The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar (Executive Session)” mentioning Gary C. Peters was published in the Senate section on pages S4744-S4747 on June 24.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
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The publication is reproduced in full below:
Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar
Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise once again in support of Jen Easterly's nomination to be Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, commonly referred to as CISA.
Yesterday, I came to the floor to urge my colleagues to swiftly confirm Ms. Easterly to lead CISA so she can get to work in strengthening our Nation's response to the recent onslaught of online attacks that have literally wrought havoc to our critical infrastructure, businesses, and even government.
With her more than three decades of service in the public and private sectors and her critical role in crafting vital cyber security recommendations as a member of the Cyber Solarium Commission, Ms. Easterly is more than qualified to lead this critical Agency. Her leadership is needed now more than ever, after the damage and the chaos that recent cyber attacks have caused. We urgently need a qualified and Senate-confirmed leader in place before the next major breach, which could be even worse.
Yesterday, when I called on the Senate to immediately confirm this critical nominee, the Senator from Florida objected, not because he opposes Ms. Easterly's confirmation, and, in fact, he actually helped advance her nomination out of my committee just last week. Instead, he blocked the swift confirmation of this critical cyber security leader because he wants to extract a completely unrelated political concession from the Biden administration.
As we now know, Vice President Harris has announced that she will travel to El Paso tomorrow, along with Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, to assess the situation on the southern border. The Biden administration and Secretary Mayorkas have worked hard to address our border challenges, and, as a result, we have seen a reduction in the number of unaccompanied children who are in DHS custody.
But this nomination is not about the border, as much as my Republican colleagues try to conflate these issues. This nomination is about cyber security. This nomination is keeping American families safe and our economy secure. That is what this nomination is all about. My Republican colleagues are continuing to stall the confirmation of Ms. Easterly at a time when we desperately need strong cyber security leadership.
The Senate is preparing to adjourn for Independence Day, which is a major travel weekend. As we have seen from recent cyber attacks, our transportation networks are vulnerable. Criminal organizations and foreign adversaries will continue their efforts to compromise our networks. We must be prepared for attacks that could disrupt trains or flights over the holiday weekend.
We must confirm Ms. Easterly as the CISA Director now, not in 2 weeks and not in 2 months. We must have a qualified Senate-confirmed leader in place to help us address these attacks.
If our Republican colleagues won't consent, they risk weakening and slowing our cyber defenses at a time when attacks could cause serious disruptions. These attacks risk the lives and livelihoods of countless Americans. Safeguarding against them should not be a partisan issue. Putting in place highly qualified cyber leadership should not hinge on whether Republicans in the Senate approve of the Vice President's travel schedule.
I urge the Senator from Florida to withdraw his objections so that we can do our job, confirm Ms. Easterly today, and help protect the American people from this grave national security threat.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 176, Jen Easterly, of New York, to be the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, and the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
The Senator from Florida.
Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, before I address this issue, I will take a moment of personal privilege to talk about the horrific tragedy that occurred in Surfside, FL, when an apartment building collapsed earlier this morning.
Miami-Dade fire and rescue, Miami-Dade police, and our other brave first responders rushed to the scene and have been working nonstop to rescue those trapped in the rubble. It looks horrible. I have talked to quite a few people down there, and we know of one confirmed death, and, hopefully, there won't be no more. But I know they are still trying to get people out of the rubble.
So I join all my Floridians in praying for strength for these first responders and all those impacted by this disaster.
First, I want to thank my colleague for giving me a few moments to speak on this difficult moment for my State.
My colleague raised this same issue yesterday. I am here fighting for accountability for the American people. So I will say the same in return.
I voted to support Ms. Easterly's confirmation in committee last week. If Senator Schumer filed for cloture, like he has done for dozens of other nominees this year, I would vote to support her confirmation here on the Senate floor. In fact, I don't understand why Senator Schumer didn't file for cloture on Tuesday night when my office first learned of my colleague's intention to raise this. We could be voting on her confirmation right now.
As my colleague has said, this isn't about Ms. Easterly, in my mind. This isn't about cyber security. Remember, we announced and confirmed the National Cyber Director last week. Just yesterday, the Senate confirmed the Administrator of the General Services Administration, which is a key Agency for modernizing and protecting the Federal Government's IT infrastructure. I am here today because families in my State of Florida and across our Nation deserve accountability, and President Biden has shown a total lack of accountability when it comes to addressing the border crisis. That is why I announced last month that I will be holding all of President Biden's nominees for the Department of Homeland Security from being approved through our expedited process until he and Vice President Harris visit the border and see for themselves the crisis their failed policies of open borders and the amnesty have created.
As we all know, yesterday, the White House announced that the Vice President will be visiting the border tomorrow, and absolutely, I think we all hope that is true. The administration made a lot of promises they haven't kept. They promised not to raise taxes. They promised to reopen schools quickly. They promised to be tough on Communist China. There is quite a list.
So trust me--I am glad the Vice President seems to be taking my advice and finally listening to the American people and visiting the border. I truly hope she gets down to the border to see the crisis that this administration's failed policies have created.
I hope she meets with the National Border Patrol Council to hear from them what our brave CBP agents are going through every day to keep us safe.
I hope she meets with border community sheriffs who are responsible for keeping our families safe.
I hope she meets with our ICE and CBP section chiefs.
I hope she takes an aerial tour like I did and sees the gaps in the wall. I took a tour with Governor Ducey. You have the wall, and then all of a sudden, there are these openings where the fences weren't put up or the gates weren't put up.
A lot of people up here said: Oh, we don't need the wall; we need, you know, technology.
Well, there are the lights and cameras. I saw places where it just--
it wasn't electrified. It just doesn't make sense.
I hope she meets with families who have been victims of trafficking and hears their horrific stories, what this has put people through.
I hope she visits some of the border communities and talks to the mayors and talks to people down there about how they are housing and caring for this historic number of people illegally crossing our borders. This is a tough crisis that has been created.
I hope she talks to families who have lost loved ones from massive, massive amounts of fentanyl that now our cartels are moving across the border.
I hope she talks to ranchers who are impacted by people illegally crossing the border onto their property.
I think all of us would hope that it is not just a political stunt. I hope she actually says: I want to see the crisis. I want to understand exactly what happened here.
When she does, I am going to lift all of my holds, as I told my colleague.
What is happening at the border is a crisis, and I don't think there is another word for it. You can look at this chart. Look at how many people have come across. This is the number of people who have been apprehended. We don't know how many people there are who haven't been apprehended.
More than 180,000 illegal aliens tried to cross our southern border last month--the highest number in 21 years--threatening our national security and the safety of American families.
President Biden's immigration policies are putting unaccompanied minors at risk of human trafficking, violence, sexual abuse, and separation from their families. I mean, it is horrible. They are leading to an alarming increase in human trafficking and drug smuggling by cartels.
FBI Director Wray said there is ``no question'' that the cartel activity from Mexico is ``spilling over'' to the United States. We are seeing it in Florida. I talk to our sheriffs, and what they are telling me is that they are seeing a lot more deadly fentanyl coming into their counties, and it is showing up in their labs.
But instead of securing the border and finishing the wall construction projects--I don't get it. Why did President Biden terminate all the border wall projects? No one can--he has never had an explanation.
So this inaction of not going to the border by President Biden and Vice President Harris doesn't make any sense. Why can't they acknowledge that we expect and we deserve a secure border that is good for our Nation? Why can't they stand up against the radical left and say that open borders are dangerous for our families?
It should make every American furious. It is not something to laugh about. People are dying. Children are being exploited and abandoned in the desert.
This is a picture of two young 3- and 5-year-old Ecuadorian girls. You can see it. They were just dropped. Anybody who has been around little children, 3 and 5 years old--think about it. They were just dropped over the wall and just abandoned, just abandoned, hoping somebody was going to take care of them. Abandoned in the middle of the night. I mean, I have grandkids. I just can't imagine--I can't imagine anybody doing this.
The White House claims that Vice President Harris's last trip was to talk about the root causes of immigration. It doesn't make any sense. It seems like it was just a political stunt to me.
President Biden and Vice President Harris need to stop avoiding the crisis, stop laughing about the threat, get down to the border, and actually take real steps to really secure the border.
So if either of them goes to the border, I am lifting my holds, but as long as they refuse to help those risking their lives every day to keep us safe, as long as they refuse to visit the border and put an end to the humanitarian crisis they have created, I am going to keep my holds on.
Those two little girls, they deserve better. The millions of immigrants going through the legal immigration process, they deserve better. Our Border Patrol agents deserve better. Our local law enforcement agents deserve better. ICE deserves better. American families deserve better. Therefore, I object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Unanimous Consent Request--No. S. 2216
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I think we are all aware President Biden has decided to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan in September. Now, some agree with his decision; some disagree with his decision. The bill that I am about to talk about has nothing to do with the merits of his decision.
There are about 18,000--not 1,800, 18,000--interpreters and members of their immediate families who helped our troops fight the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban and against ISIS. They are at risk.
There was an article in a leading newspaper yesterday. I will read you the headline. It says: ``Afghan government could collapse 6 months after US withdrawal.''
These 18,000 interpreters and their immediate families, who have helped American troops, would like to get out. We have a visa process, which is going very, very slowly. We will not be able to get all of those 18,000 human beings out before the withdrawal in September. That much is clear.
Again, my bill has nothing to do with the merits or lack thereof of the war. My bill would direct the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State to develop a plan to relocate the Afghan interpreters and their immediate families who want to get out and bring them to America.
Now, obviously, before we bring them to America, those who want to come, we have to vet them. That is part of the problem. The vetting process right now is very slow. Rather than try to put together a bill that would set forth a specific plan to address this--I consider it a crisis if you are 1 of those 18,000 human beings--my bill will just direct the Defense Department and the State Department to come up with a plan to present to us within 30 days.
Now, my guess, and it is only a guess, is that State and Defense are going to come up with some plan to move those of the 18,000 who want to leave Afghanistan to a safe third place other than America so that we can continue to properly vet folks before they come into America. And I suggest we do need to properly vet them, but I also suggest that, No. 1, this is about right and wrong. These people helped Americans, and they helped American troops. And we owe them. And we don't want to see them massacred. And, No. 2, if we allow them to be massacred, I think it is going to send a message to many people throughout the world that loyalty to America means nothing, absolutely nothing.
So, in a nutshell, this bill would ask our Defense Department and our State Department, in the next 30 days, to give a plan to Congress to properly vet and allow any of these 18,000 interpreters and their families who helped American troops come to America.
With that, Mr. President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2216, which was introduced earlier today; further, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon table the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. King). Is there objection?
The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, in the first two decades after the Revolutionary War, America was under siege and our Capitol was ransacked, but I don't recall in reading history that any of our Founding Fathers said that they would flee the country or leave and give up on the quest for liberty.
The quest for liberty requires fighting by the people who have been given their liberty, the people whom we have helped to get their liberty. You can say the people in Afghanistan helped us or you can also say we helped liberate them as well.
They have been free for 20 years. It seems like it might precipitate the overcoming of the Taliban if you take 18,000 of the most westernized, those who speak English, and you say: Flee, flee, flee. The end is coming. Well, guess what. The end comes quicker if they all leave. So I would encourage them, rather, to stay and fight. I think it would be good to have many English speakers in Afghanistan. The future of Afghanistan could be a bright future, but they are going to have to fight for it. And, ultimately, it is their fight. And if we offer easy escape and easy plans to leave the country, we are assuring the defeat of the people who are our friends in Afghanistan. So I object to this piece of legislation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I respect my colleague, and I certainly respect his right to object. I disagree.
We are all aware of what is going on in Afghanistan. The Afghan Government is in a bitter fight to the end with the Taliban. And the Taliban is winning. And the Taliban is ruthless. And they are going to murder these people. They are going to murder them. And the blood is going to be on American hands if we don't do something to help.
My proposal would not have required any of these 18,000 Afghans who stood with American troops to beat back the Taliban and to beat back ISIS--they stood with us at their own risk, at the risk of their own kids, and their own spouses.
Now, we decided to leave. I am not saying that is right or wrong. I have my own opinion, but that is not what this bill is about. And we owe it to these 18,000 people to offer them a chance to live. And if we don't do something, they are going to be butchered. They are going to be gutted like a deer--like a deer--and the blood is going to on American hands. And the whole world is going to take notice.
There is right and wrong in this world. There is politics. There is a time for it. But there is a time to do the right thing, and the right thing is to help save these human lives who fought for America and their families and their children.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Arkansas.
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