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 Calendar)” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the in the Senate section section on pages S9287-S9289 on Dec. 17.
The State Department is responsibly for international relations with a budget of more than $50 billion. Tenure at the State Dept. is increasingly tenuous and it's seen as an extension of the President's will, ambitions and flaws.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Nominations
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about some nominees and how important it is to keep advancing nominees.
A President should be able to have his Ambassadors in place so we can deal with the rest of the world, and we have key people who are still missing from Agencies, many of whom got through committees with strong bipartisan support. Let me start with one of them.
Today, I rise to discuss the importance of the Senate swiftly confirming Alan Davidson, one of President Biden's very important nominees to the Department of Commerce. If confirmed, he will play a crucial role in the coming months and years in making sure every American has access to reliable, affordable internet.
Mr. Davidson has been nominated to be the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, NTIA. OK. That sounds like a lot of words, but what does it really mean?
As head of the NTIA, Mr. Davidson will oversee the distribution of the $40 billion for broadband infrastructure funding coming out of our bipartisan infrastructure bill. So his job couldn't be more important as we look at providing high-speed internet to every corner of this country. He will also play an important role in expanding wireless internet networks, promoting fair competition in the digital sector, and ensuring every American has access to affordable and fast internet.
As you know, after months of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans, this Senate came together to pass the President's bipartisan infrastructure law, making a once-in-a-generation investment to improve roads, rail systems, and public transit, address climate change by updating our power grid, and, yes, invest in high-speed internet.
It is the largest investment our country has ever made in high-speed internet. I was proud to lead in the Senate the base bill--
Representative Clyburn led it in the House--to make this happen when it comes to broadband.
Affordable and reliable internet access is more important now than ever as students and families rely on the internet to learn or work from home, access telehealth services, and stay connected to loved ones.
As 42 million Americans, including 16 percent of households in rural Minnesota, lack reliable broadband access, the need to make the promises of this law a reality could not be more urgent. As head of the NTIA, Mr. Davidson will be responsible for overseeing the rollout of funding for broadband grants across the country. We don't want to wait. We need someone who knows what he is doing in place now.
With more than two decades of experience in the public and private sector as an executive, someone who worked in technology, and as an attorney, it is clear Mr. Davidson is ready for this job.
He served in the Department of Commerce during the Obama administration, where he was the Department's first Director of Digital Economy. His background in privacy and internet policy will be invaluable. I am confident he will protect consumers, promote competition, and make this historic law meaningful for everyday Americans.
His nomination has earned support from a broad array of organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce, the National Consumers League, the Open Technology Institute, and more than 80 others.
I should also point out that eight former heads of the NTIA, Republicans and Democrats alike, have urged the Senate to confirm Mr. Davidson. And he did very well in the committee. He came out of the committee with bipartisan support.
To me, this should just be done like this. We should just get it done through this Chamber, but we wait through this morass of rules. Instead of making the rules easier so we can restore the Senate so we can actually debate issues, we literally spend hours and hours and hours and hours on nominees who received Republican support in the committee because one person decides, well, I am going to hold that one up.
We need to get this done now because while we wait, students, parents, and workers without high-speed internet are falling behind. I have heard too many stories, as I know every Senator in this chamber has heard, about people from our States who have jumped through hoops just to get online.
One high school student in Otter Tail County, MN, had such weak internet at her house that she always had to drive to the parking lot of a liquor store to take her online biology quizzes. I met her mom. She told me the story herself. I have also heard from rural doctors who rely on the WiFi in McDonald's parking lots to read their patients' x rays when they are outside the office on weekends. That is just unacceptable. So we need to make sure that this historic broadband funding gets out the door and that we have someone in place to administer it.
In addition to this hugely important work, Mr. Davidson will also be responsible for implementing upgrades to our 9-1-1 system. In a crisis, no one should be put in danger because of outdated 9-1-1 systems, and first responders, public safety officials, and law enforcement must be able to communicate seamlessly.
As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and as one of the chairs of the Congressional Next Generation 9-1-1 Caucus, I know that these upgrades are urgently needed to help move the country's largely outdated 9-1-1 call centers and related technology into the digital age. We need to enable 9-1-1 call centers to handle text messages, pictures, videos, and other information sent by smartphones, tablets, and other devices when faced with an emergency. Mr. Davidson, with his vast array of experience, will help to bring our 9-1-1 systems into the 21st century by providing State and local governments with the resources they need to update our emergency response networks and keep our communities safe.
I urge my colleagues to support Mr. Davidson's nomination today to move our country and our economy forward. The stakes are too high to wait.
Mr. President, I also come to the floor today to speak on the many Ambassador nominees who are ready for a vote but are being held up by some of our colleagues on the other side. I emphasize ``some'' because many of these nominees got strong bipartisan support.
While I appreciate the progress we are now making on some of the nominees as we speak, many have been waiting months for a vote. When we finish today--at least tonight or when we finish in the next few days--
more, we know, will still be waiting because we have well over 100 people who have been waiting for a vote, over 150 people waiting for a vote.
This unnecessary delay is sabotaging our diplomatic efforts around the world. The State Department is made up of some of the best, the brightest, and the most patriotic citizens. By failing to confirm Ambassadors, whether to Iraq--we know how important that is--Equatorial Guinea, or Japan, we are hurting not only the nominees and our Foreign Service officers but also all those who look to America as a beacon of democracy.
First, let's look at Elizabeth Moore Aubin, who was nominated to be Ambassador to Algeria in April and was reported out of the committee in June--June--the beginning of summer. We are now in the middle of winter.
Algeria is an important partner in northern Africa when it comes to economic and strategic security issues. Aubin is clearly up to the task. She previously served as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Algiers, Algeria, during a 2013 terrorist attack.
Aubin knows from her years at the State Department and from her firsthand experience what it takes to keep Americans safe overseas. Yet she has been held up for 6 months. Americans and Americans in Algeria deserve better.
Angola. Another Ambassador who has been waiting since June is Tulinabo Mushingi, who has been nominated to serve as Ambassador to Angola and several other islands off the coast of eastern Africa. He has already served as Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission to our Embassy in Ethiopia, so he will be ready to take on this role on day 1.
Through our country's partnership with the Angolan Government, we have made significant progress in removing thousands of landmines and advancing economic growth in the region. The United States and Angola will be better served with an experienced Ambassador, and he should be confirmed promptly.
Yet that is not all. We also must move forward with Claire Cronin, whom President Biden nominated to be the Ambassador to Ireland. Cronin was the first woman to serve as the Massachusetts House majority leader and the first woman to chair the Massachusetts House Judiciary Committee. President Biden nominated her in June, 6 months ago, and she advanced from committee nearly 2 months ago, in mid-October.
Ireland is an economic partner, a security partner, and, of course, the United States is home to many proud Irish Americans.
We need Ambassador Cronin to move forward.
I know we are making progress, but I think of a country like Japan, where Rahm Emanuel has been nominated--Japan.
My good friend, whom we lost this year, Vice President Mondale, was the Ambassador to Japan, and I remember how proud they were when he got voted through and went to Japan. They were so proud that the United States of America sent an ambassador to their country, someone of great experience.
This is the case of all these Ambassador nominees. Our country deserves to have people over there representing our Nation. You think they don't notice, these countries?
As I said, we are making progress. Today or tomorrow, we may vote to confirm Denise Campbell Bauer, President Biden's nominee to serve as Ambassador to France. Bauer was nominated in July, 5 months ago, and is only now coming to the floor for a vote. She served as Ambassador to Belgium, including during the 2016 terrorist attack in Brussels. She is well qualified for this role.
France is our oldest ally and friend, and while we may be making progress, I am deeply concerned that our Republican colleagues have needlessly delayed this post.
I urge my friends on the other side of the aisle to lift their hold on these Ambassadors and the dozens of other qualified, dedicated nominees.
We know there are negotiations afoot that we can move forward. Let's get a bunch of these done.
The United States must be able to have strong people in place for our allies to deal with problems overseas and to represent proudly the United States of America.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. King). The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brown). Without objection, it is so ordered.
