[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 106 (Thursday, July 24, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S8087]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      APPROVAL OF GEORGE TENET AS DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, on Thursday evening, July 10, 1997, the 
Senate confirmed the nomination of George J. Tenet, of Maryland, to be 
the Director of Central Intelligence. I am delighted that the Senate 
has taken this action, based on the unanimous recommendation of the 
Senate Intelligence Committee.
  George Tenet is well known to many members of the Senate, as he 
served with distinction as a staff member, and then Staff Director of 
the Senate Intelligence Committee during the service of Senator David 
Boren, of Oklahoma, when he was Chairman of that Committee. When 
Senator Boren retired, to take up the post of President of the 
University of Oklahoma, George became the Assistant to the President 
for Intelligence matters on the staff of the National Security Council, 
and served with great distinction in that capacity. As a result of that 
service, he was asked by Mr. John Deutsch to be the Deputy Director of 
Central Intelligence when Mr. Deutsch was appointed Director, and he 
has served as the Acting Director since January of this year when Mr. 
Deutsch returned to the private sector. Mr. Tenet has been praised on 
the floor by the current leadership of the Senate Intelligence 
Committee, by the Chairman, the distinguished Senator from Alabama, Mr. 
Shelby, and the Ranking Democrat, the distinguished Senator from 
Nebraska, Mr. Kerrey. They have praised Mr. Tenet's capabilities, 
judgment and character. I wish to express my own confidence in his 
leadership and I believe he has the capacity to bring the agency out of 
the unfortunate period that it has recently experienced which was 
tarnished by espionage scandals, and too rapid a turnover in the Office 
of the Director. He faces the challenge of bringing morale up, as well 
as restoring public and Congressional confidence in the intelligence 
organization of the nation. It is his responsibility to ensure that the 
Intelligence Community performs on the basis of the highest standards 
of integrity, and that the tremendous analytical, technical, and 
personnel resources that the community possesses, without rival in the 
world, are brought to bear on the often dangerous and difficult targets 
and areas of concern that constitute the intelligence agenda of the 
nation.
  Mr. Tenet is already known as a strong leader with clear focus and a 
broad vision. I do not believe there is any recent Director of Central 
Intelligence that I have dealt with that brings as strong a knowledge 
of and constituency in the Senate as he enjoys. Intelligence in the 
confusing and shifting world of this post-cold war era is vital to both 
branches of the national government, and to be successful must enjoy 
the strong support of both of them. George is uniquely qualified to 
bring about a working consensus on the priorities, activities and 
budget of the intelligence community. He enjoys an extraordinarily deep 
reservoir of support here in the Senate, and I believe in the White 
House and the Intelligence Community as well. He is an outstanding 
choice, and the President is to be commended on his selection. I look 
forward to working with him to ensure that the highly dedicated, 
talented and courageous individuals who serve the nation silently day 
and night across the globe enjoy the support that they need to carry 
out their duties. I wish him a long, fruitful and rewarding tenure as 
our new Director of Central Intelligence.

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