[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 76 (Tuesday, May 9, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6304-S6305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______


 NOMINATION OF JOHN M. DEUTCH, OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE 
                      CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will go 
into executive session to consider the nomination of John Deutch to be 
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, which the clerk will 
report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       John M. Deutch, of Massachusetts, to be Director of the 
     Central Intelligence Agency.
    nomination of john deutch to be director of central intelligence

  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, it is with enthusiasm that I will vote 
today to confirm the President's nomination of John Deutch to one of 
our country's most important and difficult jobs, Director of Central 
Intelligence.
  As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I have worked 
closely with John Deutch in both his present position as Deputy 
Secretary of Defense and in his prior capacity as Under Secretary of 
Defense for Acquisition and Technology. I have had the opportunity to 
admire his competence as a manager and his broad knowledge on and 
accomplishments in national security matters.
  Secretary Deutch has firsthand experience in improving our national 
security institutions. He successfully led the Pentagon's effort to 
reform its acquisition process, a long overdue and badly needed 
initiative. He also took the lead on the controversial C-17 aircraft 
negotiations and produced a good solution. In short, he has taken some 
of the thorniest problems in our largest national security institution 
and produced positive and cost-effective results.
  The U.S. intelligence community is at a critical crossroads as it 
responds to a host of new and demanding challenges. With the end of the 
cold war, the need for reliable intelligence for the President and the 
Nation's decisionmakers has not vanished, but it has changed. We have 
seen a dramatic shift in the nature of the threats to U.S. national 
security. We have seen a sharp rise in the number and intensity of 
regional conflicts including the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Somalia, and 
Haiti. We have also seen the need to broaden the cope of our 
intelligence efforts to include work on emerging challenges in 
interdiction of the international drug trade, anti-terrorism, 
nonproliferation and in support of government decisionmaking in 
economics and trade.
  At the same time, the intelligence community faces a number of 
internal challenges. The community should not, has not, and will not be 
spared the budget cuts and downsizing facing all of the Federal 
Government. And, the intelligence community must work very hard to 
recover from the shocks of the Ames case and the current controversy 
over events in Guatemala.
  The President could have named no more qualified nominee to grapple 
with these challenges. John Deutch's vast knowledge and experience, his 
track record in government, will assure that he will do so with the 
full confidence of those who work in within the intelligence community 
and those in the Congress responsible for oversight. While I have not 
agreed with him on every issue, I admire and respect his considerable 
abilities and the forthright manner in which he engages debate.
  I am very pleased today to join in what I hope and expect will be the 
unanimous confirmation of the nomination of John Deutch to be the next 
Director of Central Intelligence.
  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Madam President, it is with great pleasure that I 
support John Deutch's nomination to serve as the Director of Central 
Intelligence. During Dr. Deutch's service at the Department of Defense, 
including his service as the Deputy Secretary of Defense, John Deutch 
has been a thoughtful, decisive, and professional public servant.
  Over the last 2 years, I have worked with John Deutch on a number of 
important, complicated, and diverse issues. In every instance, Dr. 
Deutch was extremely knowledgeable about the issue, he demonstrated 
diligent followup, and he never deviated from his commitment to serve 
the national interest. I have appreciated working with John Deutch and 
he will be missed at the Department of Defense.
  John Deutch will be an excellent Director of Central Intelligence. 
This is a crucial time for the U.S. intelligence community as it tries 
to adapt to the post-cold-war era. I have every confidence that John 
Deutch will lead the Central Intelligence Agency forward in the 21st 
century.
  Madam President, I look forward to casting my vote in support of John 
Deutch's nomination to serve as the next Director of Central 
Intelligence.
  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Madam President, I am proud to support President 
Clinton's nominee, John M. Deutch, as Director of Central Intelligence. 
This is a difficult time for the CIA, but John Deutch brings 
considerable skills and experience to the position, and I have every 
confidence that he will make a difference at the CIA.
  Mr. Deutch has an impressive academic background. He has been a 
distinguished professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
He was chair of the department of chemistry there. As a teacher and a 
scientist, Mr. Deutch understands the technical details of the newest 
emerging intelligence technology, and he also has the remarkable 
ability to explain this technology in plain English, so that 
nonscientists understand.
  Mr. Deutch has also served with distinction in Government. He worked 
at the Department of Energy, as Under Secretary of Energy Technology. 
In recognition of his contributions in that position, he was honored 
with the Secretary's Distinguished Service Medal and the Department's 
Distinguished Service Medal. More recently, he served at the Department 
of Defense as Under Secretary of Acquisition and Technology. And he 
leaves DOD as the distinguished Deputy Secretary of Defense.
  Mr. Deutch will have to draw from this extraordinary experience to 
address a number of concerns at the Central Intelligence Agency. His 
responsibility is great. The CIA has been faced with a number of 
scandals of its own making. The Aldrich Ames spy case compromised U.S. 
intelligence gathering overseas. For years, the CIA was unable to 
detect his treachery, and more recently, the CIA appeared unwilling to 
appropriately discipline his superiors. This is unacceptable. I am 
confident that Mr. Deutch will address the flaws in the internal 
administration of the CIA which allowed Ames to flourish in the system 
undetected. He has pledged that in the future, anyone in a position of 
supervision over an agent who is spying on the United States, and does 
not take forceful action, will be fired.
  Mr. Deutch's nomination also comes at a time when very serious 
questions have been raised about CIA operations in Guatemala. It has 
become clear through public hearings in recent weeks that a paid CIA 
informant in the Guatemalan military was involved in horrendous human 
rights abuses against Guatemalan people, and participated in the 
torture and death of an American citizen, and a Guatemalan who was 
married to an American citizen. Further, when this information became 
known to CIA officials, it was not properly reported to the House or 
Senate Intelligence Committees. The United States must stand for 
democracy and the protection of human rights abroad. I am deeply 
offended, as are many Americans, to learn of a relationship between the 
CIA and this Guatemalan colonel.
  These and other scandals have plagued the CIA. Morale is low. John 
Deutch is clearly needed at this time to revitalize the CIA. With the 
end of the cold war, America's intelligence needs have changed. But 
they have not diminished. Our intelligence community is staffed with 
brave men and women who take risks every day to assist our policymakers 
by providing the best intelligence in the world. We must restore the 
confidence of the American people in these men and women, and in our 
intelligence gathering capabilities. John Deutch is a man of real 
quality. He is fully capable of meeting the challenges that lie before 
him.

[[Page S6305]]

  (At the request of Mr. Dole, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)
 Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I would like to express my strong 
support for the nomination of John Deutch to serve as Director of 
Central Intelligence.
  I have had the privilege of working with Secretary Deutch since 1993 
in his various capacities in the Department of Defense, first as Under 
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology, and most recently 
as Deputy Secretary of Defense. 3
  Secretary Deutch has served his Nation well in these assignments, and 
I am pleased that he will be bringing his considerable expertise to the 
Nation's intelligence community.
  This is a time of great challenge for the various elements of the 
intelligence community and, in particular, for the Central Intelligence 
Agency. As it continues the process of adapting to the intelligence 
challenges of the post-cold-war world, the CIA has been rocked recently 
by a number of problems--from the Aldrich Ames spy scandal to the 
recent revelations of possible problems with CIA activities in 
Guatemala. I am concerned about the well-being of this agency, and the 
morale of the fine intelligence professionals who serve our country--at 
great personal risk--at the CIA. The work of the CIA, and the many 
other agencies of the intelligence community, remains vital to the 
security of our great Nation. We should not lose sight of this basic 
fact as we contemplate reforms.
  I am pleased that Secretary Deutch will be taking over stewardship of 
the intelligence community at this critical time. I was encouraged by 
Secretary Deutch's testimony at his confirmation hearing regarding the 
changes that he believes should be made at the CIA. I wish him well as 
he undertakes a difficult task which is so important to the future 
well-being of this Nation.
  Mr. KYL. Madam President, I rise to support the nomination of Deputy 
Secretary of Defense John Deutch to be the Director of Central 
Intelligence. I have had the opportunity to meet with Secretary Deutch 
on a number of occasions to discuss defense and intelligence issues and 
am impressed with his ability in both of these critical areas.
  As the President's new senior advisor on intelligence, John Deutch 
will have the responsibility of placing before the Congress a vision 
for the intelligence profession that embodies the lessons learned from 
the cold war and lessons from recent unfortunate mistakes within the 
agency. He will also be required to steadfastly guard against the 
politicization of the intelligence mission by government officials who 
would use intelligence resources for other ends, at the expense of the 
core programs. My impression of John Deutch is that he is well prepared 
to meet these challenges.
  I believe John Deutch will be someone who is prepared to think 
seriously about the place and purpose of intelligence in a democracy, 
both as he fulfills his responsibilities as a senior Government 
official and as he lays the President's plans and programs before the 
Congress. In short, Madam President, I believe John Deutch will be a 
fine Director of Central Intelligence and have every confidence in his 
ability to lead the intelligence community into the 21st century. I 
wholeheartedly support his nomination.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the 
nomination.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of John M. Deutch, of Massachusetts, to be 
the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency? On this question, the 
yeas and nays have been ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  Mr. LOTT. I announce that the Senator from Virginia [Mr. Warner] is 
necessarily absent.
  Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from New York [Mr. Moynihan] is 
necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from New 
York [Mr. Moynihan] would vote ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 98, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 155 Ex.]

                                YEAS--98

     Abraham
     Akaka
     Ashcroft
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Bradley
     Breaux
     Brown
     Bryan
     Bumpers
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Coats
     Cochran
     Cohen
     Conrad
     Coverdell
     Craig
     D'Amato
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Exon
     Faircloth
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Ford
     Frist
     Glenn
     Gorton
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grams
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hatfield
     Heflin
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnston
     Kassebaum
     Kempthorne
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Moseley-Braun
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nickles
     Nunn
     Packwood
     Pell
     Pressler
     Pryor
     Reid
     Robb
     Rockefeller
     Roth
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Shelby
     Simon
     Simpson
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Wellstone

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Moynihan
     Warner
      
  So the nomination was confirmed.
  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, this matter has been cleared with the 
Democratic leader. I ask unanimous consent that the motion to 
reconsider the vote by which the Deutch nomination was confirmed be 
tabled and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's 
action.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________