[Pages S3585-S3609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024--Continued

With that, I would yield to the majority leader.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Hassan). The majority leader.

Order of Business

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in
order to call up the following amendments to S. 2226: Cruz, 421;
Wicker, 1055; Paul, 438; Barrasso, 999; Sanders, 1030; Cardin, 705;
Marshall, 874; Gillibrand, 1065; Kennedy, 1034; Hawley, 1058; and
Menendez, 638; further, that with respect to the amendments listed
above, at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in
consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate vote on the
amendments in the order listed, with no further amendments or motions
in order, and with 60 affirmative votes required for adoption, and that
there be 2 minutes equally divided prior to each vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Cloture Motion

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the
substitute amendment No. 935 to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

Cloture Motion

We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on Reed substitute
amendment No. 935 to Calendar No. 119, S. 2226, a bill to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of
Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such
fiscal year, and for other purposes.
Charles E. Schumer, Jack Reed, Raphael G. Warnock, Angus
S. King, Jr., Sherrod Brown, Tim Kaine, Tina Smith,
Mark Kelly, Debbie Stabenow, Jon Tester, Jeanne
Shaheen, Catherine Cortez Masto, Joe Manchin III,
Richard J. Durbin, Chris Van Hollen, Alex Padilla, Gary
C. Peters.

Cloture Motion

Mr. SCHUMER. I send a cloture motion to S. 2226 to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

Cloture Motion

We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on Calendar No.
119, S. 2226, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2024 for military activities of the Department of
Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes.
Charles E. Schumer, Jack Reed, Raphael G. Warnock, Angus
S. King, Jr., Sherrod Brown, Tim Kaine, Tina Smith,
Mark Kelly, Debbie Stabenow, Jon Tester, Jeanne
Shaheen, Catherine Cortez Masto, Joe Manchin III,
Richard J. Durbin, Chris Van Hollen, Alex Padilla, Gary
C. Peters.

Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory
quorum calls for the cloture motions filed today, July 26, be waived.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, for the information of Senators, we
will begin a series of three rollcall votes at 8 p.m. this evening.

[[Page S3586]]

I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.

Amendment No. 421

Mr. CRUZ. I call up my amendment No. 421, and ask that it be reported
by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
The bill clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Texas [Mr. Cruz] proposes an amendment
numbered 421 to amendment No. 935.

The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To provide remedies to members of the Armed Forces discharged
or subject to adverse action under the COVID-19 vaccine mandate)

At the appropriate place in title V, insert the following:

SEC. __. REMEDIES FOR MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES DISCHARGED
OR SUBJECT TO ADVERSE ACTION UNDER THE COVID-19
VACCINE MANDATE.

(a) Limitation on Imposition of New Mandate.--The Secretary
of Defense may not issue any COVID-19 vaccine mandate as a
replacement for the mandate rescinded under section 525 of
the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2023 absent a further act of Congress expressly
authorizing a replacement mandate.
(b) Remedies.--Section 736 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (Public Law 117-81; 10
U.S.C. 1161 note prec.) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``to obey lawful
order to receive'' and inserting ``to receive'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``a lawful order'' and inserting ``an
order''; and
(B) by striking ``shall be'' and all that follows through
the period at the end and inserting ``shall be an honorable
discharge.'';
(3) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (e); and
(4) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsections:
``(b) Prohibition on Adverse Action.--The Secretary of
Defense may not take any adverse action against a covered
member based solely on the refusal of such member to receive
a vaccine for COVID-19.
``(c) Remedies Available for a Covered Member Discharged or
Subject to Adverse Action Based on COVID-19 Status.--At the
election of a covered member discharged or subject to adverse
action based on the member's COVID-19 vaccination status, and
upon application through a process established by the
Secretary of Defense, the Secretary shall--
``(1) adjust to `honorable discharge' the status of the
member if--
``(A) the member was separated from the Armed Forces based
solely on the failure of the member to obey an order to
receive a vaccine for COVID-19; and
``(B) the discharge status of the member would have been an
`honorable discharge' but for the refusal to obtain such
vaccine;
``(2) reinstate the member to service at the highest grade
held by the member immediately prior to the involuntary
separation, allowing, however, for any reduction in rank that
was not related to the member's COVID-19 vaccination status,
with an effective date of reinstatement as of the date of
involuntary separation;
``(3) for any member who was subject to any adverse action
other than involuntary separation based solely on the
member's COVID-19 vaccination status--
``(A) restore the member to the highest grade held prior to
such adverse action, allowing, however, for any reduction in
rank that was not related to the member's COVID-19
vaccination status, with an effective date of reinstatement
as of the date of involuntary separation; and
``(B) compensate such member for any pay and benefits lost
as a result of such adverse action;
``(4) expunge from the service record of the member any
adverse action, to include non-punitive adverse action and
involuntary separation, as well as any reference to any such
adverse action, based solely on COVID-19 vaccination status;
and
``(5) include the time of involuntary separation of the
member reinstated under paragraph (2) in the computation of
the retired or retainer pay of the member.
``(d) Retention and Development of Unvaccinated Members.--
The Secretary of Defense shall--
``(1) make every effort to retain covered members who are
not vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide such members with
professional development, promotion and leadership
opportunities, and consideration equal to that of their
peers;
``(2) only consider the COVID-19 vaccination status of a
covered member in making deployment, assignment, and other
operational decisions where--
``(A) the law or regulations of a foreign country require
covered members to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to
enter that country; and
``(B) the covered member's presence in that foreign country
is necessary in order to perform their assigned role; and
``(3) for purposes of deployments, assignments, and
operations described in paragraph (2), create a process to
provide COVID-19 vaccination exemptions to covered members
with--
``(A) a natural immunity to COVID-19;
``(B) an underlying health condition that would make COVID-
19 vaccination a greater risk to that individual than the
general population; or
``(C) sincerely held religious beliefs in conflict with
receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.
``(e) Applicability of Remedies Contained in This
Section.--The prohibitions and remedies described in this
section shall apply to covered members regardless of whether
or not they sought an accommodation to any Department of
Defense COVID-19 vaccination policy on any grounds.''.

Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, last December, Marine Gen. David Berger
stated the obvious, that the Department of Defense's COVID vaccine
mandate hurt recruiting and hurt retention.
For several weeks now, our Democratic colleagues have been saying
that military readiness is suffering due to promotion delays. Well, I
have good news for my colleagues. My amendment will help address these
problems.
While last year's NDAA, quite rightly, repealed the vaccine mandate
prospectively, problems caused by the mandate persist, including
concerning recruiting, retention, and readiness.
According to reports, the Biden administration dismissed over 8,400
military servicemembers who had vaccine concerns. DOD routinely denied
religious accommodation requests, violating the rights of
servicemembers protected by the Constitution and RFRA.
DOD gave over 80 percent of these servicemembers a ``general
discharge,'' causing them to lose GI benefits and, in some cases, VA
benefits, even those were benefits earned through honorable service.
My amendment rights these wrongs. It will allow servicemembers
dismissed over the vaccine mandate to seek reinstatement or a change in
their discharge status. It restores lost GI and VA benefits.
According to media reports, the DOD is already contemplating all of
these actions, but I believe the Senate should lead to address these
issues. They have ended the vaccine mandate, and it is not fair to the
over 8,000 service men and women dismissed for a policy DOD no longer
believes is necessary. I urge Members to support my amendment.
Mr. REED. Madam President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. REED. Madam President, I oppose the amendment because one of the
fundamental aspects of the military is the ability of a senior officer
to issue an order and the willingness of a subordinate to accept that
order. What we are dealing with here are individuals, without
appropriate justification, refusing to carry out a lawful order.
Now, the vaccination policies of the military are rather robust. I
think there are more than a dozen required vaccinations, and someone
who just cavalierly dismisses that requirement and then claims that
they should not somehow be held accountable, I think is wrong. But this
goes to the fabric of the military. You must obey lawful orders, and
all of these were lawful orders.
Mandatory vaccination, again, is not a new, novel technique.
Another aspect of this is, this went right to the heart of readiness.
We can all recall when an aircraft carrier in the Pacific had to be
evacuated because of COVID aboard the ship, and the ship was actually
out of commission for several months. That is a readiness issue that is
pretty obvious.
There are procedures to be reinstated in the military. They have been
in effect for many, many years. There is a board procedure. You can
bring forth evidence that your dismissal was not appropriate, and that
is being pursued now, I presume, by many people--or at least some.
So this would really, I think, basically signal that you don't have
to obey legal orders from your commander if you are accepting popular
notions about what is right and what is not right. And I think we
should reject this amendment.

Vote on Amendment No. 421

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
Mr. CRUZ. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.

[[Page S3587]]

The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin)
is necessarily absent.
The result was announced--yeas 46, nays 53, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 199 Leg.]

YEAS--46

Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Braun
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
Moran
Mullin
Murkowski
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Rubio
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Vance
Wicker
Young

NAYS--53

Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Feinstein
Fetterman
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Manchin
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Romney
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden

NOT VOTING--1

Durbin

The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 46, the nays are
53.
Under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this
amendment, the amendment is not agreed to.
The amendment (No. 421) was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that there be up
to 6 minutes of debate before the next rollcall vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Amendment No. 1055

(Purpose: To establish the Office of the Lead Inspector General for
Ukraine Assistance.)
Mr. WICKER. Now, Madam President, I think we can move along quickly
if we do have order, and I do appreciate that.
I call up my amendment No. 1055 and ask that it be reported by
number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Wicker], for himself and
others, proposes an amendment numbered 1055.

(The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of
Amendments.'')
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, some time ago, Senator Sinema and I
introduced the Independent and Objective Oversight of Ukrainian
Assistance Act to create a special inspector general to follow the
money with respect to Ukraine. Senators Hawley, Paul, Risch, and Wicker
have been important voices in this. Indeed, they have had their own
bills. We have gotten together and worked out a compromise.
Our bill would create a lead inspector general among the inspectors
general right now doing the auditing, which are the Department of
Defense, the State Department, and USAID. This lead inspector general
would be our contact. We could go to that inspector general and get
answers. By law, the inspector general would have to respond in 15
days.
We will not need Senate confirmation because I expect the President
to appoint as the lead one of the inspectors general who are currently
involved.
I urge favorable passage and yield to Senator Wicker or Senator
Risch.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
Mr. RISCH. Madam President, I rise to speak on behalf of amendment
No. 1055, and I am happy to be a cosponsor with Senators Wicker,
Kennedy, Hawley, and Sinema. I am pleased we are able to come together
on this. Everyone on this floor wants to see that not a penny is wasted
in Ukraine or goes where it shouldn't go.
We have several audits going on there right now, as all of us know.
This really strengthens the audit function we are doing. These are
enhancements that do not duplicate or undermine the current IG
structure. The IG structure is currently run by State, USAID, and DOD.
This brings them together and puts them under one head.
Unfortunately, the Paul amendment, which we are going to vote on side
by side next, would undermine their work. It duplicates the current
oversight structure, creates permanent bureaucracy, extends to areas
far outside of Ukraine, and tries to superimpose a structure designed
for Afghanistan, which was a very different war than what we are
involved in now.
Thanks to efforts of Members of both parties, in the past year, we
have enacted 39 legislative oversight provisions covering all money
that has been appropriated to support Ukraine since the war began.
These provisions have led to the completion of 35 oversight evaluations
thus far, and another 67 more are planned or underway. To date, there
has not been any substantiated evidence of illicit weapons transfer or
misuse of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
The special inspector general for Afghanistan that Senator Paul's
amendment proposes does not make sense for Ukraine. There are no U.S.
forces fighting in Ukraine. Ukraine does not have the same security and
defense concerns that Afghanistan did, and the war in Ukraine is
dramatically smaller than the other war.
The State, DOD, and USAID have the capacity to do this.
This amendment is a good amendment. I would urge you to vote for this
and against the next amendment.
I yield to Senator Wicker.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Welch). The Senator from Mississippi.
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I ask consent to have 1 additional minute
on each side.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. WICKER. I reserve the time of the proponents.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we all share the view that oversight of
our assistance to Ukraine and any other nation is critical to make sure
it is used appropriately and effectively. That is why we continue to
increase our support for the existing permanent IGs and are encouraged
that they have space to operate from in Ukraine and are implementing a
joint oversight plan. We have also tasked GAO with specific oversight
requests.
Adding additional layers of coordination would be counterproductive
to our ongoing oversight efforts, and involving the Agencies in the
selection for the assessment of the lead IG, as proposed in the
Senator's amendment, would potentially compromise the inspector
general's independence.
There is no gap in U.S. authorities, presence, or even additional
resources for our oversight efforts that this amendment addresses. We
should remain focused on strengthening existing oversight efforts as
our support for Ukraine continues.
I urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment.
I yield to my colleague from Illinois.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, bottom line: This is unnecessary. There
are robust existing coordination mechanisms among the IGs to ensure
comprehensive oversight, provisions in the committee-passed NDAA to
assist the DOD IG with enhanced hiring authorities, and $27 million in
dedicated funding for oversight for each of the three IGs from DOD,
State, and USAID.
The provision also includes a requirement that the lead inspector
general complete a briefing to any Member of Congress within 15 days of
request. This almost certainly ensures that the LIG will spend their
time scheduling and briefing Members of Congress, not conducting
oversight.
Lastly, as drafted, the $10 million authorization of appropriations
is nonviable funding, and the offset is not valid as neither element
includes a funding account for money to go to or from. So this is
entirely hollow budget authority.

With that, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment.

[[Page S3588]]

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, do the proponents have any additional
time?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The proponents have 1 minute.
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I claim the time.
Mr. KENNEDY. Go ahead. Save some more for me.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, if the gentleman from Louisiana wants 1
minute, I would be happy to give it to him.
Mr. KENNEDY. I thank the Senator. You are a fine American.
Mr. SCHUMER. A fine act of bipartisanship.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the American people have sent over $100
billion to help our friends in Ukraine, and most Members of this body
have supported it. But this money didn't fall from Heaven; it came out
of people's pockets.
How can we possibly look the American people in the eye and say that
we don't want to ensure to them that this money will not be stolen?
That is all this bill does. It lets the President appoint a lead
inspector general to answer to the U.S. Congress so we can look the
American people in the eye and say: Your money was not stolen.
I can't imagine that we would not pass this bill. How can you go home
and explain this to your people? You can't.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, we have two votes left. In order to
expedite things and get out of here at a less unreasonable hour, I ask
unanimous consent that--first, I ask that all our Members stay close,
and I ask unanimous consent that the votes be 10 minutes each.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Mississippi.
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, to close on behalf of the proponents, this
is a bipartisan amendment, and it deserves bipartisan support by the
U.S. Senate.
Rather than set up a disruptive new bureaucracy, it builds on the
requirement for the President simply to select, of the inspectors
general, a lead inspector general reporting directly to the Secretaries
of Defense and State.
If you want true oversight and you want to put it in the statute,
this amendment is necessary. That is what it does. It is simple, it is
effective, and it puts it into law with the signature of the President.
I urge a bipartisan ``yes'' vote for this bipartisan amendment.

Vote on Amendment No. 1055

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
Mr. WICKER. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin)
is necessarily absent.
The result was announced--yeas 51, nays 48, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 200 Leg.]

YEAS--51

Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Braun
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
Moran
Mullin
Murkowski
Ossoff
Ricketts
Risch
Romney
Rounds
Rubio
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sinema
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Tuberville
Vance
Wicker
Young

NAYS--48

Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Feinstein
Fetterman
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Manchin
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Padilla
Paul
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Smith
Stabenow
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden

NOT VOTING--1

Durbin

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.

Change of Vote

Mr. VANCE. Mr. President, on rollcall vote 200, I voted nay. It was
my intention to vote aye.
I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to change my vote, since
it will not affect the outcome.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, so ordered.
(The foregoing tally has been changed to reflect the above order.)
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are
48.
Under the previous order requiring 60 votes for this amendment, the
amendment is not agreed to.
The amendment (No. 1055) was rejected.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.

Amendment No. 438

(Purpose: To provide for the independent and objective conduct and
supervision of audits and investigations relating to the programs and
operations funded with amounts appropriated or otherwise made available
to Ukraine for military, economic, and humanitarian aid.)
Mr. PAUL. I call up my amendment No. 438 and ask that it be reported
by number.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment by number.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Paul] proposes an amendment
numbered 438.

(The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of
Amendments.'')
Mr. PAUL. The United States sent $113 billion in aid to Ukraine. It
is impossible to send this much aid this fast into war-torn Ukraine
without waste, fraud, and abuse. Yet we are told by the departmental
inspectors general that they have not substantiated any cases of fraud.
That is not good news. Zero cases mean our oversight is failing.
What our government can't find was uncovered by Ukrainian journalists
who uncovered a scandalous contract to buy food for soldiers at grossly
inflated prices that led to the resignation of Ukraine's Deputy Defense
Minister.
Fortunately, a successful independent oversight body already exists.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction conducted
hundreds of audits in Afghanistan and saved over $3 billion for the
taxpayers. We already have a war-tested inspector general in
Afghanistan who is ready and able to take on the task of oversight of
aid to Ukraine.
Let's not waste any more American treasure. A vote for my amendment
is a vote for real oversight.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I appreciate my colleague's commitment to
oversight of taxpayer dollars spent here at home as well as abroad.
Inspectors general are key allies as we work to root out waste and
increase efficiency and make our government work better. The Special
Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has done important
work in Afghanistan.
While I certainly support the goals of this amendment, I have
concerns this provision could ultimately interfere with and divert
resources from the inspectors general at the State Department, the
Defense Department, and USAID who are already overseeing American
support to Ukraine.
While I look forward to working with my colleague to bolster our IGs
and conduct congressional oversight of government spending, I must urge
my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

Vote on Amendment No. 438

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the amendment.
Mr. PAUL. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin)
and the Senator from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow) are necessarily absent.

[[Page S3589]]

The result was announced--yeas 20, nays 78, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 201 Leg.]

YEAS--20

Braun
Cramer
Cruz
Daines
Fischer
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Johnson
Kennedy
Lee
Marshall
Paul
Schmitt
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Sullivan
Tuberville
Vance

NAYS--78

Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blackburn
Blumenthal
Booker
Boozman
Britt
Brown
Budd
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Crapo
Duckworth
Ernst
Feinstein
Fetterman
Gillibrand
Graham
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Hyde-Smith
Kaine
Kelly
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Lujan
Lummis
Manchin
Markey
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Moran
Mullin
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Ricketts
Risch
Romney
Rosen
Rounds
Rubio
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Sinema
Smith
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
Young

NOT VOTING--2

Durbin
Stabenow
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kaine). On this vote, the yeas are 20, and
the nays are 78.
Under the previous order requiring 60 affirmative votes for adoption
of the amendment, the amendment is not agreed to.
The amendment (No. 438) was rejected.

Military Promotions

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise tonight to discuss once again the
routine promotions of our military's general and flag officers.
During this Congress, due to the dangerous and extreme position of
one Republican Senator, not a single general or flag officer has been
confirmed--not one--all because that Senator disagrees with a policy
that is designed to ensure safe and reasonable access for all
servicemembers to reproductive healthcare regardless of where the
military chooses to assign them.
Last week, the Defense Department's legal advisers and subject-matter
experts came before the Armed Services Committee to brief us on the
policy and to answer our Members' questions. They laid out clear, plain
facts that explained the legality and appropriateness of the policy. As
I stated publicly after the briefing concluded, no one with an ounce of
intellectual honesty can deny that the Department's policy is legal and
is, in fact, rooted in decades of precedent through administrations of
both parties.
I respect my colleagues on the other side who feel strongly about
this issue, but until Congress passes a law to overturn 40 years of
legal precedence, the Department of Defense has a responsibility to
manage the health, welfare, and readiness of the force within the legal
authorities available to it.
The Department's legal experts also outlined in detail the long-
existing statutory authorities that allow the Department to provide
these travel and leave benefits. That is all they are, travel and leave
policies--policies, I would note, that have been on the books in
various fashions for decades.
Even Senator Ernst, the sponsor of a bill that would rescind the
policy, recognized publicly after the briefing that the policy is
legal. I will note my respect for Senator Ernst. Unlike most of her
colleagues, she stayed to the end of the briefing and listened to
everything the Department had to say and formed her opinion
accordingly. Senator Ernst and I have very different views on this
issue, but we share a common respect for our military women and men and
an understanding of how Congress should treat them.
Our colleague from Alabama, however, has chosen to take a profoundly
disrespectful approach. The nominations he is blocking have had no
objections raised against them, and they have all been confirmed by
unanimous approval in the committee, including by the Senator from
Alabama. These are not controversial nominations.
For many decades, military promotions have been a bipartisan, routine
piece of Senate business. Now they have been turned into a political
sideshow by the Senator from Alabama. He is getting a lot of personal
benefit out of this and I suppose a bit of fundraising success as well.
To seek to profit in any way on the backs of servicemembers is, in my
view, a disgrace.
To avoid accountability, the Senator likes to say that we should
``just vote'' on these nominations, but he knows this is a ludicrous
idea. Let me explain it again. It is virtually impossible for the
Senate to process this volume of nominations through floor procedures.
As the majority leader and I have explained before, it would literally
take the rest of this Congress to move through the nominations we have
now, not even accounting for the hundreds still to come.
The Senator from Alabama knows this. So he does not really want to
``just vote''; he wants to grind the Senate to a halt on a series of
nonstop 99-to-1 rollcall votes. That means no other Senate business,
such as the annual Defense bill we are debating right now or the
appropriations bills, which are being considered by the Appropriations
Committee; no legislation of any kind, which may, in fact, be his
motive.
The Senator from Alabama has moved his goalposts many times, never
offering a viable or reasonable compromise. Originally, he just wanted
a call from the Secretary of Defense. Once he got it, he changed his
demand again. When he asked for a vote to repeal the policy, we did so
during the National Defense Authorization Act markup, but of course he
changed his demands again, and he is now calling for the complete
capitulation of the Department. At this point, one has to wonder if he
actually wants to achieve his demands or if he just wants to stay in
the spotlight.
We will soon enter the seventh month of this nonsense, and the
effects are building. This doesn't just affect the 273 officers stuck
on the Senate floor; it affects thousands of military spouses and
children, whom I will discuss in a moment, and it affects the officers
coming up behind them, some of whom could be assigned but for the fact
that an officer sits ahead of them, awaiting Senate confirmation before
they can move.
According to the Department of Defense, 45 officers are unable to
assume new positions, including 35 who cannot move because their
assigned rank goes with the position for which they have been nominated
and another 10 officers who are projected to be assigned to a position
now held by one of those 35. Twenty-two officers who have been selected
for their first star will have to assume the duties of the higher grade
while serving as a field grade officer, not a flag officer. Those
officers are losing about $2,600 per month through no fault of their
own. Similarly, 20 officers selected to the grade of 0-8, or two stars,
will assume duties of the higher grade while remaining in their current
grade. These officers are losing nearly $2,000 per month while this
blockade continues.

Contrary to the misinformation from the Senator from Alabama, there
will absolutely be no back pay for these officers, no back pay at all.
Their pay is tied to their rank, which is tied to their appointment to
that rank, which cannot occur until the Senate provides its consent.
While the Senator is trying to enhance his notoriety, these officers
are losing pay.
Twenty-one three- and four-star officers have had their retirements
deferred to ensure continuity of command. After 30 or 40 years of
uniformed service, numerous combat deployments, countless missed
birthdays and anniversaries, and countless missed sports games and
musical recitals, these officers have been told that their lives are
less important than one Senator's ego.
The most heartbreaking effects are on the families that have been
impacted by these holds. I will describe just a few of these stories.
Because of the Senator from Alabama's hold, the Marine Corps was
forced to cancel a coast-to-coast move for a general and his family.
The family's household goods had already been shipped and are now
waiting in storage at their future duty station while the general
covers the duties of a three-star at a temporary station.
Two Air Force officers who sold their homes in anticipation of moves
are living in temporary housing and paying their storage costs out of
their own

[[Page S3590]]

pockets. They have no clarity about the length of time their
nominations will remain on hold, as they are forced to continue their
service in their current assignments to ensure continuity.
A naval officer awaiting orders for an overseas assignment has been
caught in the Senator's hold. This officer's spouse was a teacher with
a public school district in Virginia. Anticipating an overseas
assignment with her spouse, this teacher ended her contract with her
previous employer, but she has been unable to either accept a new
contract at the overseas location or recommit to returning to the
school district due to the uncertainty from the hold. She is stuck in
limbo.
Two children of affected officers were disenrolled from their current
schools due to an expected change-of-station move, but now they cannot
enroll in a new school because the Senator from Alabama has blocked
their move.
Three officers have chosen to move their families at their own
expense, with no option to be reimbursed, to ensure that their children
will be enrolled in school, in the hope that they will be reunited with
their families after the Senator from Alabama has come to his senses.
Finally, yesterday, it was reported by the largest statewide news
organization in Alabama that a petition signed by more than 550
military spouses was delivered to the Senator, calling on him to end
his blockade and the harm it is doing to military families. The
petition, organized by the Secure Families Initiative, called on Senate
leadership to ``reiterate to Senator Tuberville the dangers and
ramifications of this political grandstanding; work together to resolve
political and ideological disagreements outside the military space; and
expeditiously confirm all blocked promotions and fill existing
vacancies.''
These are but a few of the tragic family costs being inflicted. These
stories will increase significantly as we go into August, traditionally
a month that many military families move to new duty stations and start
new schools.
All of these effects are but the tip of the iceberg, snapshots and
stories of those willing to share. The true impact of the Senator's
actions may not be known for years. The destabilizing effect this has
on the apolitical nature of military service is what keeps me up at
night. The broader impact on our national security is incalculable.
In the U.S. military, there is a total of 852 general and flag
officers. By the end of this year, we expect that 650 of them will need
to pass through the Senate for promotion or reassignment. An additional
110 officers will be forced to perform two jobs simultaneously or will
be assigned to a temporary position as a result of the Senator's holds.
Thus, nearly 90 percent of our general and flag officers--our most
senior military leaders--will be affected by the Senator from Alabama's
holds.
Right now, our Nation faces an unparalleled threat from China, and
violent, unstable Russia threatening all of our NATO allies. To not
have our military leaders ready to command at a moment's notice is to
flirt with disaster. The Senator from Alabama has achieved something
that Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin can only have dreamed of. I am sure
they would have paid good money to achieve it, but they don't have to.
What disappoints me the most is the silence from my colleagues across
the aisle. For 6 months, they have hardly said a word about the Senator
from Alabama's antics. Do they not care? I know many of them do, and
many of them disagree with what he is doing. So why are they not down
here right now? I call on my colleagues across the aisle who support
our military and American families to stand with us to help repair this
affront to Senate tradition.
Tonight, my colleagues and I will discuss every military nomination
on the Executive Calendar. We will read the names of each officer whose
nomination has been blocked by the Senator from Alabama, along with a
little bit about their backgrounds. Each of these officers has served
decades in uniform, something the Senator from Alabama knows nothing
about.

Their lives have not been easy. I know firsthand that the nature of
military life, even in the best of times, is difficult, punctuated with
frequent moves, time away from family, and duties that are as demanding
physically as they are mentally and spiritually.
This generation of general and flag officers has had it even harder
than many. Most of these nominees have served the majority of their
careers during a state of war. For 20 years, they fought in the Global
War on Terror, and many of them fought in wars before that. They went
where we asked them to go. They fought so other Americans--including
most of us in this Chamber--wouldn't have to. We have never had a
generation of military leadership whose entire professional development
occurred during a period of constant conflict.
As I went through each of these officers' biographies, I was struck
by the recognition and manifestation of their service. As you will
hear, the Senator from Alabama is blocking the promotion of officers
who have been awarded the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, the Bronze
Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and every
other significant award or recognition the Defense Department bestows.
He is blocking the promotion of officers with numerous combat tours
of duty, including those who have been injured in combat.
He is blocking the nomination of a career Air Force officer who is an
astronaut for NASA.
He is blocking the promotion of pilots who, collectively, have tens
of thousands of flying hours and combat flying time. And with pilots,
as we know all too well on the Armed Services Committee, they also have
the option of flying commercially for the airlines. We can't compete
with airlines on pay, but we have always competed on opportunity and
mission. If opportunity and mission are compromised, patriotism will
only carry one so far, particularly as the Senate's inaction is
literally impacting the direct earnings of many of these nominees.
He is blocking the promotion of healthcare professionals who, like
pilots, have lucrative private sector options that will look even more
attractive as the thrill and satisfaction of a military career recedes.
He is blocking the promotions of combat commanders at all levels who
have risen through the ranks with the expectation and hope of leading
and mentoring the next generation of combat leaders to ensure the
highest standards of military expertise and ethical conduct are passed
on.
He is now blocking the confirmation of three members of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff: Gen. C.Q. Brown, the nominee to be the next Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. Eric Smith, the next Commandant of
the Marine Corps; and GEN Randy George, the next Chief of Staff of the
Army.
On top of this, we have just received a historic nomination, the
first female officer to be the Chief of Naval Operations, and we just
received today the nomination for the next Chief of Staff of the Air
Force.
He is blocking the nominations of a critical combatant commander, the
commander of Cyber Command, who also serves as the Director of the
National Security Agency. It strikes me that cyber and intelligence is
not a place the Nation should accept any additional risk.
He is blocking the nomination of the next commander of the Navy's 7th
Fleet, the largest of the Navy's forward-deployed fleets and which has
responsibilities in the Indo-Pacific area of operation.
He is blocking the nomination of the next commander of the Navy's 5th
Fleet, responsible for the naval and combined maritime forces in the
Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea, under the overall command
of U.S. Central Command.
He is blocking the nomination of the next U.S. military
representative to NATO, who is the senior uniformed representative to
NATO, during a time when NATO continues to provide critical support to
Ukraine in its war against Russia and as NATO itself is expanding to
counter the threat posed by Russia to our European allies.
He is blocking the next Superintendent of the Naval Academy during
the summer months, when new service academy Superintendents need to be
installed to ensure continuity from one academic year to the next.
Traditionally, the Senate ensures this nominee

[[Page S3591]]

is approved and in place in time for the next class of midshipmen to
arrive and begin their Academy training, which started 4 weeks ago.
Now, even future officers who will be commissioned in 2027 are
feeling the negative impact of one Senator's action. If we don't break
this blockade soon, the Senator from Alabama will have tried his hand
at decapitating the entire senior military leadership of the U.S. Armed
Forces.
Finally, one last thing, none of the officers whose names we will
read today played any part in promulgating the Department's policy with
which the Senator from Alabama disagrees--a policy that, like it or
not, is perfectly legal and is backed by 40 years of practice through
the administrations of both parties. It is a policy aimed at taking
care of our servicemembers, a large percentage of whom are women. This
policy simply acknowledges that women's healthcare is important for
military readiness too.
From President Reagan, whose Justice Department interpreted the newly
enacted Hyde Amendment, through the first Bush administration, the
Clinton administration, the second Bush administration, the Obama
administration, the Trump administration, and now the Biden
administration, the interpretation has been the same: This policy is
legal.
Maybe my Republican colleagues were caught napping on this. Maybe
they didn't bother to read the legal precedents. Maybe they didn't care
to. Fine, I have no problem with my colleagues expressing disagreement
with the Department's policy or pursuing legislative solutions to their
problems. But do not take it out on the professional men and women of
the Armed Forces and their families.
As the military spouses who petitioned the Senator from Alabama this
week to lift his hold urged, we should engage and address these policy
and ideological differences outside of the military space. We are
debating the Defense bill right now. And as the majority leader has
said publicly, we are not stopping the Republicans from voting on their
bill to rescind DOD's policy. Let's have that vote.
Instead, the Senator has chosen to inflict as much financial and
emotional pain as possible on the men and women of the Armed Forces in
the hopes the Department will cave. If the Senator from Alabama
actually cared about the military, he would find another way to
demonstrate his political positions.
Release the hostages, Senator. It is time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.
Mr. KING. Mr. President, Chairman Reed has spoken eloquently in the
last few minutes about the personal impact of this hold on general
officer nominations, on what it means to families, what it means to
careers, what it means to people who are coming up through the ranks
because, make no doubt, this is not just affecting those people who
have been nominated for general officer positions, but it ripples all
the way down through the ranks. It is an unprecedented attack on the
integrity of our military chain of command.
As I say, Senator Reed talked about the impact on individuals. And
tonight we are going to be talking about a lot of those individuals.
But I would like to talk for a moment about the impact on the readiness
of our force.
The first thing to observe is that China and Russia have got to be
loving this. They could not imagine that we would do something like
this to ourselves to essentially decapitate the senior leadership of
our military.
If you step back and say: Wait a minute, look at what is going on
here, nobody would believe that they could achieve something like this,
that our adversaries could achieve something like this. But we are
doing it to ourselves--or actually one person is doing it to all of us
and to our country.
This is a dangerous moment in the world. I serve on both the Armed
Services and the Intelligence Committees, and the threats that we are
facing right now are unprecedented in the history of this country. We
have never before faced the kind of threats that we are facing from two
heavily armed and aggressive potential adversaries.
We need to have literally all hands on deck. And we are telling our
``all hands'' to stand down; that they are not going to be able to the
achieve their commands, to take the case for the leadership of our
military throughout the military enterprise.
It really is amazing that we are doing something--I keep saying
``we''--that the Senator from Alabama is doing something that is so
seriously compromising national security over a policy matter--over a
policy matter.
And I have been in numerous hearings over the last months and talked
to the officers, asked them on the record: Is this action compromising
national security? The answer every single time has been: Absolutely,
yes.
And these aren't necessarily officers who are being blocked; these
are the general officers who are retiring. So they don't have a stake
in this. They are not looking for a promotion. They are just telling us
what has happened.
It is the first time that we do not have a Commandant of the Marine
Corps in 150 years. That is outrageous. It is unacceptable. And so not
only is this impacting people's lives--people who have dedicated their
lives to this country--we are treating them like pawns in a political
battle over an issue that the Senator from Alabama disagrees with. If
he disagrees with the issue, there is a way to resolve it: bring an
amendment. I am pretty sure that the majority leader has said he would
bring an amendment to the floor to rescind the policy that the Senator
objects to. That is how we resolve policy differences around here, not
by taking hostage the entire leadership core of our military.
Now, let me talk a minute about the Senate. The Senate, as I have
observed it over the past 10\1/2\, almost 11 years, is a rather
peculiar institution. Because it has very lax rules, it allows one
Senator to hold everything up, to stop things. It has very lax rules.
But those rules, as I have studied the history of the Senate--by the
way, I would recommend reading the first 100 pages of Robert Caro's
book about Lyndon Johnson, ``Master of the Senate.'' It is a wonderful
history and description of how this institution has developed. But
those lax rules which allow extraordinary actions by individual Members
have rested for over 200 years on a bedrock of comity and
responsibility and restraint.
Yes, you have the power to do something like this, but you shouldn't
do it. You don't take advantage of the rules. And I will tell you one
of the results of this--and this is what I am hearing from constituents
and from people around the country and indeed from people in this
Hall--this could lead to changing the rules, to not allow something
like this.
If you abuse a rule like this, which is being done in this case, it
is outright abuse of a rule--then somebody is going to say: Wait a
minute. We can't run our country this way. We can't allow this to
happen to the readiness of our military in this time of peril. We just
can't do that. So we are going to have to figure out another way. And
all of a sudden one of the privileges--and I believe it is a privilege
of an individual Senator--is going to have to start to be curtailed if
you don't restrain yourself, if you don't act responsibly within the
context of these rules.
My question is, Where does this lead? Is this going to be par for the
course around here in the future? Somebody is going to say: Well, I
don't like something the Department of the Interior is doing. I think
it is really bad, so I am going to hold up every nominee for the
military or I am going to hold up every nominee for the Department of
Homeland Security or the Department of Interior or whatever the
Department is.

Hostage-taking is not how we make policy. And I am afraid what we are
seeing here before our eyes is a precedent being established, where one
individual Senator, who is trying to get his way on a policy issue, is
using and abusing the rules of the Senate in order to get something
that ought to be done through the legislative process. Bring up the
amendment. If you don't like the policy, bring up the amendment.
Eventually, I mean, the Senate is built on the premise of respect for
minority rights, but ultimately majority rules. That is what we all
learned in kindergarten. This isn't minority rights. This is one
person. That is 1 person out of 100 who is taking this action that is
so inimical to the interests of the interests of the country in a very
difficult and dangerous time.

[[Page S3592]]

I respect the rights of Senators to use their prerogative as they see
fit, but I would urge the Senator from Alabama, with whom I have a good
personal relationship--I would urge him to reconsider, to try to bring
the issue forward to the American people and to the U.S. Senate, and
let's have a vote on it. Let's see what the Senate believes about the
resolution of this issue.
And by the way, we are not talking about the government paying for
abortions here. We are talking about leave and travel. And if a soldier
has a medical condition and they are stationed in a State where they
need some kind of specialized treatment and it is not available in
their State--guess what--for as long as anybody can remember, they have
gotten leave and traveled to go where they can have that procedure. So
this isn't some kind of radical new program.
But again, if the Senator thinks it is a wrong policy, bad policy, it
is inimical to his beliefs, let's bring it to the floor and have a
vote. Let's see what the will of the Senate is. But don't compromise
the lives of many, many people--we are up into the hundreds now--
families who have dedicated their lives to this country. They are
innocent pawns in this political game. It is not right.
And then, finally, as I said, it is a compromise of national
security. It is a straight-up compromise of national security, which
our adversaries couldn't dream of achieving. And that is where I
believe--I hope and believe--that the Senator from Alabama will relent,
take his vote on the issue, and let these nominations move forward so
the Senate can do its business and the military can get back to a place
where it is predictable, where they understand what the process is,
they understand where the steps are, and they can get about the
business of defending this in country.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor this evening on
behalf of the more than 1 million people who are serving this country
and who rely on this Senate to put national security ahead of policy
disagreements.
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, millions of Americans, including
tens of thousands of U.S. servicemembers, lost access to reproductive
care overnight. And I would just remind us all that the military relies
on almost 18 percent of its makeup on women. Most of those women are of
reproductive age.
Since the Dobbs decision, more and more States have put in place
prohibitions on reproductive care--care that was previously the right
of all Americans. Now, according to a recent RAND Corporation study, at
least 46 percent of female servicemembers no longer have unrestricted
access to care.
Now, as we all know, servicemembers and their families are stationed
based not on the needs of themselves and their families--so not
personal preference--but based on the needs of the Nation. And their
sacrifice and commitment to serve means that they are uniquely affected
by the restrictive healthcare laws that have come into effect in the
post-Roe era.
To address the harm that these healthcare prohibitions have on
servicemembers and military families, the Secretary of Defense issued
commonsense guidance that protects the readiness of the force and
family. And it is guidance that, I will remind everybody, the Secretary
of Defense is legally empowered to issue and implement and, as Senator
King so rightly pointed out, that has been in place for male members of
our military for years, as long as we remember.
But the senior Senator from Alabama has chosen to break with
precedent, to break with the decorum of this Chamber, and to hold 273
noncontroversial military nominations just because he disagrees--he
personally disagrees--with this policy. And as Senator King and Senator
Reed so eloquently pointed out, our servicemembers should not be used
as bargaining chips in policy debates.
Senator Tuberville's actions are jeopardizing our national security;
they are harming military families; and they are causing a whole
generation of senior military leaders to question whether they want to
stay in the military.
Worst of all, the Senator from Alabama knows exactly what the impact
is of these holds because he serves with all of us on the Armed
Services Committee. So he can't say this is not having an impact. He is
hearing, as part of the committee, what the impact is. He knows that
the unprecedented nature of his actions and the grave harm they pose to
our country and the military are real.
For those who don't sit on the Armed Services Committee, I want to
highlight some of the most grievous consequences of Senator
Tuberville's actions.
Military families are not able to enroll their children into new
schools on time. So we have a whole group of families with young
children who--during the summertime would be the time they would be
moving. They would be looking to get their children into new schools,
and they are on hold.
Military spouses can't go to the next assignment and find a job.
What is particularly concerning for many of these families is that
servicemembers are paid less than what they have earned. Just to give
you some idea, 22 officers who have been selected for their first star
will have to assume the duties of the higher grade while serving as a
field grade officer, not a flag officer, and these officers are losing
about $2,600 a month through no fault of their own. The last time I
talked to members of our military, they weren't making enough money to
be able to sacrifice an additional $2,600 a month. Twenty officers
selected to the grade of O-8 are two stars. They will assume the duties
of the higher grade while remaining in their current grade, and these
officers are losing nearly $2,000 a month while this blockade
continues.
Contrary to the misinformation that the Senator from Alabama has said
on this floor, there will be no backpay for these officers. Their pay
is tied to their rank, which is tied to their appointment to that rank,
and that can't occur until the Senate provides its consent. They ought
to be charging Senator Tuberville for this additional money they are
losing because it is on his back, these additional costs that families
are incurring.
Some of our most critical national security positions, like the
Commandant of the Marine Corps, are also unfilled, and this comes at a
time when we know that Russia is waging war in Europe and the People's
Republic of China continues to threaten our interests across the globe.
What is so incredibly hard to understand is that our colleagues on
the other side of the aisle I know are concerned about the PRC and the
influence of China. Yet they are not willing to call their colleague
out for what he is doing that provides a real opportunity for the PRC.
With every vacancy in our ranks, our adversaries are gaining an
advantage over us.
These holds affect real people who have dedicated their lives to
preserving our freedoms in this country. Those people who are affected
have earned more than being used as political pawns.
I want to take just a moment because we are here tonight to talk
about those 273 officers who are being held up. I want to talk about
some of those really incredible individuals whom the senior Senator
from Alabama is blocking.
The first is a colonel whom I met when I went to Lithuania for the
NATO summit. We went up to the base in Lithuania, Pabrade, and the
Deputy Commander of EUCOM pointed out that COL Kareem Montague, who is
currently the Deputy Commander of the 4th Infantry Division out of Fort
Carson, who is deployed temporarily to Lithuania, was one of those
general officers whose promotions are on hold.
The colonel has 28 years of service. He has been Executive Officer to
the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. He has been the Commander of the
5th Battlefield Coordination Detachment of U.S. Army Pacific, Joint
Base Pearl Harbor, in Hickam, HI. He has been the Commander of the 1st
Battalion, 321st Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 18th Fires Brigade,
82nd Airborne, out of Fort Bragg. He has earned the Legion of Merit,
the Bronze Star, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medals. The
colonel doesn't deserve to be held up because the Senator from Alabama
has a personal beef with Secretary Austin's policy.

[[Page S3593]]

Then we have eight officers from the Marine Corps who have been
nominated to the rank of brigadier general. The first is Col. David
Everly. He is currently serving as Chief of Staff of the II Marine
Expeditionary Force. He has 28 years of service. He has been the Chief
of Staff to the 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade. He has been the
Commanding Officer of Command Element, 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade.
He has been the Commanding Officer of the Basic School Training
Command. He has multiple combat and contingency operation deployments.
He has received the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Bronze Star
Medal. Colonel Everly doesn't deserve to be held up.
Neither does Col. Kelvin Gallman, also in the Marine Corps, currently
serving as Senior Military Adviser to the Secretary of the Navy. He has
29 years of service. He has been the Division Chief, Deputy Division
Chief, Joint Capabilities Division, J-8, Joint Staff. He has been
Commanding Officer of Personnel Support Detachment. He has multiple
combat and contingency deployments, and he has received the Defense
Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal, and the Bronze Star.
Col. Adolfo Garcia, also with the Marine Corps, is currently serving
as the House Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs. Some of us
may have run into him in that capacity. He has 30 years of service in.
He has been the Military Secretary to the Commandant of the Marine
Corps. He has been the Assistant Chief of Staff to I Marine
Expeditionary Force, the Commanding Officer of the 14th Marine
Regiment, 4th Marine Division. He has multiple combat tours. He has
earned the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Defense
Meritorious Service Medal. Again, he is on hold.
Then there is Col. Matt Good. Many of us know Colonel Good because we
traveled with him because most recently he served as Director, Senate
Liaison, Office of Legislative Affairs. I can tell you, having taken a
number of trips with Colonel Good, what a great job he does, how
committed he is, how committed he is to this Chamber, to the people
serving in the Senate. To have Senator Tuberville do to Colonel Good
and all of these members what he is doing is just unconscionable.
Colonel Good has 27 years of service. He has been the Commanding
Officer of the 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and commanding
officer of the 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine
Division. He has been Chief of Plans and Chief of the Security
Cooperation Division of Joint Task Force North, U.S. Northern Command.
He has had multiple combat and contingency deployments. He has earned
the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Defense Meritorious
Service Medal.

Like all of these marines, like all of the people we are talking
about today, they have stellar records of serving this country, and
what does Senator Tuberville do to them? He puts their nominations on
hold. He denies them funding. He denies them the ability to get on with
their lives.
Col. Trevor Hall, U.S. Marine Corps, is currently serving as Chief of
Staff to the Marine Corps Forces Command. He has 29 years of service.
He was Commanding Officer for the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit;
Branch Chief, Trans-regional synchronization, U.S. Special Operations
Command; Commanding Officer, Division Training Officer, 3d Battalion,
8th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division. He has multiple combat and
contingency deployments. He earned the Legion of Merit Medal, the
Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Col. Richard Joyce, also in the Marine Corps, is currently serving as
Commanding Officer, Marine Aircraft Group 29, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing,
with 28 years of service. He has been the Branch Head of the
Expeditionary Air Warfare N98, Office of Chief Naval Operations;
Commanding Officer, Special Projects Officer, Marine Light Attack
Helicopter Squadron 469, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3d Marine Aircraft
Wing. He has had multiple combat and contingency deployments. He has
received the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and
the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Col. Omar Randall--also U.S. Marine Corps--is currently serving as
Director of Logistics, Combat Element Integration Division, Combat
Development and Integration. He has 27 years of service. He has been
the Branch Head, Futures Branch, Installations and Logistics,
Headquarters Marine Corps; Commanding Officer of Combat Logistics
Regiment 37, 3d Marine Logistics Group. He has had multiple combat and
contingency deployments. He has earned the Legion of Merit, the Defense
Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Then there is Col. Robert Weiler from the U.S. Marine Corps, who is
currently serving as Military Secretary to the Commandant of the Marine
Corps, with 28 years of service. He has been the Commanding Officer of
the 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division; Director of Inspections;
Commanding Officer of the 2d Battalion, 4th Marines; Senior Military
Adviser, Force Development, Office of the Secretary of Defense--Policy.
He has had multiple combat and contingency deployments. He received a
Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and a Legion of Merit. Senator Tuberville
wants to hold up his promotion.
Then I want to cite two people from the Navy who have been nominated
for appointments to the grade of rear admiral.
The first is CAPT Brian Anderson, who is currently serving as
Assistant Commander, Supply Chain Policy and Management, Naval Supply
Systems Command in Mechanicsburg, PA. He has 28 years of service. He
has been the Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Logistics Naval Air
Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, San Diego; Chief, Current Operations-Joint
Operations Officer; deployed to CENTCOM AOR, Camp African, Kuwait; and
Pakistan Liaison Officer. He has been assigned to the Defense Logistics
Agency in Fort Belvoir. He earned the Legion of Merit and the
Meritorious Service Medal.
Then there is CAPT Julie Mary Treanor. She is currently serving as
Chief of Staff in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, with 29
years of service. She has been Commanding Officer of Naval Supply
Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center in Norfolk; Naval Sea Systems
Command, Director of Industrial Supply Operations, Naval Sea Systems.
She also earned the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Both Captains Treanor and Anderson have been nominated to the grade
of rear admiral. Yet Senator Tuberville has them on hold.
I am going to stop with that list. We have a lot of folks on the
floor. We are going to continue to pick up the names of the people who
are on hold.
But simply put, it is not acceptable to turn policy disputes into
political brinksmanship when it comes to our servicemembers. As we have
all said, we are happy to debate our colleagues on policy any day of
the week, but that is not what we are doing. Instead, what we have is
the senior Senator from Alabama singlehandedly holding military
promotions hostage, using our servicemembers as political bargaining
chips for his own benefit. His actions undermine our military's
greatest strength--our people.
When he is asked about it, he says: Oh, it is playing really well at
home.
Well, that is not what this is about. This is about making sure that
we treat those people who serve in our military the way we ought to be
treating them and that we defend our Nation and trust those folks who
serve to make their own decisions about their own healthcare, just as I
believe our constituents sent us to Washington to debate policy
defenses, not to threaten the health and safety and welfare of those in
uniform or to hold our security interests hostage.
So I hope that Senator Tuberville will hear us tonight, that he will
let these qualified military officers get back to their work of
defending the American people.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I join my colleagues today in
expressing my great disappointment in my colleague from Alabama and his
continuing hold on military promotions. He has argued--and I have seen
him say this several times--that he is not affecting military readiness
and that a hold on the promotions of senior officers does not hurt our
national security, and, if it did hurt our military

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readiness, that he would certainly stop the hold.
So I am here to tell you about six different jobs and the individuals
nominated to those particular positions, and for people to decide
whether or not they think that having these positions go unfilled with
a confirmed officer is jeopardizing our military readiness.
The first position is at the Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
This is the Army's force modernization proponent and operational
integrator for global space, missile defense, and high-altitude
capabilities. It sits at the nexus of integrated deterrence between
U.S. Space Command, U.S. Strategic Command, and U.S. Northern Command--
a pretty important job I would think.
To fill the position, the President has nominated MG Sean A. Gainey
to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army and a commanding general of
the U.S. Space and Missile Defense Command. Major General Gainey has
served for 33 years and has moved some 15 times in those years of
service. He is a graduate from the Georgia Southern University ROTC
Program. In those 33 years of service, he has earned the Distinguished
Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with one bronze oakleaf
cluster, and the Bronze Star. He currently serves as Director of the
Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office, Director of Fires, Office of
the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, U.S. Army, Washington, DC.
I think the U.S. Space and Missile Defense Command is a pretty
important job and pretty relevant to our national security.
A second position that is being left unfilled with a confirmed
nominee is that of Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, U.S. Army, head of Army
Logistics.
We have been talking at length about logistics in a contested
environment, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. The Army G-4
develops, implements, and oversees Army strategy, policy, plans, and
programming for logistics and sustainment to enable total Army
readiness today and a force modernized for the future.
To fill the position of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, Army
Logistics is MG Heidi Hoyle. Major General Hoyle graduated from the
West Point Military Academy and embarked on a 29-year career spanning
20 different assignments, including her position as the Director of
Operations within the office of the Army G-4, as well as numerous
combat deployments. She has been awarded the Legion of Merit with two
bronze oakleaf clusters, the Bronze Star Medal with one bronze oakleaf
cluster, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. She is more than
qualified to fill this position, and the position needs her in it.
Another position that is going unfilled with a confirmed officer is
to be filled by BG Laurence Linton to be a major general in the U.S.
Army Reserve. Brigadier General Linton is currently serving as Deputy
Commanding General-Support, 88th Readiness Division at Fort Snelling,
MN. Brigadier General Linton graduated from the State University of New
York ROTC Program and began a 31-year career of service that included
24 different duty assignments, notably deploying to Haiti, Bosnia, and
Kuwait. General Linton served most recently as Chief of Staff of
Operation Warp Speed, the critical effort to accelerate COVID-19
vaccination development. General Linton has been awarded the Legion of
Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious
Service Medal with silver oakleaf cluster and one bronze oakleaf
cluster. I cannot think of someone more deserving of this promotion.

The President has also nominated BG Stacy M. Babcock to be a major
general in the U.S. Army Reserve. Most recently, General Babcock served
as the Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Human Resources Command at
Fort Knox, KY. He graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology
ROTC Program in 1991 and has now served 32 years, a career spanning 25
different assignments, including a deployment to Bosnia and three
separate deployments to Iraq. General Babcock has been awarded the
Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star.
The President has also nominated COL Peggy McManus to be a brigadier
general in the Army Reserve. Colonel McManus serves as the Deputy
Director, Senior Policy Board Advisor, Office of the Deputy Chief of
Staff, G-1, Washington, DC. Colonel McManus was commissioned in 1992
via ROTC and has now served 31 years, a career spanning 20 different
assignments, including a combat tour to Iraq. Colonel McManus has been
awarded the Meritorious Service Medal with one silver and one bronze
oakleaf cluster.
The President has also nominated Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Gebara to be
lieutenant general in the U.S. Air Force and Deputy Chief of Staff for
Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air
Force.
Do you think that not having a confirmed officer appointed to the
Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration
is not hurting our military readiness? Of course, it is.
Major General Gebara would be responsible to the Secretary of the Air
Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for Nuclear Deterrence
Operations. He would provide direction, guidance, integration, and
advocacy regarding the nuclear deterrence mission of the U.S. Air Force
and engage with joint and interagency partners for nuclear enterprise
solutions--only if Senator Tuberville would allow him to take up this
position.
And, finally, I want to talk to you and read to you the background of
MG Robert M. Collins, who is nominated to be a lieutenant general in
the U.S. Army and Military Deputy-Director of the Army Acquisition
Corps, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition,
Logistics, and Technology. If confirmed, General Collins would be the
senior military adviser in Army acquisition matters. This is at a time
of critical modernization by the Army. I know very well the Future
Vertical Lift Program, and it is critical that we have a capable
officer in this position. He is currently serving as Deputy for
Acquisition and Systems Management. He graduated in 1992 from the
Shippensburg University ROTC Program. He has now served 31 years in
uniform, spanning 21 different assignments. We need this officer in his
job, in this position.
These are just a handful of individuals I am reading today. In which
one of these positions does my colleague from Alabama think military
readiness is not being affected, being left unfilled?
All I can say is, Senator Tuberville, please reconsider. You are
indeed putting our national security, our military readiness in
jeopardy by continuing this hold.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I have but a few minutes to speak to
my colleagues and to the Senator from Alabama, but, more important, to
the American people. I have only minutes, but the damage of this hold
will be years. Be aware, America. Be angry, America, as I am angry, as
a member of the Armed Services Committee, as a dad of two veterans--a
Marine Corps officer who served in Afghanistan and a Navy SEAL who
served during these last 20 years. And all of the veterans of America
who are angry that our U.S. military is being used as a political pawn,
is held hostage; that brave, determined professionals who want to lead
and take our military to the fight that lies ahead--they are in limbo.
And it isn't just the 273. It is all who report to them, all who depend
on them, all who look to them for leadership.
I had breakfast this morning with the Acting Commandant, General
Smith, of the U.S. Marine Corps. For the first time in 100 years, the
U.S. Marine Corps has no Commandant.
Vice Admiral Franchetti, who was chosen to lead the Navy, the first
woman to be in that position, has been held hostage.
Gen. Charles Brown, uniquely accomplished aviator and leader, unable
to assume his responsibility as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
And under them, men and women like Lt. Gen. James Bierman, nominated
to be Lieutenant General of the United States Marine Corps and Deputy
Commandant for Plans, Policies, Operations; and Maj. Gen. Bradford
Gering, to be a Lieutenant General in the United States Marine Corps
and Deputy Commandant, Aviation.
These men have served 35 years.
Maj. Gen. Gregory Masiello, to be Lieutenant General of the United

[[Page S3595]]

States Marine Corps and Director, Defense Contract Management Agency.
These men and women have put their careers, their lives, their
families on the line, and now they are waiting because our colleague
from Alabama wants to make a political point. He has a political
policy, and he is using these military nominees as pawns and hostages.
It is nothing short, in effect, of an assault on our U.S. military.
So nothing I say here may persuade him, but what is happening is a
travesty and a tragedy for our Nation, because it undermines not just
our readiness now but our recruitment in the future.
The Marine Corps is the only service that is making its recruitment
goals. The Army, the Navy, the Air Force, all are down significantly.
And this action, which disgracefully and shamefully puts our readiness
at risk and serious danger, also undermines our ability to attract the
best and the brightest in this country as our military has always done.
It is the reason we have the greatest military in the world.
We have all of the weapons systems. We have the kinds of hardware
that we need. But, most importantly, we need the great men and women
who will be discouraged by this action by the Senator from Alabama.
So I plead with him; but, most important, I ask the American people
to be aware and be angry, as we all should be. And I hope that my
colleagues will join the American people in persuading him that this
kind of hold is shameful and disgraceful and should be rejected.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. KELLY. Mr. President, placing holds on hundreds of military
promotions over a single policy disagreement is unconscionable. It is
harming our national security, and it is going to have cascading
effects for years. Not only will military services be left without
confirmed leaders, but our senior leaders are going to have to do
multiple jobs at once. This will disadvantage the services at every
level and leave less experienced members to have to step in to fill
their bosses' shoes.
As someone who served in the navy for 25 years, I want to paint a
picture of what that looks like in the real world. Operations plans--
they will not get updated. Now these are the plans that prepare us for
military conflicts, for humanitarian disasters, and any conflict we
face around the world.
Operations and exercises will suffer because they lack an expert at
the head of the table who can weigh strategic risks and who is
empowered by Congress to make critical decisions.
We won't have confirmed senior leaders at the table in places like
Africa, where we are trying to strengthen ties and security cooperation
with our partners to counter violent extremists and the rising
influence of Russia and China.
And speaking of China, we won't have confirmed senior leaders at
critical posts in the regions in that region of the world where they
are empowered to bolster our capabilities.
And let's not forget, these holds are preventing the promotions of
military leaders in Alabama. There are a lot of really important units
who operate out of the Redstone Arsenal, including the Missile Defense
Agency, which is responsible for developing U.S. defense against
incoming ballistic missiles.
The Missile Defense Agency's next Director is one of those officers
at Redstone who is waiting for his third star before he can officially
assume this new role. The Senator from Alabama is preventing that.
Do we really want a leadership gap at the Missile Defense Agency?
And, lastly, I have to mention that this tactic treats our military
servicemembers and their families like political pawns. Let me tell
you, this isn't just like holding up a promotion like in any other job.
This blockade of military promotions is hurting military families who
are having to put off moves to new assignments across the country or
across the world.
That means a military spouse cannot start a new job. It means a new
school year starts without military kids who are stuck at their last
base and don't know if they are going to be able to maybe try out for
the sports team or join a club.
Now, I know from experience just how hard these moves are. They are
hard for military families, and that is under the best of
circumstances, let alone when they are stuck in the middle of this.
As our military faces recruitment challenges, this stunt--and this is
a stunt--is making a decision easy for a military family who has
supported their servicemembers, maybe for decades, to finally say that
they have had enough. Maybe they will choose to retire instead of
assume yet another unknown, brought to you by the Senator from Alabama,
or maybe a junior servicemember--maybe that person--decides not to make
a career in the military because they see so much uncertainty as their
bosses are treated like political pawns. These holds are going to have
cascading effects. It is going to get worse and worse. This is not just
some abstract idea.
Let me talk about a few of the military leaders whose promotions are
being blocked.
The President of the United States has nominated RADM Frederick W.
Kacher to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and the Commander of the
Seventh Fleet. The Commander of the Seventh Fleet is not going to be
able to take over as a confirmed vice admiral in that job. He has spent
31 years in service in 29 different duty assignments. By the Senator
from Alabama, he is being treated like a pawn.
The President has also nominated Rear Admiral Douglas G. Perry to be
a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy. He is currently the Second Fleet's
Commander of the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk. He has spent 34 years
in the U.S. Navy, and the Senator from Alabama is treating him like a
political pawn.
The President has nominated Rear Admiral Yvette M. Davids to be a
vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval
Academy. She has spent 34 years in service. She was the Commander of a
carrier strike group. Now the Senator from Alabama is treating her like
a political pawn.
The President has nominated Rear Admiral Brendan R. McLane to be a
vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and Commander of the Naval Surface Force
of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. He has spent 33 years in service, and the
Senator from Alabama is treating him like a political pawn.
The President has nominated Rear Admiral Daniel L. Cheever to be a
vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and also the Commander of the Naval Air
Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet. I served in the Pacific Fleet aboard an
aircraft carrier. Rear Admiral Cheever spent 35 years in the U.S. Navy,
and he was also the Commander of a carrier strike group. He is now
being treated like a political pawn.
The President has nominated VADM Charles B. Cooper II to be a vice
admiral in the U.S. Navy and the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Central
Command. How critical is that? He has 34 years of service, but he is
being treated as a political pawn.
The President has nominated Rear Admiral Robert M. Gaucher to be a
vice admiral of the U.S. Navy. He is currently the Commander of the
Naval Submarine Force and all of our submarines in the Atlantic Fleet--
attack and ballistic missile subs. He has spent 32 years in the U.S.
Navy, and the Senator from Alabama is treating him like a political
pawn.
The same is true for Rear Admiral Shoshana S. Chatfield. She has been
nominated to be promoted to a vice admiral and to be the U.S. Military
Representative to NATO's military committee. She has spent 35 years in
uniform, and the Senator from Alabama is treating her as a political
pawn.
The President has also nominated Rear Admiral James P. Downey to be a
vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and Commander of the Naval Sea Systems
Command. The Naval Sea Systems Command is all of the engineering and
development. The Presiding Officer knows, being a Senator from
Virginia, how critical it is to have somebody in this post who is
confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The Senator from Alabama is treating the
rear admiral as a political pawn.
The President has nominated Maj. Gen. Roger B. Turner, Jr., to be a
lieutenant general in the U.S. Marine Corps and the Commanding General
of the III MEF. I believe the Presiding Officer's son serves in the
U.S. Marine Corps. The III MEF in Japan is not

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going to have a confirmed general. He has spent 34 years in service.
Finally--not finally; I have a few more. By the way, there are
another hundred sitting over here on the bench.
The President has nominated VADM William J. Houston to be an admiral
in the U.S. Navy--a full admiral--while serving as the Director of
Naval Nuclear Propulsion. This admiral is in charge of all of our
nuclear reactors, and he can't get promoted after spending 33 years in
the U.S. Navy because Senator Tuberville is treating him like a
political pawn.
Finally, the President of the United States has nominated MG Tony
Hale to be a lieutenant general. Now, I know Major General Hale. He is
currently serving as the Commanding General and Commandant at Fort
Huachuca in my State of Arizona. He has spent 29 years in uniform. He
has been in 18 different duty assignments--six in support of combat
operations. The Senator from Alabama is treating MG Tony Hale as his
political pawn.
I have been here for 2\1/2\ years. There is not something I have felt
more strongly about than this, and I don't think the Senator from
Alabama gets it. I mean, this blockade of military promotions is doing
real damage to our national security right now, it is doing great harm
to military families, and it is going to have cascading effects for
years. Every single day that this continues, the consequences--the
consequences--of this get more severe. So I urge my Senate colleague
from Alabama to remove his hold on these nominations so that the Senate
can perform its constitutional duty to enable our military readiness
and our national security.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, my colleague the Senator from Arizona
speaks and spoke with the authority of a person who committed his life,
before he came to the U.S. Senate, to the service of our country in the
military. I do not speak with that authority. I speak with the
gratitude of a citizen who has benefited from the willingness of folks
like the Senator from Arizona to dedicate their professional lives to
the defense of our country.
In that respect, as a citizen, I speak for what all Americans have
come to expect and rely on, and that is the willingness of young men
and young women to sign up for service in the military--among them, the
people who make that commitment that this will be their careers. They
do it day in and day out, being ready for whatever may come, being
willing to respond to the call of the Commander in Chief no matter what
that may be, and all of us citizens who have not worn the uniform may
take it for granted that we have these folks out there.
What the Senator from Alabama is doing is essentially attacking that
willingness to serve by pulling the rug out from under the people who
have dedicated their lives, who have served with distinction, and who
have earned the promotions for which they have been nominated by the
President of the United States.
You can't have an organization that functions when you don't have
leaders. You can't have an organization that functions when the people
who have committed their lives to the profession and who perform with
great distinction and get that nomination for promotion aren't
promoted.
It does, as the Senator from Arizona described, erode morale, and it
erodes the effectiveness of the institution. The cascading effects will
be long term, and it is all on the basis of a willful determination to
essentially abuse the men and women of the military and to abuse the
military itself for an individual goal that is unrelated to the
performance of the military but that has a very detrimental impact on
the military.
But do you know there is another element here? We are Senators, so
that is a big position, and there is a lot of authority that goes with
that job. But can any of us look in a mirror and feel good about the
use of that authority when the effect of that power as it is being used
right now is just flat-out mean? It is mean to families. It is mean to
kids.
You have folks whose lives are committed to the service of the
military. They have been promoted. They are making a plan about taking
children out of the schools they are in and getting them into new
schools. That is incredibly disruptive, and it takes an immense amount
of love and concern on the part of the men and women of the military to
make certain, as they get promoted and move on in their careers and go
from where they are to where their next assignments are, that they take
care of those kids. That is incredibly important.
How can a Senator take an action that is going to cause so much
trauma for innocent people--including the children of these people--who
have earned the distinction of a promotion?
This has got to end. It has got to end. It has got to end because the
citizens of this country are entitled to a functioning military, and a
single Senator cannot intrude or should not intrude on the promotion
process. This has got to end so that we show respect for families and
the burden that goes along with moving from where you are to the next
duty station.
So I join with my colleagues in calling upon the Senator from Alabama
to stand down and let us act on these promotions. Our men and women in
the military deserve it, our military needs it, and the citizens of
this country are entitled to it.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues and
share my deep concern and outrage regarding Senator Tuberville's
decision to block the promotions of hundreds of servicemembers. I want
to take a moment and share why I believe this action weakens our
national security, hurts our servicemembers who are in harm's way,
ignores the wishes of the American people, and betrays our country's
bipartisan commitment to our servicemembers.
By blocking the promotions of hundreds of servicemembers, the Senator
from Alabama is preventing our military from being properly staffed and
led. This diminishes our military's effectiveness and combat-readiness.
Senator Tuberville has told us that he is doing this not because he
has any concern with these officers' ability to command; instead,
Senator Tuberville tells us he is blocking these promotions simply to
advance a personal political agenda to take away reproductive freedom
from female servicemembers.
It is not only outrageous but bitterly ironic that, while the Senator
from Alabama trusts women in uniform to defend our country, while he
trusts them to keep all of us safe, while he trusts them to risk their
lives for our freedom, he does not trust them to make their own
healthcare decisions.
Senator Tuberville's decision to block these promotions not only
hurts female servicemembers, it makes America less safe.
What did Senator Tuberville even accomplish by what is truly a
reckless stunt? Can my colleague from Alabama explain how blocking
promotions for servicemembers strengthens our national security?
What kind of message do we send to our allies and our adversaries
that America's combat readiness can be undermined because of one
Senator's partisan stunt?
And can he tell us why the health, safety, and daily lives of
servicemembers are less important than his own personal and political
agenda?
Our brave men and women in uniform put their lives on the line in
order to protect our freedoms. We could not freely assemble here in
this Chamber without their dedication and sacrifice. There simply is no
U.S. Senate without the service of our Armed Forces. Our servicemembers
place their trust in us to ensure that they are properly supported,
including by being sufficiently staffed and led.
Let me be very, very clear: Senator Tuberville's actions mark nothing
less than an abdication and betrayal of that trust.
It is also clear that in pushing this personal partisan agenda, the
Senator from Alabama is deeply out of step with the majority of
Americans. He is not representing the American people. I know--as I
think all of us do--that Americans, regardless of their views or
political party, share a common love of country. We stand united in
support of our servicemembers because our servicemembers do not risk
their lives for

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red States or blue; they fight for the freedom of all Americans, and
they deserve the support of all Americans.
Bipartisan support for servicemembers has exemplified our country at
our best. No issue, no matter how important, should stand in the way of
ensuring that our military has the support and leadership that it needs
to succeed.
I was reminded of this in April, when I was on a congressional
delegation trip and visiting the Northern Command out in Colorado
Springs. I met with one of the people who Senator Kelly talked about,
Rear Admiral Cheever. He hosted the visit, and he coordinated it. I had
a wonderful briefing from him and his leadership team about issues of
cyber security, about our quantum readiness.
As you heard Senator Kelly say, Rear Admiral Cheever has been
nominated to become a vice admiral and command the Naval Air Force of
the U.S. Pacific Fleet--even more responsibility. He is ready to do it.
The Senator from Alabama doesn't disagree that he is ready to do it.
But as we left that day, he told me that his promotion was in limbo
because of the hold that our colleague from Alabama has put on his
promotion.
We need him in that position. He and his family and his fellow
service men and women need him in that position and are waiting for the
Senator from Alabama.
It is fitting that we are discussing this issue on July 26, for it
was on July 26, 1947, that the National Security Act of 1947 was signed
into law. This law established the Defense Department, an institution
with officers whose promotions the Senator from Alabama is blocking
today. This law was passed with overwhelming support from leaders of
both parties.
In 1947, of course, the Senate was full of debates and even bitter
disagreements on all sorts of issues, just as it is today. But Senators
understood that while we can debate all day on any number of issues, we
owed it to our servicemembers and the American people to stand united
in our efforts to support our military and to keep Americans safe,
secure, and free.
In the same manner, our military works together despite their own
personal differences or political views. My father served in World War
II and survived the Battle of the Bulge. He told me that the members of
his unit came from all sorts of different backgrounds. They, no doubt,
held many different views, but on the battlefield, those differences
weren't important. What mattered was their common bond as Americans,
their common love of country, and their common commitment to freedom.
What my father's generation did and what our servicemembers do every
day is nothing less than extraordinary. Compared to their courage, the
political and dangerous game that Senator Tuberville is playing seems
very, very small.
No Senator, no matter their party, has the right to put their
personal and political agenda ahead of our national security and our
servicemembers' freedom and safety. I urge my Republican colleagues to
join me in opposing Senator Tuberville's efforts to undermine our
bipartisan commitment to our servicemembers and our national security
because, ultimately, this kind of reckless, partisan game does not
reflect who we are as Americans.
On distant battlefields and in faraway places, thousands of miles
from their homes, our brave men and women in uniform risk their lives
and confront great dangers so that all of us--including my colleague
from Alabama--can be safe, secure, and free. While my colleague stands
in the way of promotions, our servicemembers stand in the way of our
greatest foes.
We can't ever repay the debt that we owe those who served, but we owe
them nothing less than our full support, and that starts with ending
this reckless stunt, uniting as Americans, and advancing these overdue
promotions.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I follow the strong remarks from my
colleague from New Hampshire.
I also note that we are joined by the Senator from Massachusetts, who
has called out these delays from the very beginning, called out this
what I will call a blockade. We thank Senator Reed for his leadership
of this committee.
These Senators here before us work every single day to make sure our
military is strong. And what is going on with the Senator from Alabama,
he has placed a reckless hold--a reckless hold--on the nominations of
some of our Nation's finest public servants to more than 275 general
and flag officer positions.
These holds, as you have heard tonight, are preventing the Pentagon
from executing smooth leadership transitions for the most critical
roles in our Nation's security apparatus and leaving entire Agencies
without leaders.
I should note that our colleague from Alabama has not taken issue
with the quality of these 275 candidates. In fact, some of these
candidates were actually nominated for other positions by the previous
President and earned bipartisan support. But our colleague from
Alabama, for the reasons outlined by my friend from New Hampshire, is
now holding the entire military chain of command hostage.
When I was home this past weekend, when I was at festivals, when I
was in parades, everyone knew someone, everyone knew someone at the
Duluth Airshow that was being held up. Everyone had heard about it from
their friends. Certainly, every marine I met, they knew what was going
on. So if people think this is just politics as usual and one Senator
can just hold up the promotions and the positions of these fine public
servants, they are wrong. People have noticed.
For example, we are currently without a confirmed Commandant of the
Marine Corps. Our country has not been in this position since 1911. To
say it in a different way, in 112 years, we have never let this role
sit vacant until today because of one single Senator and his views,
which, by the way, are not consistent with the majority of the American
people's views.
My colleague has also stalled the promotions of three esteemed
military leaders with strong ties to my own State. If you ask me,
careers of honorable service should not be met by the politics of
partisan spite.
My colleague's completely unnecessary interruption of promotions that
support our military's essential work comes at a time when having
steady, complete teams in place couldn't be more important. Whether you
look at Ukraine's existential fight against Russia or the ever-growing
threat of China, it is clear that the world needs America's leadership.
I spoke about this last night at length and today when it comes to
keeping our covenant with those who stood with us on the battlefield,
those who stood with us in Afghanistan. And here we are again tonight,
really talking about the same thing in a different way.
We can talk all we want on this floor about what goes on, but those
who actually serve, they deserve the best. And this is not the time to
let essential roles sit vacant. Our servicemembers and the civilians
who serve our military must be able to look to their leaders for
guidance and stability.
This blockade is creating uncertainty among the people whose job it
is to protect our Nation and forcing less experienced leaders to act in
more senior roles.
I don't want to wait around and see what the worst possible outcome
of delaying these transitions could be. In fact, I don't even want to
think about that. But because of my colleague's blockade, we have no
choice.
To use the words of one retired admiral, ``This is not a game.'' Our
country deserves better. The Senate must do better.
Every day this blockade, caused by one Senator--one Senator--
continues, it hurts our military, and it helps our enemies. We must end
the blockade now.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I want to say a very special thank-you to
Senator Klobuchar for her thoughtful and passionate words about the
harm that the Senator from Alabama is imposing on our military and on
our Nation.
As the Senator from Minnesota said, we are here fighting to try to
protect our Nation while Senator Tuberville, in the view of the former
Secretaries of

[[Page S3598]]

Defense of both parties, is undermining our national security.
I also want to thank Senator Reed for his leadership and his steady
hand in trying to persuade the Senator from Alabama that it is time to
end this blockade.
This is the third time that I have come to the Senate floor to ask
the Senator from Alabama to reconsider his unprecedented action of
blocking hundreds of promotions earned by our men and women in uniform.
The Senate votes on nominees appointed by the President to occupy top
roles in government--Cabinet Secretaries, judges, and Ambassadors. The
Senate's role in approving nominations also extends to thousands of
military promotions every year. If a colonel does an exceptional job
and their military services promotion board decides that they are ready
to be a brigadier general, the Senate must hold a vote for that
promotion to go through.
In the vast majority of circumstances, this vote is a formality. Most
of these promotions are considered in big batches rather than one at a
time. Most of the time, there isn't even a recorded vote.
We are confident in the process, and we pass these people through.
They have been thoroughly vetted, and their promotions are essential
for our security.
But now, for 5 months, the Senator from Alabama has blocked all--
all--senior military nominations and promotions from moving forward
without a recorded vote. That means one Senator is personally standing
in the way of promotions for 273 of our top-level military leaders.
One Senator is preventing the Marine Corps from having a Commandant
for the first time in 100 years.
One Senator is setting the Army on a similar course not to have a
senior leader.
One Senator is blocking the confirmation of the President's top
military adviser, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
One Senator is holding up pay raises for hundreds of men and women in
uniform. One Senator is jeopardizing America's national security.
The Senator from Alabama has taken this dangerous step because he
disagrees with a policy the Department of Defense announced after last
year's abortion decision by the Supreme Court. After that decision, the
Department clarified that, if a member of the armed services needs to
travel to access abortion care or other kinds of reproductive
healthcare that are not available where they have been stationed--for
instance, because a State where they have been stationed has banned
these forms of healthcare--then they can leave to do so. This is a
commonsense policy that is completely legal under the Department's
existing authorities, as established by Congress.
The Senator from Alabama disagrees. I think he is wrong. But, look,
we all have executive branch policies that we disagree with. As I
previously pointed out, as Senators, we have many tools to influence
policies. We can hold hearings. We can write oversight letters. We can
vote. We can pass laws.
In fact, the Senate Armed Services Committee recently voted on a bill
that would get rid of the policy that the Senator from Alabama opposes.
The proposal to get rid of the policy failed to get a majority. It was
rejected. And if we held that vote among the full Senate, I believe it
would fail here as well.
In short, the Senator from Alabama doesn't have enough support to
actually pass a law to change the Department's policy. So the Senator
from Alabama, instead of accepting what the majority has decided here,
instead has decided to hold our senior military leaders and their
families hostage as a protest against the fact that he doesn't have
enough votes to change a perfectly legal policy that he just doesn't
like.
Since I was here last asking for these promotions to be approved, the
situation has only become worse. The Senator from Alabama's hold has
left the Marine Corps without a Commandant and will soon leave the Army
without its most senior leader as well. If this continues through the
fall, the President will be deprived of his top military adviser.
The Senator from Alabama is decapitating the leadership of our own
military. And make no mistake, the real people being punished by these
holds are the military families who had expected to make a move as part
of taking up a new post in service to their country.
We must address the damage this hold has inflicted on our Armed
Forces, and we must do so by immediately approving every single one of
the 272 leaders being held hostage by the Senator's actions, not pick
up 1 or 2, not 10 or 20 whom the Senator from Alabama decides would buy
him some time--every single person.
This summer is a critical time for families moving across the country
or across the world to try to find new housing, to enroll their kids in
new schools, and, generally, to get ready for the new school year. But,
now, all of that is on hold because those families don't know where
they are going to be in the fall.
The Department of Defense has shared stories of students who are
disenrolled from their current school because they thought they would
be somewhere else in September. But now they don't know if they can
enroll in their new school because their parent doesn't know if they
will be able to relocate by then.
Spouses who assumed they would be moving or even ended a job now
don't know where they may live or work.
These hundreds of nominees and their families can't wait for us to
figure this out when we get back from the August recess. The Senator
from Alabama needs to fix this now. If the Senator from Alabama refuses
to lift his hold, he will be forcing families to either pull their kids
out of classes in the middle of the school year or spend the year
hundreds or even thousands of miles away from their loved ones.
Over 500 Active-Duty military spouses recently delivered a petition
to the Senator from Alabama urging him to release his hold and to end
this uncertainty for military families. They said it was ``highly
inappropriate and unpatriotic to wage a political battle by using
military servicemembers as pawns.''
These Active-Duty military spouses got it right. Spouses and families
support our servicemembers. If we treat them and their service with
this level of profound disrespect, we will only be exacerbating our
country's military recruiting challenges.
We recently held a confirmation hearing for Gen. C.Q. Brown, the
President's nominee to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. As the Senator from Alabama noted, General Brown has had to move
20 times over the course of his military career. General Brown was very
clear about the consequences of the holds that the Senator from Alabama
has imposed. He says that ``we will lose talent.''
Our senior military leaders don't want to be a political football,
but even they are starting to speak out about the impact of these
holds. The Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa
called these tactics ``reprehensible, irresponsible, and dangerous.''
Our civilian leaders are deeply concerned as well. In April, I sent a
letter to Defense Secretary Austin asking about the impact of holding
up these military promotions. Secretary Austin wrote: ``[T]he longer
that this hold persists, the greater the risk the U.S. military runs in
every theater, every domain, and every service.'' General Austin went
on to point out that these unprecedented and unnecessary holds are
creating ``rising disquiet from our allies and partners, at a moment
when our competitors and adversaries are watching.''
As I have mentioned before, there is bipartisan opposition to the
Senator from Alabama's actions. Seven former Defense Secretaries,
including ones who served under President Trump and President George W.
Bush, sent a letter stating that leaving senior positions ``in doubt at
a time of enormous geopolitical uncertainty sends the wrong message to
our adversaries and could weaken our deterrence.''

The first time I came to the floor to ask the Senator from Alabama to
let these promotions move forward, he was holding up 184 nominees. The
second time I asked him to step aside, the number was up to 221 top-
level servicemembers. Now, we have 273 leaders who have been blocked
from assuming leadership positions that they have earned

[[Page S3599]]

and that we need them to occupy in order to keep our country safe.
The Senator from Alabama is single-handedly holding up 10 four-star
commanders, 54 three-star commanders, multiple Silver Star and Purple
Heart recipients, the next Commandant of the Marine Corps, the next
Chief of Staff of the Army, and the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff.
We have voted on this abortion policy. The Senate Armed Services
Committee has held a briefing with the Department of Defense on this
issue. We have held a briefing with the Department of Justice. The
Department of Justice has issued a legal opinion that DOD is well
within the law. Secretary Austin has personally called the Senator from
Alabama to urge him to relent.
I am hopeful that the Senator from Alabama will finally do the right
thing and allow these servicemembers to carry out their
responsibilities to our Nation. We owe this to the people who put their
lives on the line for Active service for our country and to the
families who serve by making these lives possible.
The Senator from Alabama should relent for the families, should
relent for the Active-Duty members of the military, and should relent
for the security of our Nation.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Fetterman). The Senator from Virginia.
Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I rise with my colleagues on the floor this
evening to discuss the very unfortunate actions of my Senate colleague
from Alabama, blocking the advancements and promotions for hundreds of
military officers.
I am a Senator from Virginia. Virginia is as connected to the U.S.
military mission as any State. One out of every nine Virginians is a
veteran. Our Active-Duty community is massive. Our military families,
reservists, Guard men and women, DOD civilians, and DOD contractors
create a Commonwealth deeply, deeply connected to the American military
mission.
The map of Virginia--Yorktown, where the Revolutionary War ended; the
battlefields of the Civil War; Appomattox, where the Civil War ended;
Bedford, where a core of young people from that tiny mountain community
served and died on D-day; the Pentagon, where we were attacked on 9/
11--our map is a map of American military history. We train all Marine
officers at Quantico. We have the largest naval base in the world in
Norfolk and the largest military personnel facility in the world at the
Pentagon. Virginia is steeped in the Nation's military mission.
I also rise as a member of the Armed Services Committee and as the
father of a U.S. marine to urge my colleague from Alabama, as have my
other friends on the floor tonight, to stop punishing our troops and
their families, to stop punishing our troops and their families.
I want to talk about the policy, I want to talk about the stunt, and
I want to talk about the victims.
The policy: Senator Tuberville objects to the fact that the
Department of Defense will allow a servicemember to take time off and
travel to terminate a pregnancy lawfully. He objects to that policy.
Is that policy an unreasonable policy? No. It has been Federal policy
since the Reagan administration that Federal funds could pay for a
Peace Corps volunteer to travel to terminate a pregnancy lawfully if
the place where that Peace Corps volunteer was serving did not offer
reproductive healthcare access. The Reagan administration was a
Republican administration. The policy announced with respect to Peace
Corps volunteers in the 1980s was written by then-Department of Justice
lawyer Ted Olson, who became the Solicitor General under the Bush
administration.
So, for now 40 years, it has been Federal policy that if a Peace
Corps volunteer chooses to lawfully terminate a pregnancy, the Federal
Government will both allow her time off and pay for her travel--in
Democratic and Republican administrations.
It is, similarly, Federal policy that a female prisoner committed to
the Federal Bureau of Prisons will be allowed to travel to terminate a
pregnancy lawfully and that the Federal Government will pay for that
travel. So the policy has been now for 40 years that the Federal
Government will pay for travel of Peace Corps volunteers and Federal
prisoners to lawfully terminate a pregnancy.
Senator Tuberville wants women servicemembers to have fewer rights
than Federal prisoners. Senator Tuberville wants women servicemembers
to not be accorded the same choice and protection that we have accorded
Peace Corps volunteers since the early 1980s during the Reagan
administration.
Why--why--would we say to women who volunteer to wear the uniform of
this country and risk their lives that you are not entitled to what we
have allowed Peace Corps volunteers and Federal prisoners to have for
decades?
What is it about pledging to wear the uniform and offer your life and
service to the Nation that should disable you from rights that have
been afforded to others?
This is the policy that Senator Tuberville wants to reverse. He wants
to mandate that our servicewomen receive fewer rights and fewer
protections than Federal prisoners or Peace Corps volunteers.
I find that proposal outrageous. I find that proposal deeply
inequitable. But I do defend my colleague's right to have that opinion,
if that is his opinion. We have 100 people in this body. We have a lot
of different opinions about a lot of different things. But there is a
right way and a wrong way.
And so now let me move from the policy to the stunt. I am on the
Armed Services Committee. I have my chair here. I have been so pleased
to serve with him for the 10 years I have been in the Senate. And he
knows I have often offered amendments as part of our annual Defense
bill where I failed. I have tried to convince my colleagues, for
example, in the writing of the Defense bill to terminate outdated war
authorizations, and I have been told, no, this is not the right
committee for that; that should be in the Foreign Relations Committee.
I have asked for a vote anyway, and I lost. I couldn't convince my
colleagues that I was right.
We had a significant debate a few years ago about whether we should
do across-the-board cuts in the headquarters of the Pentagon, and I was
worried about what across-the-board cuts might do to things like
military housing. So I tried to convince my colleagues to see things my
way and, instead, adopt my position, and I failed. I had the
opportunity to persuade them, but I couldn't persuade a majority.
So what do you do when you can't persuade a majority? Do you punish
people who had nothing to do with the policy that you disagree with?
No. Not a single member of our committee has ever taken this step
during the 10 years that I have been on the committee until Senator
Tuberville has decided to undertake this stunt.
Senator Tuberville had an opportunity in connection with the Defense
bill in the committee to advocate his position--it was actually an
amendment drafted by Senator Ernst, and Senator Tuberville was the
cosponsor--to reverse the policy I described earlier and to take away
rights from servicewomen--rights that are enjoyed by Federal prisoners
and Peace Corps volunteers. And they had an opportunity to persuade.
And they offered that amendment, and they failed. They couldn't
convince a majority of the committee to go along with them. But they
had their chance.
And so once they have had their chance and failed to persuade their
colleagues, they now turn, and Senator Tuberville--I don't want to
assert this is Senator Ernst; Senator Ernst and Senator Tuberville have
the same position on the policy, but Senator Ernst disagrees with the
blockade--Senator Tuberville is now taking out his disappointment. I
couldn't convince my colleagues of the policy, so why don't I now
punish hundreds of military officers and their families? It is a stunt.
When you can't convince your colleagues, be more persuasive next time
or find a middle ground or have a dialogue and listen; and maybe the
next time you will try, you will do it better, and you will be more
persuasive. But, no, that is not what the Senator is doing. Instead, he
is deciding to punish these officers and their families.
And I will tell you, in some ways, the part of this stunt that makes
me the

[[Page S3600]]

angriest is the part that is happening right now. Right now on the
Senate floor, we are debating the Defense bill, because maybe you could
say I lost my vote in committee, but it is such an issue of conviction
and conscience for me that I want to have the whole Senate vote on it.
I could see Senator Tuberville--if it really mattered to him, if this
policy was really a matter of conviction and conscience for him, you
would think he would say: I know I lost in committee, but maybe I will
succeed on the floor of the Senate, and I want that opportunity. I want
the public to know we have offered Senator Tuberville the ability to
vote on this matter on the floor of the Senate. Let's do it in front of
the entire American public. You stand up and you say why the Department
of Defense policy is wrong and you put it to a vote and make every one
of the 100 Senators vote on it.
We have given him that opportunity. As of right now, 5 after 11, the
night before we hope to finish the NDAA, he has not accepted it.
Wait a minute. Does he even care about this issue? If it is a matter
of conscience and conviction, wouldn't you want to debate it on the
floor of the Senate to show how much you care about it? But as of right
now, he has not accepted our offer to allow him to have this vote.
Why hasn't he accepted the offer? He knows he is going to lose and
probably lose worse than he lost in the committee because there are
many people--both Democrats and Republicans--who are tired of the
punishment that he is meting out on these military officers. That is
why this is a stunt.
If he had the courage of his convictions, he would be on the floor
listening to this right now. If he had the courage of his convictions,
he would be asking for a vote. If he had the courage of his
convictions, he would be accepting the outcome of the vote. And if
unsuccessful, he would stop this foolish blockade.
Last, about the victims: My colleagues have done a very good job of
talking about who is being damaged and how. It is these officers,
certainly, but it is really their families--the inability to move, to
find a new school for your children. We have officers among the list of
those being blockaded who, on the assumption of a promotion, because it
has been done as a matter of course for decades--sold a home, can't buy
a new one because the new orders haven't yet come through and have had
to pay out of their personal funds to move their families because the
military won't pay to move them, hoping that they might be able to get
reimbursed.
We have a Virginia officer who has been blocked a promotion, whose
wife is a public-school teacher who had resigned from her job and not
accepted the contract for the public school for the next year on the
thought that she would be looking for a job in a new jurisdiction for a
public school. And now she is out of the past job without the ability
to go find a new job. What did they do to deserve this?
My colleagues have pointed out that Senator Tuberville does not
object to the qualifications of any of these people. He voted for them
in committee. In addition, Senator Tuberville has not asserted that a
single one of these people had anything to do with the policy he
doesn't like.
I mean, it would be one thing if we were nominating for a promotion
the individual who developed the policy that Senator Tuberville didn't
like. You might understand him subjecting that individual to some more
significant scrutiny and even opposition. But none of these people had
anything to do with the travel policy announced by the Department of
Defense after the Dobbs decision.
So punishing people who were serving this country, who had nothing to
do with the policy that you complain about; punishing them not because
of what they did but punishing them because you were not persuasive
enough to convince your colleagues to embrace a policy that you
advanced. It makes no sense.
We know we are facing a recruiting challenge in the military. We are
facing it generally. We also know that in certain specialties, that
recruiting challenge is particularly acute. Use pilots for an example.
Pilots have a lot of opportunities. A number of the officers who are on
this list are Air Force or Aviators in the other service branches, and
they have all kinds of options to go to the private sector and get paid
a whole lot more than they do, but they choose to work for less because
they are patriotic about this country and they believe this country
respects them.
What does this say to them? What would you do if you were a rational
person and you had an opportunity when your promotion was being blocked
for something you had nothing to do with, what would you do if there
was another opportunity you could take?
My oldest son, who is Active Duty and now a Marine Reservist, is of
an age where an awful lot of people are trying to make this decision
about: Do I stay in the military or not? I have had a career. I have
been in for 8 years or so. Do I stay and make a full career out of it
or not?
We know from recruiting polling that we have been doing that one of
the main reasons we have a recruiting and retention problem in the
military--this was identified in Army polling--is people's belief--it
is interesting. I was actually surprised by this polling. We are not
having a recruiting challenge because people are afraid to serve or
think they might get injured. We are having a recruiting challenge
because people believe that if they serve in the military, they will
fall behind their peers who don't serve in the military; that their
peers who don't serve might advance in their careers and have
opportunities decades from now that would be more than what I have if I
went in the military.
So if that is our significant problem right now, what is the message
that is sent to people who might want to serve if they know: Wow, one
Senator who is unhappy with something the Pentagon does can block my
professional advancement even though I had nothing to do with that,
even though I have served honorably and deployed and won a Silver Star
and Purple Heart and other citations for bravery, even though all that
happens--if one Senator--only one, only one--is unhappy with something
that the Pentagon has done, they can block my professional advancement,
just for that reason. How is that going to help us counter the
recruiting and retention problem we have in the U.S. military?
My colleagues have done a good job of listing some of the particular
positions that are vacant. They have no confirmed Commandant of the
Marine Corps to come up against possibly no confirmed chief of staff on
the joint chiefs of staff, to have no confirmed head of the U.S. Naval
Academy.
Virginia is a shipbuilding and sub-building State. To have no head of
Navy nuclear reactors--we are the premiere producer of nuclear subs in
the world. The reactors get built in Virginia--in Lynchburg,
generally--and then they get installed on subs and carriers in Newport
News. This is what our State does. This nuclear reactor thing is not
something to mess around with. It is not a minor thing that just anyone
can do. To be the head of Navy nuclear reactors is a really important
position.
We just announced through President Biden an initiative with
Australia and the United Kingdom to do nuclear sub capacity building
together over the course of decades. How good would we be at this
commitment we have made if we don't have a head of naval nuclear
reactors confirmed in serving this country?
So I join with my colleagues on this floor and ask Senator Tuberville
to stop punishing these people.
They served enough. They have done enough. They sweat enough. They
bled enough. They moved enough. They sacrificed enough, and they are
willing to do even more. Stop punishing them. Stop punishing them.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I want to commend the Senator from Virginia
for his articulate and passionate and compelling comments this
evening--and all of my colleagues. All of them have made the point that
these holds have cascading effects.
It is not just the individual nominee; it is the person waiting to
take his or her position. It is not just someone in uniform; it is a
family. We are talking

[[Page S3601]]

about hundreds of people on the list for nominations. We are talking
about thousands of people whose lives will be changed--extraordinarily
changed.
The particular effects are on the family. No one serves in the
military alone. Families serve. And when you see the disruption that is
going to take place--young people not being able to get into schools,
teachers who give up their teaching jobs and can't get another--those
are real, real costs, in addition, obviously, to every day wondering
whether that servicemember who is your spouse or your father will
return, or whether mother will return, and, particularly, when they are
committed overseas in areas of combat or confrontation.
Now, what Senator Tuberville has said is, ``Well, let's just vote on
them.'' That is ridiculous. We know it would take months and months of
exclusive voting on these nominations to clear this list, while another
list is building up.
And also, there has been some suggestion that we simply--well, we
have to get a Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps or the Commandant.
Let's vote on a commandant.
But there is an ethic in the military: Leave no one behind.
We cannot turn our backs on the hundreds of relatively young
professionals, those colonels who are being promoted to O-7. All of
them contribute significantly to the protection of this country, to the
stability of our Armed Forces, and they can't be ignored.
What I would like to do is to indicate who would be left behind, who
at this point are being ignored--in fact, more than that. What I am
going to call off is a roll of honor of men and women who serve and are
being dishonored by Senator Tuberville's hold upon their nominations.
I am going to proceed in approximately chronological order from the
nomination going forward.
The President nominated Col. Leigh A. Swanson to be brigadier general
in the U.S. Air Force. She is a senior flight surgeon in the Air Force.
Colonel Swanson has 29 years of service, amassing 545 flight hours and
55 combat flight hours. She carries her medical license in the State of
Alabama.
Col. David J. Berkland is nominated to brigadier general of the U.S.
Air Force. He is a command-rated pilot with over 3,400 flying hours,
including 900 combat hours.
Col. Amy S. Bumgarner is in the U.S. Air Force and is nominated to
brigadier general. She is currently serving as Vice Commander, Air
Force Office of Special Investigations at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
She has now served 28 years in uniform, spanning 17 different
assignments, including in Afghanistan.
Col. Ivory D. Carter, nominated to brigadier general, is currently
serving as Director, Legislative Liaison, U.S. Cyber Command, Fort
Meade. He began his Air Force career as an enlisted information manager
in 1990. He has now served 33 years in uniform, spanning 15 different
assignments.
Col. Raja Chari is nominated for brigadier general. He is currently
serving as an astronaut with NASA. Yes, we are blocking someone who is
going to be one of our astronauts.
Col. Jason E. Corrothers is nominated to brigadier general. He is a
1999 graduate of the Air Force Academy. He served 24 years in uniform,
spanning 14 different assignments.
Col. John ``Bryan'' Creel is nominated to brigadier general. He
amassed over 35 years of uniform service. He is now graded as a command
pilot and has more than 7,500 flight hours. He has been awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device, one of the most
significant decorations that one could obtain in the Air Force.
Col. Nichols B. Evans has been nominated brigadier general. He is
currently serving as Executive Assistant to the Commander, Pacific Air
Forces, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
Col. Bridget V. Gigliotti has been nominated to brigadier general.
She grew up in a Navy family and was commissioned in May 1997 upon
graduation through the Air Force Academy. She has now served 26 years
in uniform, spanning 19 different assignments.
Col. Chris B. ``Wolf'' Hammond is nominated to be brigadier general.
Colonel Hammond is rated as a command pilot, amassing more than 3,000
flight hours, including 400 combat hours. He has now served 25 years in
uniform, spanning 17 different assignments.
Col. Leslie F. Hauck. He is currently serving as Commander, 52nd
Fighter Wing, in Germany. He is rated a command pilot with over 2,400
hours in the F-16, including 285 combat hours in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom. He has also been deployed in support of Operations
Iraqi Freedom and Noble Eagle.

Colonel Kurt C. Helphinstine is nominated to brigadier general. He
has over 2,700 flying hours in the F-15E, T-38, and T-37, and has 905
combat hours over Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
I think all of these gentlemen and ladies who have flown hundreds of
hours in combat don't deserve to be disrespected as they are now and
wonder if they will get promoted.
Col. Abraham L. Jackson, to be brigadier general, has 25 years in
uniform as a career intelligence officer, spanning 15 different
assignments.
Col. Benjamin R. Jonsson to be promoted as brigadier general. Colonel
Jonsson was assigned to Charleston Air Force Base, where he flew some
of the initial C-17A combat missions of Operations Enduring Freedom and
Iraqi Freedom, from 2006 to 2008.
Colonel Jonsson and his family lived in Amman, Jordan, where he
graduated from the University of Jordan as an Olmsted Scholar. He later
served as the Desk Officer for Egypt and Jordan on the Joint Staff J-5
during the Arab Spring. He is a superbly qualified individual, both as
an Air Force officer and as someone who knows a great deal about the
Middle East.
Col. Joy M. Kaczor, nominated to brigadier general, is currently
serving as Commander, White House Communications Agency, Joint Base
Anacostia-Bolling.
Col. Christopher J. Leonard, nominated to brigadier general. Colonel
Leonard entered the Air Force in May 1997, after graduating from the
U.S. Air Force Academy. He has now served 26 years in uniform, serving
in 23 different assignments, including numerous overseas postings.
Col. Christopher Menuey, to be brigadier general, is currently
serving as Director of Commander's Action Group, Headquarters U.S.
Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
Col. David S. Miller, nominated to brigadier general, is currently
serving as Vice Commander, Air Force Sustainment Center, Tinker Air
Force Base, Oklahoma.
Col. Jeffrey A. Phillips to be nominated as brigadier general.
Colonel Phillips received his commission via Officer Training School at
Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama in 1999, following 6 years of service
as an enlisted airman. He has now served 30 years in uniform, 24 as an
officer, spanning 20 different assignments.
Col. Erik M. Quigley to be brigadier general. Colonel Quigley was
commissioned in 1997 as a distinguished graduate from Utah State
University's ROTC Program. He has now served 26 years in uniform,
spanning 17 different duty assignments, including a deployment to
Afghanistan.
Col. Scott Rowe to be brigadier general. He has now served 25 years
in uniform, spanning 14 different duty assignments, including as
Commander, 12th Flying Training Wing, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph,
Texas; and Commander, 18th Operations Group, Kadena Air Base, Japan.
Col. Derek M. Salmi to be brigadier general. Colonel Salmi is a
command pilot with more than 3,000 hours in flight and trainer
aircraft. He has deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom,
Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn.
Col. Kayle Stevens. Colonel Stevens is a graduate from Wellesley
College and received her commission through ROTC at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. She is a career intelligence officer.
Col. Jose E. Sumagil to be brigadier general. He is Chief, Air Force
Senate Liaison Division. He has now served 26 years in uniform,
spanning 18 different duty assignments. He is rated as a master
navigator with more than 2,500 flight hours.
Col. Terence G. Taylor to be a brigadier general. Colonel Taylor
attended the University of Virginia, where he served his commission
through the Air Force ROTC. He is a command-rated pilot with more than
4,800 flying hours, including 1,800 combat hours.

[[Page S3602]]

Col. Daniel J. Voorhies. Colonel Voorhies attended the University of
Virginia. He was commissioned through ROTC. He has now served 22 years
in uniform, spanning 11 different duty assignments.
Col. Michael O. Walters to be promoted to brigadier general. Colonel
Walters has combat experience in Operations Enduring Freedom, Freedom's
Sentinel, and Inherent Resolve. He has amassed more than 2,600 flying
hours, including 588 combat hours.
Col. Adrienne L. Williams is currently serving as Vice Commander,
18th Air Force, Scott Air Force Base. She has now served 23 years in
uniform, spanning 16 different duty assignments.
The President also nominated Col. Corey A. Simmons to be brigadier
general in the U.S. Air Force. He has now served 25 years in uniform,
spanning 19 different duty assignments. He is a command pilot with more
than 3,200 hours in airlift and trainer aircraft.
The President nominated Rear Admiral George M. Wikoff to be vice
admiral in the U.S. Navy Central Command/Commander Fifth Fleet and
Commander, Combined Maritime Forces. He has served 33 years in uniform,
spanning 29 different duty assignments.
The President has nominated the following officers to brigadier
general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve:
Col. Sean M. Carpenter. He has served nearly 18 years on Active Duty.
He is a command-rated pilot with over 3,000 flying hours, including 325
combat hours, and over five combat deployments.
Col. Mary K. Haddad. Colonel Haddad has 13 years of Active Duty,
spanning 13 different duty assignments, including numerous combat
assignments.
Col. James L. Hartle to be brigadier general. He has served 23 years
of Active-Duty service, spanning 21 different duty assignments,
including a number of combat deployments.
Col. Aaron J. Heick. Colonel Heick has served 26 years in uniform,
spanning 17 different duty assignments, including a deployment to
Turkey.
Col. Joseph D. Janik to be brigadier general. Colonel Janik earned
his commission via Officer Training School, Maxwell Air Force Base in
Alabama. He is a command-rated pilot with over 4,000 flight hours and
3,000 civilian flight hours.
Col. Michael T. McGinley to be brigadier general. He has now served
25 years in uniform, spanning 11 different assignments, including as
Director of DIU, the Defense Innovation Unit.
Col. Kevin J. Merrill. Colonel Merrill is a command pilot with more
than 3,700 hours in multiple aircraft. He was deployed on several
occasions in support of Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom,
and Iraqi Freedom.
Col. Tara E. Nolan to be brigadier general. She has served 28 years
in uniform spanning 18 different duty assignments, including in support
of numerous combat and contingency operations.
Col. Roderick C. Owens to be brigadier general. Colonel Owens has
served 27 years in uniform spanning 15 different duty assignments.
Col. Mark D. Richey. Colonel Richey has 26 years of uniformed
service. Colonel Richey is a command pilot with more than 4,500 flying
hours and 675 combat sorties.
Col. Norman B. Shaw, Jr., to be a brigadier general. He is a command
pilot with more than 3,400 flying hours.
The President has also nominated Col. Kristen A. Hillery to brigadier
general. She has served 30 years in uniform spanning 14 different duty
assignments, including Commander, 752nd Medical Squadron, March Air
Force Base, CA.
Col. Michelle L. Wagner to be brigadier general. She has now served
26 years in uniform spanning nine different assignments, including two
medical commands.
The President has also nominated the following officers to the grade
of major general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve:
Brig. Gen. Elizabeth Arledge, who spent 6 years on Active Duty
working with nuclear weapons, conventional munitions, and special
operations aircraft before joining the Air Force Reserve in 1998.
Brig. Gen. Robert M. Blake has amassed more than 4,500 flying hours
in military aircraft, including combat sorties in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Brig. Gen. Vanessa J.E. Dornhoefer, who has 27 years of Active-Duty
service spanning 16 different duty assignments.
Brig. Gen. Christopher A. Freeman. Brigadier General Freeman earned
his commission from the Air Force ROTC Program at the University of
Alabama in 1992 as a distinguished graduate. He has been awarded the
Purple Heart, the Legion of Merit, and the Defense Distinguished
Service Medal. He is being held in this blockade.
With that, I would like to yield to the Senator from Virginia.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The gentleman from Virginia.
Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I would like to continue this wall of
honor, this honor roll of these patriotic public servants.
Rear Admiral John Gumbleton to be a vice admiral of the U.S. Navy and
Deputy Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command. He currently serves as
the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Budget. He has 34 years
of service to the Navy. His awards include the Legion of Merit, the
Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Rear Admiral Christopher S. Gray to be a vice admiral of the U.S.
Navy and the Commander of Navy Installations Command. He currently
serves as Commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic and has 34 years of
service. He has served as the Commander of Navy Region Northwest and
the Chief of Staff of Navy Installations Command. His awards include
the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the
Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal With Combat ``V'' and Strike/
Flight numeral 1.
Rear Admiral James Pitts to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and
Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfighting Requirements and
Capabilities. He currently serves as the Director of the Warfare
Integration, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. He has 37 years
of service. He has been awarded the Legion of Merit with one gold star,
Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal with
three gold stars. He has 30 different awards, many received multiple
times.
Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach for reappointment as a general in the U.S. Air
Force and Commander, Air Force Combat Command. He currently serves as
the Commander of Pacific Air Forces. He has 38 years of
service. General Wilsbach is a command pilot with more than 5,000 hours
in multiple aircrafts, Defense Distinguished Service Medal with one
oakleaf cluster, Defense Superior Service Medal with one oakleaf
cluster, Legion of Merit with two oakleaf clusters, and the Bronze Star
Medal.

Maj. Gen. Linda S. Hurry to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Air
Force and Deputy Commander, Air Force Materiel Command. She is
nominated to be the Deputy Commander of Air Force Materiel Command,
which manages installation and mission support, discovery and
development, testing and evaluation, and life cycle management services
and sustainment for every Air Force weapon system. Air Force Materiel
Command employs nearly 86,000 military and civilian airmen, managing a
$71.3 billion budget. Major Hurry has served for 32 years. Her awards
include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with one
oakleaf cluster, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one
oakleaf cluster.
BG Miguel Mendez to be a major general in the Army National Guard of
the United States. He served 35 years in the Army, encompassing 20
different duty stations. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal
with two bronze oakleaf clusters and the Army Commendation Medal with
one bronze oakleaf cluster.
COL Marlene Markotan to be brigadier general of the U.S. Army
Reserve. She currently serves as the Group Commander at Fort Totten,
NY. She served 32 years in the Army, encompassing 20 different duty
stations. She was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Meritorious
Service Medal with three bronze oakleaf clusters.
Col. David Castaneda to be brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force
Reserve. He served 30 years in the Air Force, 21 different duty
stations. He served in multiple different leadership capacities at both
the headquarters and wing level. He is a command pilot with more than
2,600 hours in the F-16 and F-35,

[[Page S3603]]

and more than 550 of those hours are in combat. His awards include the
Legion of Merit with one oakleaf cluster and the Meritorious Service
Medal with three oakleaf clusters.
MG Karl H. Gingrich to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army while
also serving as a Deputy Chief of Staff in the U.S. Army. He currently
serves as Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation with the U.S.
Army. He has 34 years in the Army, 23 different duty assignments,
including 2 assignments in support of combat operations. He was awarded
the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with four
bronze oakleaf clusters, and the Bronze Star Medal.
The following three officers have been nominated to serve as rear
admiral in the Navy Reserve:
Rear Admiral Kenneth R. Blackmon currently serves as the Reserve
Director for U.S. Fleet Forces Command and previously served as Deputy
Commander of the U.S. Third Fleet. He was awarded the Legion of Merit,
the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one oakleaf cluster, and the
Joint Service Commendation Medal.
Rear Admiral Marc Lederer currently serves as the Reserve Deputy for
Fleet Readiness and Logistics for the CNO. He has 32 years in the Navy
encompassing 21 different duty assignments. His awards include the
Legion of Merit with one gold star, the Defense Meritorious Service
Medal with one oakleaf cluster, and the Meritorious Service Medal with
one gold star.
Rear Admiral Robert Nowakowski currently serves as Reserve Vice
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces for U.S. Central Command. He has 31 years
in the Navy encompassing 21 different duty assignments. He previously
served as Deputy Commander of the Navy Recruiting Command. I would love
to have him here and ask him how this blockade might affect recruiting
into the Navy. His awards include the Legion of Merit, the Defense
Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal with one
gold star.
The President has nominated these six officers in the Navy Reserve to
the grade of rear admiral as unrestricted line officers:
CAPT Jeffrey Jurgemeyer. He currently serves as Chief of Navy
Reserve, U.S. Naval Surface Force Pacific. He has 30 years in the Navy
and Reserve encompassing 18 different duty assignments. He was awarded
the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Meritorious Service Medal
with two gold stars.
CAPT Richard S. Lofgren currently serves as the Commanding Officer of
Navy Reserve Fourth Fleet. He has served 30 years, 20 different duty
assignments. His awards include the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious
Service Medal with one gold star.
CAPT Michael Mattis currently serves as the Deputy Commander, Navy
Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command in San Diego. He has
29 years in the Navy, 17 different duty assignments. He has been
awarded the Legion of Merit with two gold stars and the Bronze Star.
CAPT Richard Meyer serves as the Deputy Commander of the Navy Region
Southeast Reserve Component in Fort Worth. He has 30 years in the Navy,
20 different duty assignments, and has been awarded the Legion of Merit
with one gold star and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
CAPT Bryon T. Smith is currently serving as Commanding Officer of the
Navy Reserve Navy Installations Command EOC. He has 28 years in the
Navy, 17 different duty assignments. His awards include the Legion of
Merit with one gold star and the Meritorious Service Medal with one
gold star.
CAPT Michael R. Vanpoots is currently serving as the Deputy Commander
of Navy Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command. He has 28
years in the Navy, 20 different assignments. His awards include the
Defense Superior Service Medal and the Defense Meritorious Service
Medal.
CAPT John Byington to be a rear admiral. He has served 33 years in
the Navy, with 22 different duty assignments. He previously served as
the Region Commander for the Naval Information Force Reserve Southeast
Region. His awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with
two bronze oakleaf clusters and the Meritorious Service Medal with one
gold star.
CAPT John Robinson to be rear admiral in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He
currently serves as the Commanding Officer of the Navy Reserve Chief of
Information Headquarters. He has 26 years in the Navy, 10 different
duty stations. He has been awarded the Defense Meritorious Service
Medal with one gold star and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Lt. Gen. Gregory Guillot--we had him before our committee today--who
is a general in the U.S. Air Force, to serve as the Commander of the
U.S. Northern Command, protecting the homeland of the United States and
North America, and also to be the Commander of North American Aerospace
Defense Command, NORAD. He currently serves as Deputy Commander of U.S.
Central Command. He has commanded a flying squadron, operations group,
two flying wings, and a numbered Air Force. He has served 34 years in
the Air Force, with 24 different duty assignments, and has more than
1,380 flying hours. His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal,
the Defense Superior Service Medal with two oakleaf clusters, the
Legion of Merit with one oakleaf cluster, and the Bronze Star Medal
with two oakleaf clusters.
LTG Laura A. Potter to be a lieutenant general in the Army and also
to serve as the Director of Army Staff. She currently serves as the
Deputy Chief of Staff, which is the principal officer responsible to
the Chief of Staff of the Army for all Army intelligence matters. She
has 33 years in the Army, 20 different duty assignments, including four
in support of combat operations. She has been awarded the Distinguished
Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal with one bronze
oakleaf cluster, Legion of Merit with one bronze oakleaf cluster, and
the Bronze Star Medal with one bronze oakleaf cluster.
MG William J. Hartman to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army
while serving as the Deputy Commander of U.S. Cyber Command. He
currently serves as Commander of Cyber National Mission Force. He was
born in Mobile, AL. He graduated from the University of South Alabama
ROTC Program. He has 33 years in the Army, encompassing 19 different
duty assignments, including 8 assignments in support of combat
operations. His awards include the Legion of Merit with one bronze
oakleaf cluster, the Bronze Star Medal with two bronze oakleaf
clusters, and the Meritorious Service Medal with four bronze oakleaf
clusters.
CAPT David Ludwa to be a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He
has 28 years in the Navy, 24 different duty assignments. He has been
awarded the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with
one bronze oakleaf cluster and the Meritorious Service Medal with two
gold stars.
CAPT Peter Muschinske to be a rear admiral to the U.S. Naval Reserve
as a Navy Chaplain. He currently serves as the Deputy Fleet Chaplain
with the Navy Reserve U.S. Pacific Fleet. He served 33 years in the
Navy, all as Chaplain. He served in 15 different duty assignments
providing chaplain and ministry services to sailors and marines around
the world. His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal with three
gold stars.
CAPT Marc F. Williams to be a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy Reserve
Civil Engineer Corps. He earned his commission after graduating from
the academy in 1998 with a degree in ocean engineering. He has 25 years
in the Navy, 17 different duty assignments. His awards include the
Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars and the Joint Service
Commendation Medal.
LTG Andrew M. Rohling to be a lieutenant general while also serving
as the Deputy Chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Military Committee--a very important position because it is a very
important time for NATO. He served as a deputy commanding general, U.S.
Army, Africa, Europe. He has 34 years in the Army, 27 different duty
stations, 7 supporting combat operations. His awards include the
Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal for
combat service, Legion of Merit with two bronze oakleaf clusters, the
Bronze Star Medal for Valor with one bronze oakleaf cluster, the Bronze
Star Medal with three bronze oakleaf clusters, and he is also a Purple
Heart recipient.

[[Page S3604]]

MG John B. Richardson IV to serve as Commanding General, First U.S.
Army; 32 years of service, 27 different duty assignments, including 6
assignments supporting combat operations. Defense Superior Service
Medal for Combat Service, Defense Superior Service Medal with one
bronze oakleaf cluster, Legion of Merit for Combat Service, the Legion
of Merit with two bronze oakleaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal for Valor,
Bronze Star Medal with two oakleaf clusters, Purple Heart recipient.
I will now rest my voice and yield back to my chairman, Senator Reed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. REED. I thank the Senator from Virginia, and let me continue the
roll of officers.
Brig. Gen. David P. Garfield. He is a command pilot with 4,800 flying
hours, including 506 combat hours. He has been awarded the Legion of
Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Brig. Gen. Mitchell A. Hanson to become major general. Brigadier
General Hanson has flown the A-10 and F-16 in a variety of operational
assignments and is a command pilot with more than 3,400 flying hours
and over 200 combat hours.
General Jody A. Merritt. She has served 33 years in uniform, spanning
17 different duty assignments. She has been awarded the Legion of Merit
and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
General Adrian K. White. He has 33 years of uniformed service,
spanning 17 different duty assignments. He has been awarded the Legion
of Merit and Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
General William W. Whittenberger, Jr. He is a command pilot with more
than 4,500 hours and has flown combat missions in Bosnia, Kosovo,
Afghanistan, and Iraq. He has been awarded the Legion of Merit and the
Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
General Christopher F. Yancy. His combat experience includes nine
deployments in Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Southern
Watch and Northern Watch; multiple operations in the former Yugoslavia;
and Expeditionary Fighter Squadron Command in South Korea.
The President has nominated COL Carlos M. Caceres to be a brigadier
general in the U.S. Army Reserve. The colonel has served 31 years in
uniform. He completed a 19-month deployment to Iraq and was awarded the
Bronze Star.
The President has nominated COL William F. Wilkerson to be a
brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserve. He has 22 months deployed
in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been awarded
two Bronze Stars.
The President has nominated COL Evelyn E. Laptook to be a brigadier
general. She has now served 30 years in uniform, including as Deputy
Surgeon General, Office of the Surgeon General, Defense Intelligence
Agency, and Chief of Intelligence/Assistant Chief of Staff J2, Kosovo
Forces.
The President has nominated BG Ronald R. Ragin to be a major general
in the U.S. Army. He has five separate deployments to Iraq and
Afghanistan. He has been awarded four Legion of Merits and three Bronze
Stars.
The President has nominated CAPT Walter D. Brafford and CAPT Robert
J. Hawkins to be appointed to the grade of rear admiral. Captain
Brafford has 27 years of service as a dental officer. Captain Hawkins
has 26 years of service, primarily as a nurse anesthetist.
The following individuals have been nominated to rear admiral (lower
half):
CAPT Amy N. Bauernschmidt. She is currently serving as Commanding
Officer of the USS Abraham Lincoln. She has 29 years of service.
CAPT Michael Brent Devore, 28 years of service. He worked as
Commanding Officer of the USS New York and Commanding Officer of USS
Stethem.
CAPT Thomas Anthony Donovan, 27 years of service; Commanding Officer,
Naval Special Warfare Tactical Development and Evaluation Squadron TWO.
CAPT Frederic C. Goldhammer, 30 years of service; Commanding Officer,
USS Ronald Reagan.
CAPT Ian Lake Johnson, 29 years of service; Commanding Officer, Naval
Station Newport, RI; also awarded the Legion of Merit and Meritorious
Service Medal.
CAPT Neil Andrew Koprowsky. He was the Commanding Officer of the USS
Kearsarge and Commanding Officer of the USS San Antonio.
CAPT Paul Joseph Lanzilotta, currently serving as Commanding Officer
of the USS Gerald R. Ford. His awards include the Legion of Merit and
the Meritorious Service Medal.
CAPT Joshua Lasky, currently serving as Assistant Deputy Director for
Global Operations, J39, Joint Staff, Washington, DC; 29 years of
service.
CAPT Donald Wilson Marks, 28 years of service. He was the Commanding
Officer of Naval Surface Group Western Pacific.
CAPT Craig Thomas Mattingly. He is currently serving as Senior
Military Advisor, Office of the Secretary of the Navy; 29 years of
service.
CAPT Andrew Thomas Miller, currently serving as Chief of Staff, U.S.
Strategic Command Special Activities Atlantic; 29 years of service.
CAPT Lincoln Michael Reifsteck, serving as Branch Head, Commanders
Action Group, Undersea Warfare Division, N97; 28 years of service.
CAPT Frank Alexander Rhodes IV, 28 years of service, was a Commander
of Carrier Air Wing THREE. His awards include the Legion of Merit and
the Meritorious Service Medal.
CAPT Thomas Edwin Schultz, currently serving as Executive Assistant
to the Under Secretary of the Navy; 29 years of service; and was
Commanding Officer of the USS Green Bay.
CAPT Todd Edward Whalen, currently serving as Chief of Staff, Naval
Surface Force Atlantic; 28 years of service.
CAPT Forrest Owen Young, 29 years of service and formerly Commander,
Carrier Wing FIVE.
The President has nominated CAPT Frank G. Schlereth III to be rear
admiral (lower half), U.S. Navy. He is currently serving as Division
Chief/Executive Assistant to the Director, Defense Intelligence Agency,
and he is selected as Special Duty Officer with Foreign Expertise. He
served as Naval Attache in Greece and the Assistant Naval Attache in
Israel.
The President has nominated CAPT Brian J. Anderson and CAPT Julie M.
Treanor for appointments to the grade of rear admiral (lower half).
Captain Anderson is currently serving as Assistant Commander, Supply
Chain Policy and Management, Naval Supply Systems, and he has 28 years
of service.
CAPT Julie Mary Treanor is currently serving as Chief of Staff, N41,
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, with 29 years of service.
The President has nominated RDML Casey J. Moton and RDML Stephen R.
Tedford for appointments to rear admiral in the U.S. Navy.
Admiral Moton is currently serving as Program Executive Officer,
Unmanned and Small Combatants. He has 34 years of service.

Admiral Tedford is currently serving as Program Executive Officer for
Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons. He has 32 years of service.
The President has nominated RDML Rick Freedman to be a rear admiral
in the U.S. Navy. Admiral Freedman is currently serving as Director,
Education and Training, Defense Health Agency; 32 years of service.
The President has nominated RDML Kenneth W. Epps to be a rear admiral
in the U.S. Navy. Admiral Epps is currently serving as Commander, Naval
Supply Systems, Command Weapons Systems Support; 33 years of service.
The President has nominated the following officers to the grade of
rear admiral in the Navy:
RDML Stephen Dennard Barnett, currently serving as Navy Region Hawaii
Commander/Naval Surface Group MIDPAC; 32 years of service.
RDML Michael Wayne Baze, currently serving as Commander,
Expeditionary Strike Group THREE; 33 years of service.
RDML Richard Thomas Brophy, Jr., currently serving as Chief of Naval
Air Training; 32 years of service.
RDML Joseph F. Cahill III, currently serving as Commander, Carrier
Strike Group FIFTEEN; 31 years of service.
RDML Jeffrey John Czerewko, currently serving as Commander, Carrier
Strike Group FOUR; 33 years of service.
RDML Brian Llewellyn Davies, currently serving as Submarine Group TWO
Commander, assumed additional duties as Second Fleet Deputy Commander;
32 years of service.
RDML Michael Philip Donnelly, currently serving as Task Force SEVEN

[[Page S3605]]

ZERO Commander/Carrier Strike Group FIVE Commander; 34 years of
service; formerly Commanding Officer of the USS Ronald Reagan.
RDML Daniel Pratt Martin, currently serving as Director of Maritime
Operations, Task Force U.S. Pacific Fleet, 32 years of service.
RDML Richard Edward Seif, Jr., currently serving as Submarine Group
SEVEN Commander/Task Force FIVE FOUR; 30 years of service.
RDML Paul Carl Spedero, Jr., currently serving as Carrier Strike
Group EIGHT Commander, with 33 years of service.
RDML Derek Andrew Trinque, currently serving as Commander,
Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN/Amphibious Force, Seventh Fleet, with
31 years of service.
RDML Dennis Velez, currently serving as Commander, Carrier Strike
Group TEN; 31 years of service.
RDML Darryl Leo Walker, currently serving as Commander, Combined
Joint Task Force CYBER Tenth Fleet; 33 years of service.
RDML Jeromy Boone Williams, currently serving as Commander of U.S.
Special Operations Command Pacific; 30 years of service.
The President has nominated the following officers to appointments to
the grade of rear admiral (lower half), U.S. Navy:
CAPT Joshua Charles Himes, currently serving as Chief of Staff, U.S.
Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. Tenth Fleet; 30 years of service.
CAPT Kurtis Arthur Mole, currently serving as Information Warfare
Commander, Carrier Strike Group FIVE; 28 years of service.
The following nominations to brigadier general:
COL Brandon C. Anderson, currently serving as Deputy Commander
(Maneuver), 2nd Infantry Division (Combined), Eighth Army, Republic of
Korea; 27 years of service.
COL Beth A. Behn, currently serving as Chief of Transportation and
Commandant, U.S. Army Transportation School, Fort Lee, Virginia; 29
years of service.
COL Matthew W. Braman, 28 years of service, including Commander, 2nd
Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, during Operation Enduring Freedom in
Afghanistan; awarded the Silver Star.
COL Kenneth J. Burgess, 26 years of service; awarded Legion of Merit
and Bronze Star.
COL Thomas E. Burke, currently serving as Director of House Affairs,
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs,
Washington, DC; 29 years of service.
COL Chad C. Chalfont, 28 years of service and awarded the Bronze
Star.
COL Kendall J. Clarke, Commander, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry
Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Operation
Enduring Freedom; Legion of Merit and Bronze Star.
COL Patrick M. Costello, 26 years of service; Commander, 3rd
Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense
Artillery Brigade, Operation Enduring Freedom.
COL Rory A. Crooks, 29 years of service; Commander, 1st Battalion,
37th Field Artillery, during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
COL Troy M. Denomy, 27 years of service; Commander, C Company, 2nd
Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, Operation Iraqi Freedom,
Iraq; and awarded the Purple Heart.
COL Sara E. Dudley, Commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company,
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, during Operation
Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
COL Joseph E. Escandon, Commander, U.S. Army Joint Modernization
Command, Futures and Concepts Center. He has 27 years of service.
COL Alric L. Francis, Commander, Field Artillery Squadron, 3rd
Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, during Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan.
COL George C. Hackler, 29 years of service, was Director of
Capabilities Development, Combined Security Transition Command in
Afghanistan during Operation Resolute Support.
COL William C. Hannan, Jr. He was Chief, Office of Security
Cooperation--Iraq, Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, and was awarded the
Bronze Star.
Col. Peter G. Hart, with 28 years of service. He was Director of the
J-5, U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom in
Afghanistan.
COL Gregory L. Holden has 28 years of service. He served as the
Director of the J-2 Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command,
Operation INHERENT RESOLVE in Iraq.
COL Paul D. Howard is currently serving as the Commandant for the
U.S. Army Signal School in Fort Gordon, GA.
COL James G. Kent was the Executive Officer to the Deputy Commanding
General of the U.S. Army Materiel Command at the Redstone Arsenal,
Alabama, and he is being nominated for brigadier general.
COL Curtis W. King commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense
Artillery, during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
COL John P. Lloyd is currently serving as Commander of the North
Atlantic Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Brooklyn, NY.
With that, I yield to my colleague from Virginia.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, VADM Jeffrey W. Hughes, VADM of the U.S.
Navy. While serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Capability
Development, he received his commission after graduating from Duke
University. He has 35 years in the Navy with 22 different duty
assignments and is formerly Commander of Navy Personnel Command. He
received the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and
the Meritorious Service Medal with one gold star.
Maj. Gen. Heath A. Collins to be a lieutenant general of the U.S. Air
Force while serving as Director of the Missile Defense Agency. He is
currently serving as the Program Executive for that Agency at the
Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. He was nominated to lead this important
Agency that is a critical research and development and acquisition
Agency within the Department of Defense. He has spent 30 years in the
Air Force with 23 different duty assignments. He was awarded the Legion
of Merit with one oakleaf cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service
Medal with two oakleaf clusters, and the Meritorious Service Medal with
one oakleaf cluster.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Kruse to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Air
Force while serving as the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
He has 32 years in the Air Force with 24 different duty assignments and
the Defense Superior Service Medal with three oakleaf clusters, the
Legion of Merit with two oakleaf clusters, and the Defense Meritorious
Service Medal.
Maj. Gen. Michael G. Koscheski to be a lieutenant general while
serving as the Deputy Commander of the Air Combat Command. He has 31
years in the Air Force with 24 different duty assignments, 2,800 flying
hours, including more than 650 combat hours in Syria, Iraq, and
Afghanistan. He has the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of
Merit with two oakleaf clusters, and the Defense Meritorious Service
Medal with two oakleaf clusters.
Lt. Gen. Donna D. Shipton to be a lieutenant general of the U.S. Air
Force while serving as the Commander of the Air Force Life Cycle
Management Center. She has 31 years in the Air Force with 19 different
duty assignments, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior
Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with one oakleaf cluster, and the
Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two oakleaf clusters.
LTG John S. Kolasheski to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army
while serving as the Deputy Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe-
Africa. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he led V Corps efforts in
support of Ukraine, deploying a corps element to Poland and
subsequently establishing a permanent headquarters forward. He has 34
years of service with 24 different duty assignments. He has the
Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, five
Legions of Merit, three Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service
Medals, the Combat Action Badge, Airborne Badge, and Ranger Tab. He
served three combat tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. He has been
forward-deployed in combat for a total of 46 months--nearly 4 years
away from his family.
COL Matthew N. Gebhard to be brigadier general in the U.S. Army
Reserve. He has 30 years in the military with 19

[[Page S3606]]

different duty assignments. He has earned the Airborne, Ranger, and
Expert Infantryman Badges.
COL Katherine M. Braun to be brigadier general of the U.S. Army
Reserve. She is an intelligence officer by training and has 27 years of
service. She has the Meritorious Service Medal with two oakleaf
clusters.
The following two nominations are for brigadier generals to the grade
of major general:
BG Mary V. Krueger is currently the Commanding General of the Medical
Readiness Command, East, and the Chief of the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
She served in both Iraq and Afghanistan for 19 months and commanded
clinics, hospitals, and medical research centers. She has three Legions
of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, a
Flight Surgeon Badge, and an Expert Field Medical Badge.

BG Anthony L. McQueen is serving currently as the Commanding General
of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. He deployed
to Iraq twice for a total of 20 months. He received the Army
Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, three
Legions of Merit, four Meritorious Service Medals, the Expert Field
Medical Badge, Airborne Badge, and Air Assault Badge.
GEN Jack J. Stumme to be a brigadier general of the U.S. Army. He is
currently Army Chaplain and is serving as the Command Chaplain for the
U.S. Army Europe and Africa commands. He has deployed as a chaplain to
serve the critical religious and spiritual needs of the military four
separate times, including to Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, for a total
of 36 months. He has received the Defense Superior Service Medal, the
Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service
Medal, six Meritorious Service Medals, two Joint Service Commendation
Medals, and the Airborne Badge.
COL James F. Porter to be a brigadier general in the U.S. Army
Reserve. He is currently serving as the Chief of Staff for the 311th
Sustainment Command in Los Angeles, CA. He has deployed three times in
support of contingency operations in Cuba and Kuwait for a total of 25
months. He has the Legion of Merit, three Meritorious Service Medals,
and the Airborne Badge.
BG Beth Salisbury to be a major general in the U.S. Army. She is a
medical corps woman and is a specialist in occupational therapy. She
has commanded medical companies, medical commands, and medical
brigades. She has deployed four times to Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq in
support of contingency operations for a total of 43 months of forward
deployment--nearly 4 years away from her family. She has the Legion of
Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, five Meritorious Service Medals, and two
Joint Service Commendation Medals.
Maj. Gen. Michael J. Lutton to be a lieutenant general in the U.S.
Air Force while serving as Deputy Commander of the Air Force Global
Strike Command. He previously commanded the Air Force's only group
providing initial training for the Nation's space and intercontinental
ballistic missile operations. He has received the Defense Superior
Service Medal, two Legions of Merit, and four Meritorious Service
Medals.
MG Charles D. Costanza to be a lieutenant general while serving as
the Commanding General of the V ``Fifth'' Corps. He currently serves as
the Commanding General of the 3rd Infantry Division. He has 32 years in
the Marine Corps, encompassing 21 different duty assignments, including
5 in support of combat and contingency operations. He has received the
Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star,
and other decorations.
Maj. Gen. James H. Adams III to be a lieutenant general in the U.S.
Marine Corps. He currently serves as the Deputy Director of
Requirements and Capability Development on the J-8, Joint Staff. He has
32 years in the Marine Corps with 23 different duty assignments. His
past assignments include Branch Head of Aviation Plans and Policy. From
the U.S. Marine Corps, he has been awarded the Legion of Merit, the
Bronze Star, and the Air Medal.
Lt. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein to be the General and Vice Chief of
Space Operations of the U.S. Space Force. He currently serves as the
Commander of Space Systems Command. The general has commanded and led
at the flight, squadron, division, directorate, Program Executive
Officer, and field command levels. He has had 32 years in the Air Force
with 19 different duty assignments. He has been awarded the Defense
Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Meritorious
Service Medal.
Lt. Gen. Philip A. Garrant to be a lieutenant general in the U.S.
Space Force and the Commander of the Space Systems Command. He has had
32 years in the Air Force with 16 different duty assignments. He has
been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior
Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit.
The following three officers have been nominated to the grade of
major general in the U.S. Space Force:
Brig. Gen. Donald J. Cothern, who is currently serving as the Deputy
Commander of the Space Systems Command in California. He has served for
30 years in the Air Force with 16 different duty assignments. He has
been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit,
and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Brig. Gen. Troy L. Endicott is currently serving as the Assistant
Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear in
the U.S. Air Force. He deployed four times during Operations Northern
Watch, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom as a space weapons officer,
and he commanded one of the Air Force's first expeditionary space units
in Iraq. He has 29 years of service with 18 different duty assignments.
He has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of
Merit, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

Brig. Gen. Timothy A. Sejba currently serves as the Program Executive
Officer for Space Domain Awareness for the Space Systems Command in Los
Angeles. He has had 28 years of service with 17 different duty
assignments. He has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal and
the Legion of Merit.
Maj. Gen. Shawn N. Bratton to be a lieutenant general of the U.S.
Space Force while also serving as Deputy Chief of Space Operations. He
has 36 years in the Air Force with 21 different duty assignments,
including deployment in combat and contingency operations during
Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has been awarded the Defense Superior
Service Medal, the Bronze Star, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
VADM Karl O. Thomas to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and Deputy
Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare. He has 37 years of
service. He is currently serving as the Commander of the U.S. Seventh
Fleet. He has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal and the
Legion of Merit.
Lt. Gen. Michael S. Cederholm to be a lieutenant general in the U.S.
Marine Corps and Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force. He
has 34 years of service with multiple combat tours. He has been a Top
Gun instructor. He has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal,
the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal.
Brig. Gen. Derin S. Durham to be a major general in the U.S. Air
Force Reserve. He has 33 years of Active and Reserve service. He flew
numerous combat missions supporting operations in Kosovo, Iraq, and
Afghanistan. He has more than 5,150 flying hours, including 332 combat
hours. He has been awarded the Legion of Merit.
Three nominations for appointments to the grade of brigadier general
in the U.S. Army Reserve:
COL Brandi B. Peasley currently serves as the Chief of Staff of the
79th Theater Support Command in Los Alamitos, CA. She has 29 years of
service with two combat tours. She has been awarded the Meritorious
Service Medal.
COL John D. Rhodes currently serves as the Deputy Commander of the
451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command, which comprises 84 units and
8,000 soldiers. He started his career as an ROTC officer, graduating
from the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He has been awarded the
Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal.
COL Earl C. Sparks IV currently serves as Commander for the 77th
Quartermaster Group in El Paso, TX. He has 34 years of service.
BG William Green, Jr., to be a major general in the U.S. Army and the
Chief

[[Page S3607]]

of Chaplains for the U.S. Army. Chaplain Green serves currently as the
Deputy Chief of Chaplains in the Office of the Chief of Chaplains for
the U.S. Army. He has had 29 years of service and multiple deployments
in support of combat or contingency operations. He has been awarded the
Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal.
MG John W. Brennan to be a lieutenant general and Deputy Commander of
United States Africa Command. He currently serves as Director of
Operations, J-3, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force
Base, Florida. He has had numerous combat deployments and has been
awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service
Medal for Combat Service, the Legion of Merit, five Bronze Stars, and
two Bronze Stars for Valor. He has earned the Master Parachutist Badge,
the Military Free Fall Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the
Scuba Diver Badge, the Special Operations Diver Badge, a Ranger Tab,
and a Special Forces Tab.
MG Mark T. Simerly to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army and
the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency. He has had 39 years of
service and multiple combat tours, over 30 months deployed away from
his family in those operations. He has been awarded the Defense
Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.
Maj. Gen. Ryan P. Heritage to be a lieutenant general in the U.S.
Marine Corps and Deputy Commandant for Information, Headquarters, U.S.
Marine Corps. He has 33 years of service and numerous tours in support
of combat and contingency operations. He has been awarded the Defense
Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Defense
Meritorious Service Medal.
VADM Craig A. Clapperton to be a vice admiral in the U.S. Navy and
the Commander of Fleet Cyber Command. He has 34 years of service. He
has been the Commander of the Combined Joint Task Force, CYBER, Tenth
Fleet, the Commander of the Carrier Strike Group, Twelfth Fleet. He has
been awarded the Legion of Merit with two gold stars and the Defense
Meritorious Service Medal.
Four officers to the grade of rear admiral in the U.S. Navy:
CAPT Thomas James Dickinson has 28 years of service and has been
awarded the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal.
CAPT Kevin Ray Smith has 29 years of service and has been awarded the
Legion of Merit with one gold star and the Meritorious Service Medal.
CAPT Todd Sinclair Weeks has 30 years of service and has been awarded
the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal.
CAPT Dianna Wolfson has 27 years of service and has been awarded the
Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal.
The following officers are for appointment to the grade of major
general in the U.S. Air Force:
Brig. Gen. Curtis Bass, currently serves as Vice Commander of the
U.S. Airforce Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base; 28 years of
service; Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal.
Brig. Gen. Kenyon Bell, 28 years of service; Legion of Merit, Defense
Meritorious Service Medal.
Brig. Gen. Charles D. Bolton, a master navigator with more than 2,800
hours, a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Weapons School;
29 years of service; Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal.
Brig. Gen. Larry Broadwell received his commission in March 1996 from
the Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama; 2,600
flying hours, 76 combat hours, 27 years of service; Legion of Merit,
Bronze Star Medal.
Brig. Gen. Scott Cain, 2,800 hours of flying time, 28 years of
service; Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Brig. Gen. Sean Choquette, 30 years of service, multiple deployments
to support combat contingency operations; Defense Superior Service
Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal.
Brig. Gen. Roy W. Collins, 28 years of service; Legion of Merit,
Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Brig. Gen. John R. Edwards, currently serves as the Director of
Strategic Capabilities at the NSC at the White House; 28 years of
service, 2,500 flight hours, including 237 combat hours; Defense
Superior Service Medal and Legion of Merit.
Brig. Gen. Jason Hinds, 27 years of service, commander of the 1st
Fighter Wing, Joint Base Langley in Virginia; Defense Superior Service
Medal, Legion of Merit.
Brig. Gen. Justin R. Hoffman, 28 years of service; Defense Superior
Service Medal and Bronze Star.
Brig. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser, 27 years of service; Defense Superior
Service Medal, Legion of Merit.
Brig. Gen. Matteo G. Martemucci, 29 years of service; Defense
Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star; currently serves
as the Director of Intelligence at U.S. Cyber Command.
Brig. Gen. David Mineau, 29 years of service; Legion of Merit,
Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal.
Brig. Gen. Paul D. Moga currently serves as the Commandant of Cadets
at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs; 2,600 flying hours,
including more than 250 combat hours; 28 years of service; Legion of
Merit; Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Brig. Gen. Ty W. Neuman also serves at the White House with the
National Security Council; 3,188 flight hours, including 294 combat
hours; 28 years of service; Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of
Merit.
Brig. Gen. Christopher Niemi, rated command pilot with 3,100 flight
hours, 30 years of service; Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of
Merit.
Brig. Gen. Brandon D. Parker, command pilot with more than 2,800
hours in bomber aircraft, 380 of those in combat, 27 years of service;
Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious
Service Medal.
Brig. Gen. Michael T. Rawls served as Commandant of the Air War
College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, command pilot, accumulated
more than 2,100 hours in 30 different aircraft; 31 years of service;
Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal.
Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, 31 years of service; Defense Superior
Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Brig. Gen. David G. Shoemaker, command pilot with more than 2,000
pilot hours, flown at Operations Provide Comfort, Northern Watch,
Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, logging more than 100
combat sorties in an F-16; 29 years of service; Legion of Merit,
Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Brig. Gen. Rebecca J. Sonkiss currently serves as the Commander of
the 618th Air Operations Center at Scott Air Force Base; 4,400 hours,
including 1,377 combat hours in nine different Air Force manned and
remotely piloted aircraft; 29 years of service; Defense Superior
Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star.
Brig. Gen. Claude K. Tudor, Jr., commissioned through the ROTC
Program at Troy State University in Alabama, 31 years of service;
Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit.
Brig. Gen. Dale R. White, 26 years of service; Legion of Merit.
Maj. Gen. David Hodne to be Lieutenant General in United States and
the Deputy Commanding General Futures Concepts at U.S. Army Futures
Command; 31 years of service; 11 tours in support of combat and
contingency operations; Purple Heart, Defense Superior Service Medal, 4
Legions of Merit, 4 Bronze Star Medals.
Brian R. Moore to be Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force,
currently serves as the Director of Staff at Wright Patterson Air Force
Base; 27 years of service; Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of
Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with three oakleaf clusters.
VADM Daniel Dwyer to be Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy, Deputy Chief
of Naval Operations for warfighting development; 35 years of service;
commanded a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan in 2008;
Legion of Merit, Bronze Star.
RDML Darin K. Via to be Surgeon General of the Navy; 32 years of
service, commander of Naval Medical Force Atlantic, command surgeon in
U.S. Central Command; Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service
Medal, Meritorious Service Medal.
Lt. Gen. Scott Pleus to be lieutenant general in the Air Force and
Director of the Air Force Staff; 33 years of service, command pilot
with more than

[[Page S3608]]

2,500 flying hours, combat hours earned during Operations Desert Fox
and Southern Watch; Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit,
Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Brig. Gen. Dale White to be lieutenant general in the U.S. Air Force
and work at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for
Acquisition, Technology and Logistics; 26 years of service; Legion of
Merit, Meritorious Service Medal.

Finally, Maj. Gen. David Harris to be lieutenant general in the Air
Force and Deputy Chief of Staff Air Force Futures Headquarters; 29
years of service; 2,500 flying hours, having flown in support of
Operations Deliberate Force, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi
Freedom, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, and Inherent
Resolve; a master navigator and parachutist, receiving his commission
following his graduation from the University of Alabama; 29 years of
service; Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal,
Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with valor device, Bronze
Star Medal.
I yield the floor.
Mr. REED. Let me continue this role of honor to be promoted to
brigadier general:
COL Shannon M. Lucas, 28 years of service, including Deputy Commander
of the U.S. Army Criminal Division at Quantico, VA; the Legion of Merit
and the Bronze Star.
COL Landis C. Maddox, currently serving as Commander Joint Munitions
and Lethality, Life Cycle Management Command. He was the executive
officer of the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Material Command,
Redstone Arsenal, Alabama; Bronze Star Medal.
COL Kareem P. Montague, currently serving as Deputy Commander 4th
Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO; 28 years of service. He commanded
the 1st Battalion, 321st Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 18th Fires
Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division; Legion of Merit, Bronze Star.
COL John P. Mountford, currently serving as Deputy Commander,
Maneuver, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, KS, and Operation ATLANTIC
RESOLVE in Poland; 28 years of service. He was awarded the Bronze Star.
Colonel Davis C. Phillips, currently serving as Program Manager of
Future Long Range Assault Aircraft Program Executive Officer Aviation
in the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama; 28 years of service; Defense
Superior Service Medal and Bronze Star.
COL Kenneth N. Reed, currently serving as Commander, Southwestern
Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Dallas, TX; awarded Legion of
Merit and Bronze Star.
COL John W. Sannes, currently serving as Deputy Chief of Staff,
Combined Joint Task Force--Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation
INHERENT RESOLVE in Iraq. He was the Commander of Special Operations
Task Force in Afghanistan and OPERATION FREEDOM'S SENTINEL; Defense
Superior Service Medal and the Legion of Merit.
COL Andrew O. Saslav, currently serving as Deputy Commander
Operations, 82nd Airborne Division. He was the Commander 1st Brigade
Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division during OPERATION SPARTAN SHIELD in
Kuwait; Legion of Merit and Bronze Star.
COL Charlone E. Stallworth, currently serving as Special Assistant
for General/Flag Officer Matters, Joint Staff, Washington, DC; 29 years
of service.
COL Jennifer S. Walkwawicz, currently serving as Director, Officer
Personnel Management Director, U.S. Army Resources Command, Fort Knox,
KY; Legion of Merit and Bronze Star holder.
COL Camilla A. White, currently serving as Chief of Staff, Office of
Assistant Secretary of the Army; 29 years of service. She was Chief of
Staff, Rapid Capabilities & Critical Technologies Office of the
Assistant Secretary of the Army, Acquisition, Logistics and Technology,
at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama; also Program Manager for Terminal
High Altitude Area Defense, Missile Defense Agency, Ground-based
Midcourse Defense, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
COL Scott D. Wilkinson, currently serving as Deputy Commander,
Support, 101st Airborne Division, Air Assault, and Operation EUROPEAN
ASSURE, DETER, AND REINFORCE in Poland; 29 years of service; Legion of
Merit, and Bronze Star Medal.
COL Jeremy S. Wilson, currently serving as Deputy Commander Support,
3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, GA; multiple combat deployments;
holder of the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal.
COL Scott C. Woodward, currently serving as Deputy Commander, U.S.
Army Combined Armed Center, Fort Leavenworth, KS; 29 years of service,
Operation INHERENT RESOLVE in Iraq, multiple combat deployments; Bronze
Star Medal for Valor and the Legion of Merit.
COL Joseph W. Wortham, II, currently serving as Deputy Commander 1st
Special Forces Command, Airborne, Fort Liberty, NC; 27 years of
service. He was the Commander of 5th Special Forces Group, Airborne,
U.S. Army, during OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE in Iraq.
COL David J. Zinn, currently serving as Commander of 3d Multi-Domain
Task Force, U.S. Army Pacific, Schofield Barracks, HI. He was the
Commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry
Division, during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM; Defense Superior Service
Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal.
The President has also nominated Maj. Gen. David R. Iverson to be a
lieutenant general in the U.S. Air Force and Deputy Commander, U.S.
Forces Korea; Commander, Combined Air Component Command, United Nations
Command; and Commander, Combined Air Component Command, Combined Forces
Command; and Commander of the Seventh Air Force Pacific Air Forces.
Major General Iverson is a rated Command Pilot with 5,400 flying
hours, including 1,500 combat hours. He is the holder of the Defense
Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal,
and other awards.
The President has nominated Lt. Gen. Kevin B. Schneider to be a
general in the U.S. Air Force and Commander of Pacific Air Forces and
Air Component Command for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; 35 years of
service; awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Air
Force Distinguished Service Medal, and the Defense Superior Service
Medal.
The President has nominated Maj. Gen. Laura L. Lenderman to be a
lieutenant general of the U.S. Air Force and Deputy Commander, Pacific
Air Forces; 29 years of service; a rated Command Pilot with more than
3,000 flight hours; and a recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal
and other awards.
The President had nominated Maj. Gen. Thomas L. James to be a
lieutenant general in the U.S. Army while serving as Deputy Commander,
U.S. Space Command. He holds advanced degrees in airpower art and
science and military operational art and science from Air University,
international relations from Auburn University Montgomery in
Montgomery, AL, and strategic studies in the Air War College at Maxwell
Air Force base in Alabama.
He serves in the aviation branch of the Army and has lived and served
in Alabama multiple times, both at Fort Rucker and Maxwell Air Force
Base. He deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Qatar in support of
contingency operations for a total of 24 months.
The President has nominated MG Leonard F. Anderson IV to be a
lieutenant general in the U.S. Marine Corps while serving as Commander,
Marine Forces Reserves, Commander, Marine Forces South.
Major General Anderson is nominated to serve as the Marine Corps'
senior most Reserve officer. He would command and control assigned
forces in order to assist and augment the Active Component with trained
units and individual marines.
He has attended the TOPGUN Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor course.
He has been awarded the Legion of Merit and other awards.
The President has nominated Lt. Gen. Timothy D. Haugh to the rank of
general in the Air Force while serving as Director, National Security
Agency/Chief, Central Security Service/Commander, and Commander, U.S.
Cyber Command.
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service leads the U.S.

[[Page S3609]]

Government in cryptology that encompasses both signals intelligence,
insights, and cyber security products and services and enables computer
network operations to gain a decisive advantage for the Nation and our
allies.
Lieutenant General Haugh will be dual-hatted as Director, NSA, and
Commander, CYBERCOM.
At this point, unless General Haugh is rapidly confirmed, we will
have a gap at one of the most important organizations in the United
States: Cyber Command and the National Security Agency.
The President has nominated LTG James J. Mingus to be a general in
the U.S. Army while serving as the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army.
He earned his commission in 1985 after graduating from the Army ROTC
Program at Winona State University, where he earned his bachelor's
degree.
He commanded the 82nd Airborne Division and has deployed multiple
times to Iraq and Afghanistan in combat roles, for a total of 38 months
of contingency operations away from his family.
He is the recipient of the Purple Heart.
The President has nominated GEN Randy A. George to the rank of
general while serving as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army.
General George has commanded at the platoon, company, battalion,
brigade, division, and corps levels. He has served in combat in
Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation
Freedom's Sentinel. He has served a total of 57 months deployed in
contingency operations away from his family.
He is the recipient of a Purple Heart.
The President has nominated Gen. Eric M. Smith, U.S. Marine Corps, to
be General and Commandant of the Marine Corps. General Smith would be
the 39th Commandant of the Marine Corps. He is the first Acting
Commandant in over 110 years.
He has led marines at every level, from platoon commander to Marine
Expeditionary Force Commander.
He is also the recipient of the Purple Heart.
The President has nominated Gen. Charles Q. Brown to the rank of
general while serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General
Brown currently serves as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force. He
is a career F-16 pilot, has flown more than 3,000 hours, including more
than 130 combat flight hours.
His awards include two Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the
Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, four
Legions of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious
Service Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, the Aerial Achievement
Medal, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal.
Mr. President, those are the nominees before us. I think what we have
demonstrated tonight is the range of assignments and organizations that
are affected by these holds, spanning every service, every theater of
operations, every sector of operations--from space to cyber, to
submarines.
This is an undermining of our military readiness which is unseen
before. These individuals deserve promotion. When the Presiding Officer
heard Senator Kaine and I talk about their qualifications, there is no
doubt they deserve promotion. And the men and women who serve beneath
them--who will serve beneath them--deserve their leadership, which has
been tested over time and in many cases--many cases--through combat.
They should not be political pawns.
Now, before Senator Tuberville, we would be talking about our
nominees. They are not nominees; they are hostages.
We can't tolerate that. That is a disservice to these men and women,
to our Armed Forces, to the men and women they lead. We have to do our
duty.
And as Senator Kaine said, there are appropriate ways to deal with
policy decisions you don't like. You can take a vote. You can't hold
all of these men and women, disrupt their family lives, send a signal
to the military that: So what--29 years of service, a couple Purple
Hearts; I don't care.
I would hope that Senator Tuberville would immediately lift these
holds. And we can't do it in a piecemeal fashion. The depth, the range
of the responsibilities we have talked about this evening can't be
cured by: Oh, we will confirm the Commandant.
We can't leave anyone behind. And if this precedent continues and is
established, it will be used again and again and again, to the
detriment of the Nation.
This is the time for us to stand up--stand up for what we always say
about our devotion to the military, our respect for the military; that
they shouldn't be demeaned; they shouldn't be used as political tokens.
It is time to stop the speeches on the Fourth of July and fill them
unanimously, as we typically do, by voice on these matters.

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