Floor Statements

Madam President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, I rise today as Black History Month comes to a close to pay tribute to Black Americans who have played pivotal roles in shaping American foreign policy and advancing national security abroad. As leaders and change-makers who have served the American people around the world, translating their own experiences fighting for justice and freedom in the United States into their passion for advancing democracy, human rights, and the rule of law overseas.

From the first Black diplomat Ebenezer Bassett, who served as Ambassador to Haiti from 1869 to 1877, to Ambassador Linda Thomas- Greenfield, who today serves as U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Black Americans have been at the forefront of advancing U.S. foreign policy.

Black Americans like Nobel Laureate Dr. Ralph Bunche, who mediated the 1949 Armistice Agreement and assisted in the creation of the United Nation's Universal Declaration for Human Rights; Ambassador Edward Perkins, who was instrumental in the 1992 creation of the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship; and Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams, who advanced the 2009 reopening of programs in Colombia, Sierra Leone, and Indonesia, have broken down barriers and made our world a better place.

And yet, while we have made great strides in increasing representation throughout our diplomatic and development corps' ranks, our work is clearly far from over. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's first-ever government-wide diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility--DEIA--report, released earlier this month, Black Americans comprise just 12 percent of the Senior Executive Service--SES--workforce. And these

findings are not limited to our domestic agencies. As I said at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's first-ever DEIA hearing convened last year, between 2002 and 2021, the overall proportion of Black employees at the State Department decreased from 17 percent to 15 percent. At the time of our hearing, there were only four career Black Ambassadors serving abroad.

This failure to harness America's diverse talent pool is not only a grave error, but it also places us at a significant disadvantage when we seek to engage our allies and counter our adversaries on the world stage.

That is why, as the highest ranking Latino in the U.S. Congress and the first chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of Latino descent, one of my top priorities has been to promote and expand diversity in our domestic and international affairs agencies, including in our most senior levels.

That is why I introduced diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility--DEIA--provisions as part of last year's State Department authorization bill, which passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2023. And, why it is so important to support paid internship programs and fellowships in Congress, the State Department, USAID, Peace Corps, and all of our international affairs agencies. Because without these opportunities, many students of color would be unable to afford to come work in Washington, DC.

Our diversity continues to be our Nation's greatest source of strength, and we must act on this moral and strategic imperative to cultivate a representative workforce, because, in every single world crisis that the United States faces, a more diverse and more representative U.S. diplomatic corps would be a valuable asset.

A few years ago, when I was traveling in China, the diplomat in charge of democracy and human rights programs at our Embassy had participated in the civil rights struggle. His personal history, his personal eyewitness accounts of trying to change the course of events in our country as an African American man, were a powerful example to those fighting for democracy and human rights in China. I can recount easily dozens of moments in different parts of the world where Americans from diverse backgrounds have made a powerful case for our country. These life experiences cannot be replicated, they cannot be purchased, and they cannot be bought.

So, as Black History Month comes to a close, let us not only remember the critical contributions of African-Americans in the formulation and execution of U.S. foreign policy, let us also recommit to doing our part to prepare the leaders who will strengthen and secure our national security in the future.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed

in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD- 423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Madam President, a few days ago, in front of a townhall in northern Turkey, President Erdogan threatened a missile strike on Athens.

Greece is afraid of our missile. They say that the Typhoon

Missile will hit Athens.

Then he addressed the Greek people directly and said:

It will, unless you stay calm.

This is a NATO member directly threatening to target Athens, a city of 3 million civilians. According to the United Nations, an intentional attack on civilians--an intentional attack on civilians--is a war crime.

I come to the floor today to condemn the recent actions of the Turkish President, which are not only disturbing, they are totally unacceptable. For years, Erdogan has pursued repressive, anti- democratic policies at home and abroad, from criminalizing insults of Turkey and freedom of expression, to the suppression of dissent and political opposition figures. Erdogan has jailed and silenced so many pro-democracy and human rights activists that at one point, there were more lawyers and journalists in Turkish jails than anywhere else in the world.

His government continues to try to hide the truth about the Armenian genocide, prosecuting writers and historians. In 2008, one of the journalists who wrote about the genocide was assassinated on the streets of Istanbul.

As violent as Erdogan's tenure has been at home, his foreign policy has been absolutely awful. On the eve of Baku's war in Nagorno- Karabakh, Turkey sold Azerbaijan $77 million of military equipment that was used to attack innocent Armenians.

It is no surprise that Erdogan met in Tehran this summer with the Russian and Iranian Presidents, some of the world's most brutal dictators. Just look at the leaders he collaborates with. It is because he shares their world view, and you can see this clearly in the way he approaches the region.

Five decades after Turkey's illegal occupation of Cyprus, Erdogan is still stoking divisions on the island. Last year, he proposed reopening the Cypriot town of Varosha in an attempt to spread Turkish influence. That is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that was condemned by the European Union. This September, Erdogan threatened to reinforce the already 40,000 Turkish troops in Cyprus with more land, naval, and aerial weapons, ammunition, and vehicles. Clearly, Erdogan looks at Putin's illegal annexation of parts of Ukraine and is taking note. That is what makes President Erdogan's recent comments about launching missile attacks on Greece so disconcerting.

We have seen Erdogan challenge Greek sovereignty repeatedly. This summer, he sent fighter jets over the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. His threats to strike Athens fit a pattern of Turkish claims to what is Greek territory. He has said Turkish forces may land in Greece ``suddenly one night.''

He seems to be increasing his illegal autocratic behavior in the runup to the elections in Turkey next year. In November, he launched an air, artillery, and drone assault on Kurdish cities in northern Syria and suggested ground forces would soon follow. ``Payback time,'' Turkey's Ministry of National Defense tweeted, announcing the operation against the Kurds who have long been a target of Erdogan's wrath, attacking the very forces that are essential U.S. partners in combating ISIS, and in doing so, putting at risk U.S. troops in Syria.

He has been out for revenge at home too. Just last week, one of Erdogan's political rivals, the popular mayor of Istanbul, was sentenced to prison for 2\1/2\ years. The charge? Insulting members of the Supreme Electoral Council. The charge was insulting members of the Supreme Electoral Council. That would be the equivalent of an American being put in jail for 2\1/2\ years for insulting some State electoral commission or the Federal Election Commission or any entity as such. And in case the prison sentence didn't send a clear enough message, the court also imposed a political ban on the mayor.

Erdogan might be using this aggression and oppression as a diversion, no doubt, from the dire failure of his own economy, he might be doing it out of spite, or he might be doing it because he is a thug. But one thing is clear: The United States must take the Turkish President's actions seriously. Those who just simply say: Oh, well, he is a lot of bluster--they do so at risk. They said Putin was bluster, and we have a war in the European continent.

We need to hold Erdogan accountable for his behavior when he violates international laws or challenges democratic norms or allows his forces to commit human rights abuses. That is why I am calling for free and fair elections in Turkey. I am asking the international community of democracies to condemn Erdogan's jailing of his political opponent. I want our allies to use their leverage to try to prevent further incursions into northeastern Syria. And I am demanding that Erdogan end all overflights of Greece and pull every last Turkish soldier out of Cyprus.

I think, given all of his recent behavior, the United States should not be putting F-16 fighter jets in President Erdogan's hands. That is why, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will not approve any F-16s for Turkey until he halts his campaign of aggression across the entire region. I am sure this won't make me many friends in Ankara, and President Erdogan has criticized me personally, calling me an enemy of the state. But if standing up to human rights abuses makes me an enemy of Erdogan's; if calling out Turkey, under Erdogan, for arming Azerbaijan and enabling the massacre of innocent Armenian civilians makes me an enemy of Erdogan's; if demanding Turkey recognizes Greek and Cypriot sovereignty makes me an enemy of Erdogan's, that is a badge I will wear with honor.

So to my colleagues here in the Senate, I will close by saying do not be afraid to stand up for American values in the face of Erdogan's aggression.

To the international community, do not hesitate to hold Turkey accountable for violating international law.

To the citizens living in the shadow of Erdogan's Typhoon missiles, do not forget the United States stands shoulder to shoulder with you.

To those people in Turkey who still hope for a free, democratic future, do not give up. One day soon, with your bravery, peace and prosperity will return to your homeland.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to ask for unanimous consent for Jay Snyder, our nominee to be a member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.

Around the world today, American values are in direct competition with powerful autocratic regimes. From Iranian protestors struggling against a misogynistic theocracy in Tehran to the African and Latin- American nations combating Russian propaganda, to the information warfare China directs across the Taiwan Strait, in every case, a well- run American public diplomacy program is often the best tool we have to make the case for our vision of the world--a world that respects international law, that supports free speech, and defends fundamental rights. And the members of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy are essential to this effort.

Since 1948, the Commission has worked to understand and inform foreign publics. And whether it is our people-to-people exchanges that introduce the world to our country or confronting the deluge of misinformation meant to undermine democracies across the globe, Jay Snyder's perspectives and expertise will be critical.

He has a career spanning public service, academia, philanthropy, and the private sector, working throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

He has served on the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy before, starting in 2003. He has also served as a representative to the United Nations General Assembly and in his home State at the New York State Commission on Public Authority Reform.

In 2009, he founded the Open Hands Initiative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to public diplomacy, connecting young leaders and underserved communities across the developing world.

He also serves on Georgetown University's College Board of Advisors and the University of Southern California's Center for Public Diplomacy Advisory Board.

This is a nominee who will hit the ground running from day one.

Russia and China are not sitting idly by. They are throwing money and manpower at an all-out effort to convince the world that democracy doesn't work. We need to be fighting back. Our Nation cannot afford to wait another day without Mr. Synder assuming his post to tackle these challenges.

So I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination under the privileged section of the Executive Calendar: PN2451, Jay T. Snyder, to be a Member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. President, I thank my distinguished colleague, the ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee, for his remarks and for the conversation we had before. I appreciate that, and I look forward to making this happen in the very early part of the new Congress.

But I will just simply say that the Board, of course, is comprised of nominees recommended by the majority and the minority, and, ideally, that is how they would move forward. I am ready to be supportive of moving forward on other nominees for this position as well.

But as has been said, the reality is that the minority has yet to make their recommendations, despite having had more than 2 years to do so--2 years.

So, in a sense, it is not fair to reject those who are waiting and went through the process and did their disclosures and everything else and have been hanging out there because the minority has not chosen to make their nominations.

I understand the Senator is objecting on behalf of his leadership. I just hope that this draws attention to the Republican leadership so that they, hopefully, will come up with their two names so that as we start the new session of Congress, we can get this done right away.

With that, I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Madam President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.