Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to express my support for the nomination of Dr. Eliot Kang to be Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation, ISN.

At a time of increasing concern about the potential use of chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine by Russia, it is vital the United States have a Senate-confirmed official in place to counter these dangers, as well as other nuclear threats. ISN leads the State Department's efforts to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction--nuclear, chemical, and biological--as well as the means to deliver them. We need a Senate-confirmed expert at the helm to coordinate prevention and response with the Ukrainian Government, our allies, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Dr. Kang is eminently qualified to do just that. He has the substantive expertise to lead ISN and advance U.S. national security interests. During his 18-year career at the State Department, Dr. Kang has worked on a wide variety of nonproliferation issues. This includes the denuclearization of North Korea, international efforts to halt the spread of chemical weapons, and nuclear safety. He has held senior positions in ISN, where he currently serves as Acting Assistant Secretary, and served as the Department's most senior official for Arms Control and International Security.

But because of Republican delays he has not yet been confirmed, despite the fact that he was first nominated 341 days ago. Think about that--that was nearly a year ago--and he has not yet been confirmed.

The delays and obstacles facing nominees on the Senate floor and in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are hampering our national security. Each day that goes by without critical national security posts being filled does a disserving to our country and our national security interests. Dr. Kang could have and should have been confirmed long ago.

I strongly support confirming Dr. Kang, and I respectfully urge my colleagues to join me in advancing his nomination, along with all of the foreign affairs nominations pending before this body.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to print the following letter in the Record.

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.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Madam President, I wanted to join in the comments made by the distinguished chairman of the Finance Committee, which I currently sit on, and my distinguished colleague on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who is the author of the Magnitsky Act.

I just hope--I came loaded for bear to the floor because I thought we were going to have a different result, but I am optimistically going to expect that we are going to have a resolution because, look, there are burnt bodies in the streets of Ukraine. There are mass graves to bury the dead. There are Ukrainians who are melting snow in order to drink water to survive. So it is truly mind boggling that we cannot get this legislation passed that eliminates Russia's preferred trade status and reauthorizes the Magnitsky Act.

We see that Putin's actions are not only creating a horrific set of circumstances in Ukraine; they are creating a severe shortage of wheat across the Middle East and North Africa, bombing maternity hospitals and theaters housing children, causing the worst refugee crisis in Europe in decades.

While we have long called out Putin's thugishness, his unprovoked and devastating attack on Ukraine has united the world in its resolve to levy severe repercussions for Putin and his cronies. So we must revoke this preferential trade status immediately. I think we should do the same for Belarus, which continues to provide a launching pad for Putin's war.

But, certainly, not including Magnitsky makes no sense. Now, it makes no sense when last week I came to the floor and asked for unanimous confirmation of a key number of nominees at the State Department and USAID that are at the heart of helping the United States help Ukraine on coordinating sanctions, on our USAID Director for that part of the world, on the Assistant Secretary for refugees--millions of Ukrainian refugees. We should have these people in place to do the job.

But we also have to have the law that is going to expire in place that Putin hates. He hates it. It is named after someone he was trying to eliminate. We have to continue to expand our options for keeping the pressure on Putin's regime and those who enable him. Reauthorizing Magnitsky is a critical part of doing just that.

With Magnitsky sanctions, we can hold human rights abusers to account. We can call out their unacceptable and appalling acts, and we can hand the President a powerful tool to sanction those who profit off the Russian people and exploit state assets.

But if we don't act, Magnitsky provisions will sunset later this year. Putin shouldn't be able to think: I can wait it out. He should know that the law is going to continue and the sanctions that have been levied under Magnitsky will continue to be levied and enhanced.

He wants to see this law go away. His oligarchs and top officials would breathe a sigh of relief. Allowing Magnitsky sanctions to expire would send exactly the wrong message at the most critical time.

This bill not only extends these tools; it sharpens them. This reauthorization would expand sanctions to cover other serious human rights abuses, giving the President the power to sanction a broader array of conduct.

So we have to get this done today. We have to revoke normal trade relations with Russia. We have to send an unequivocal message that Putin's cronies cannot and will not act with impunity. They will pay a price, and we must show the world that whether human rights abusers are in Moscow or Minsk, America stands up for our values and our principles, and we put them into action wherever they are attacked. That is what this effort is all about.

I do hope that before this day is out, we will see this passed on the Senate floor. There is no excuse not to get it done.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, for the Committee on Foreign Relations I report favorably the following nomination lists which were printed in the Records on the dates indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of reprinting on the Executive Calendar that these nominations lie at the Secretary's desk for the information of Senators.

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, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, at 6:30 p.m. tonight, the Senate vote on the cloture motions with respect to Executive Calendar Nos. 683, 737, 679, 680, 681, 684, 685 and 662; that at 11:45 a.m. tomorrow, March 17, the Senate vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar Nos. 656 and 738; that at 1:45 p.m. tomorrow, the Senate vote on the cloture motion with respect to Executive Calendar No. 677; finally, that if cloture is invoked on any of the nominations, all postcloture time be considered expired and the Senate vote on confirmation of the nominations at a time to be determined by the majority leader or his designee following consultation with the Republican leader.

Mr. President, I rise today to seek unanimous consent to confirm four nominees to posts that are critical--critical--to our response to Putin's war against Ukraine.

Through smoke and rubble and artillery fire, Ukrainians are leaving their homes with nothing more than a backpack, nothing more than their children in their hands.

Over the past 20 days, Vladimir Putin's illegal and horrific assault on Ukraine has led more than 3 million refugees to flee into neighboring countries. Those who remain are suffering from a dire and deteriorating humanitarian situation.

With Putin's army blocking aid convoys, millions of Ukrainians are facing lack of water, food, and heat. Meanwhile, Putin orders unprovoked, unjustified attacks on civilians--shelling apartment buildings, bombing maternity hospitals, and destroying kindergartens, committing atrocities throughout the country.

The United States and the world have a duty to exact costs on Putin, to demand accountability for war crimes, and to provide aid for the millions of innocent Ukrainians who are suffering. If we want to rise to this challenge, if we want to respond to the mounting human suffering, one thing is clear: We need to have the people in place--the people the President has selected--to lead and carry out this work. Their leadership is critical in our response to the growing crisis in Ukraine and the looming refugee crisis across Eastern Europe. They will fight to defend human rights when they are violated. They will fight to defend democracy when it is attacked. They will make sure we maximize the pain and the price Putin pays for this heinous war.

Mr. President, that is why we must confirm Jim O'Brien. He is the President's nominee for Coordinator for Sanctions. This is our most significant tool against Putin and his regime--sanctions. He is the President's nominee for Coordinator for Sanctions. Once confirmed, he will enhance the Biden administration's efforts with our allies and partners to impose devastating costs on Russia.

To date, more than 30 nations have joined this cause. Countries have stepped up that we never would have expected. But the fight is not over. We have to keep up the pressure. We must keep up coordination. And we must ensure that we are implementing and enforcing sanctions in concert with dozens of countries around the globe.

Now, I know my Republican colleagues agree that this must be a top priority. I have heard it on the Foreign Relations Committee: We need to do more sanctions. I have heard it on the Senate floor. I have heard it in the conversations with my colleagues: We need to do even more. I know they want our sanctions to be as effective as possible, so to them, I say: Confirm Jim O'Brien today.

Mr. President, now I can also give you 3 million reasons why we must confirm Julieta Valls Noyes, the nominee to be the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration--because 3 million people have already fled their homes in Ukraine; 3 million people have left a war-torn country with their dreams shattered, their children traumatized--3 million people who have no idea what the future holds. Even as I speak, that number has surely been surpassed.

There is a reason we have the Population, Refugees, and Migration Bureau. There is a reason the President selects a qualified nominee to lead it. Ms. Noyes is that person. It is a travesty that Ms. Noyes's nomination has been languishing on the Senate floor for 148 days because of Republican holds.

We need a Senate-confirmed leader in place to take charge of the U.S. response to the refugee crisis forming in Europe, as well as the crises that already exist around the world. We need someone to work alongside our European allies as they face the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. We need her confirmed today--not tomorrow, not next week, today.

Mr. President, the humanitarian crisis inside Ukraine is worsening every day. We can all see it for ourselves. You can see the images of Mariupol, where more than 200,000 civilians remain under siege, cut off from food, fighting for their lives. You can see the frightened faces of children crossing the border into Poland, carrying only a teddy bear and a change of clothes. This is a trauma they will struggle with for the rest of their lives.

So it baffles me that we would wait another hour, let alone another day, to

even think about confirming Ambassador Erin McKee as the Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasia at USAID. The minute she gets in the door, the minute we send her to USAID, she will get to work on behalf of the millions of Ukrainians who are suffering. She will make sure that we are meeting basic needs and that we are helping Ukraine's neighbors shoulder the burden of the crisis. Let her get to work. Let her help the people of Ukraine today.

Madam President, I would like to ask the Senator from Florida, through the Chair, does the Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia at USAID have anything to do with PAHO?

Does the Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation have anything to do with PAHO?

I guess the Senator doesn't want to engage in a colloquy.

Madam President, it is amazing to me. My colleagues who get up and applaud Zelenskyy, my colleagues who come to the Senate floor and talk about both the need to help Ukraine and the humanitarian realities that are compounding every day--and yet here we are with four pertinent, key positions that could help in regard to each and every one of those elements, and on some unrelated issue, not Ukraine, not even Europe, not about proliferation, not about humanitarian response, no, there is a wholesale objection.

Now, if you wanted to pick your objection and target it, that might make sense, but I am deeply troubled that the junior Senator from Florida is once again obstructing the Senate's responsibility to provide advice and consent on Presidential nominations, not only preventing us from fulfilling our constitutional duties, but in this case, moreover, he is singlehandedly undermining the ability of the U.S. Government to respond fully to Russia's brutal invasion. In doing so, he seeks to singlehandedly damage our ability to ensure a coordinated international effort to sanction Putin, his cronies, sectors of the Russian Government.

He is undercutting the U.S. Government's ability to support the Ukrainian people and our allies. He is undercutting our ability to provide and coordinate the humanitarian assistance for 3 million Ukrainians who have left and millions more who are inside the country and need help. It is mind-boggling--mind boggling. Get up, (applauds) and then come to the floor and object to the very things that can make it happen. Mind-boggling.

Now, let me address the issue that the junior Senator from Florida has raised here today--the Cuban regime's trafficking of doctors and medical personnel. Simply put, the Diaz-Canel regime, like the Castro regime before it, does subject Cuban doctors to forced labor schemes abroad while pocketing the doctors' wages in profit-making schemes that generate billions of dollars annually.

Now, I have been working on this issue since before my colleague ever held public office. I have engaged multiple administrations on this issue. I have actually authored legislation and resolutions on the subject. So my track record for standing up for Cuban doctors who are trafficked by the Cuban regime eclipses that of any other Member of Congress, period. But, my God, as passionate as I am about that issue-- no one would be more passionate

than me--it is not right to hold up everything we are trying to do on Ukraine.

This is a global emergency. The fate of not only Ukraine but of democracy and its ability to achieve victory is under threat. And here we have objections to critical positions that can help us make sure that we win in that battle.

Madam President, so here we go. The person who would be responsible for helping the humanitarian challenge in Ukraine and in the surrounding countries where 3 million people have fled to, we can't get her in position--can't get her into a position to do the job to help millions of Ukrainians who are fleeing.

I don't understand how the party of Reagan, the party of freedom and democracy, the party of standing up to these people can actually create a set of circumstances where this is like helping Putin at the end of the day. It is like helping Putin at the end of the day.

Now, while Senator Marshall didn't speak to it, I understand his concerns are about COVID origins. Well, there is nothing wrong with that. It has been a lively topic of discussion in many forums, including the Senate. But these things have nothing to do with what Ambassador McKee is nominated for: Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia.

All of us, including Senator Marshall, know that we need to do everything possible to support Ukrainians in their time of need. Blocking Ambassador McKee is self-defeating.

It is also not clear to me what more USAID can do to satisfy Senator Marshall. I have inquired because I heard this was the issue. USAID has been engaged at the most senior levels in trying to be helpful and responsive to Senator Marshall. They offered him and his team briefings, and I understand that none of those offers have been accepted. They have also pointed Senator Marshall's office to a wealth of information on specific USAID projects of interest.

So I would urge the Senator, instead of blocking nominees, to act on USAID's multiple briefing offers and engage them meaningfully. That would be more helpful to his ultimate goal--but not to be helping Putin, at the end of the day, by not being able to take care of the humanitarian needs of the Ukrainians.

I have seen a lot over my course of 40 years in public service and 30 years in the Congress. I just--this is mind-boggling. But more than that, it really undermines our national security. It really undermines our help with the Ukrainian people. And so I hope that some saner minds will prevail in the days ahead when I come back to the floor to try this once again.

With that, I yield the floor.