. She also worked to keep politics out of the important work of enforcing the law in Florida, something she is committed to doing at the Department of Justice if she is confirmed.

In recent years, many Americans have lost faith in the Justice Department. They have seen Federal prosecutors go after pro-life activists while attacks against churches have gone unprosecuted.

There was Attorney General Garland's infamous memo targeting parents who attended school board meetings and another infamous FBI memo suggesting traditional Catholics could be violent extremists.

The American people should be able to trust that the Department of Justice is not targeting Americans based on their political opinions or religious beliefs. Pam Bondi has promised to get the Department back to its core mission: prosecuting crime and protecting Americans from threats to their safety and their freedoms. And I look forward to confirming her later today.

The Senate will also soon vote on the nomination of Scott Turner to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. This is an important role. Our country is facing a housing crisis affecting big cities, rural areas, Tribal lands--literally, every part of our country. Higher construction costs and burdensome regulations have made homebuilding challenging. And what homes are on the market are too pricey for many Americans. Many parts of the country have homelessness challenges. Too many distressed communities are struggling to turn their fortunes around. And despite a windfall of additional funding for HUD, these problems are, in many cases, getting worse.

Fortunately, President Trump has nominated someone to lead Housing and Urban Development who knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity. Scott Turner grew up in Plano and Richardson, TX, in challenging circumstances, but he was determined to achieve the American Dream.

At age 10, he told his mother he would play professional football. With a lot of determination and hard work, he graduated from the University of Illinois and was drafted to play in the NFL. In the 2003 offseason, a time he could have used to take a break, this NFL athlete was interning in a congressional office.

And since he hung up his cleats, Scott Turner has spent his time working to make a difference. That has included founding an organization to help children in poverty, serving as a Texas State legislator, and helping to lead the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during the first Trump administration.

The 2017 Republican tax relief legislation did a lot to help revitalize the economy. One of the things it did was create the Opportunity Zone Program championed by our colleague Senator Tim Scott. It was Scott Turner who oversaw this program for the White House, visiting opportunity zones across the country in an effort to revitalize America's distressed communities. And I am confident he will bring that same concern for distressed areas to his work as Secretary.

President Trump has made it clear that we are going to be building things in America again. One of those things we are going to be building is communities. It is a big job, but Scott Turner has the grit, the determination, and passion to get it done, and I look forward to working with him on this important mission.

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