[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8521-S8523]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENT ON THE NOMINATION OF THOMAS W. THRASH, JR.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am delighted that the majority leader has
decided to take up the nomination of Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., to be a
United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia. Mr.
Thrash is a well-qualified nominee.
The Judiciary Committee unanimously reported his nomination to the
Senate on May 22, 1997. The Northern District of Georgia Sixth Circuit
desperately needs Thomas Thrash to help manage its growing backlog of
cases.
We first received Thomas Thrash's nomination in May 1996. He was
accorded a hearing last Congress on July 31, 1996, but his nomination
fell victim to the Presidential election year confirmation shutdown of
1996. The President renominated him on the first day of this Congress
for the same vacancy on the District Court for the Northern District of
Georgia, which vacancy has existed since March 1996. He had a
confirmation hearing on May 7 where he was supported by both Senator
Cleland and Senator Coverdell and was reported to the Senate by the
Judiciary Committee 2 weeks later. This is another of the nominations
that has languished on the Senate Executive Calendar since long before
the July 4 recess. I am glad that the Republican leadership has allowed
this nomination to go forward. I congratulate Mr. Thrash and his family
on his confirmation.
Statement of the Nomination of Philip Lader
Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise on behalf of Mr. Philip Lader to
be Ambassador. Philip Lader is a man of integrity and honor whom I hold
in high esteem. He has a deep respect for the British people and their
beautiful country. I know that he, along with his wife Linda, and their
two young daughters Mary Catherine and Whittaker will represent the
United States well at the Court of St. James and will make us all very
proud.
Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the confirmation of
Mr. Philip Lader to be the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I have known Mr. Lader and his
family for years, and I believe he will work hard to maintain and
strengthen the long and valuable friendship between our two nations.
Although he was born in New York, and was educated at Duke
University, the University of Michigan, Harvard, and Oxford, Mr. Lader
has called South Carolina home for many years. It is in South Carolina
where he established himself as a leader in business and education. He
was associated for 10 years with Sea Pines Co., a developer and
operator of award-winning recreational communities on Hilton Head
Island. In addition, he has held the following business positions:
president of Business Executives for National Security; founding
director of the South Carolina Jobs/Economic Development Authority;
director of First Union National Bank (S.C.) and First Carolina Bank;
director of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce; chairman of the
South Carolina Governor's Council on Small and Minority Business; and a
member of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee's Travel and Tourism
Advisory Committee. In 1981, he founded Renaissance Weekend, a family
retreat for innovative leaders.
In education, he served as president of Winthrop College in Rock
Hill, SC, from 1983 to 1985. During his tenure, Winthrop was awarded
the National Gold Medal for general improvements in programs.
Academically, he has served as chairman of the South Carolina Rhodes
Scholarship Committee, trustee of three colleges, and director of the
Alumni Association at Duke University. He has taught courses at many
universities and has been awarded honorary doctorates by five
institutions.
Mr. President, for the past several years, Phil Lader has been
utilizing his business skills in the U.S. Government. He most recently
served as Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Prior to
that, he was Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Chief of
Staff. He has also been Deputy Director for Management at the Office of
Management and Budget and has been chairman of the National Performance
Review's Policy Committee, the President's Management Council, and the
President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency. In addition, he has
served on the National Economic Council, the President's Export
Council, the Community Empowerment Board, and the Board of Governors of
the American Red Cross. Currently, he is a member of the Council on
Foreign Relations.
Mr. President, all of the business, academic, and Government
experience that I have just described are tremendous assets Mr. Lader
will bring to the Court of St. James. However, Mr. Lader has even more
to offer this position, both professionally and personally.
Professionally, he was executive vice president of Sir James
Goldsmith's U.S. holding company, which was responsible for the
analysis and sales of lands previously owned by Crown Zellerbach and
Diamond International Corporations. He was also president of Bond
University, the first private university in Australia, a British
Commonwealth nation.
Personally, the Lader family has strong ties to the United Kingdom,
particularly England and Scotland. He studied English constitutional
history at Oxford University and is an Honorary Fellow of Pembroke
College at Oxford. Further, the ancestors of his lovely wife, Linda,
emigrated from Henley-on-Thames, just west of London. In fact, her late
stepmother, Catherine Marshall, was the author of ``A Man Called
Peter,'' the biography of her husband, the Scottish Presbyterian
Minister Peter Marshall, who served as the U.S. Senate Chaplain from
1947 until his death in 1949. Mrs. Lader is a trustee of the American
University in London.
Phil Lader is a man of integrity and honor, whom I hold in high
esteem. He has a deep respect for the British people and their
beautiful country. I know that he, along with his wife Linda and their
two young daughters, Mary Catherine and Whittaker, will represent the
United States well at the Court of St. James and will make us all very
proud.
Mr. President, I reiterate my strong support for the confirmation of
Phil Lader to be Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. I have no doubt that he will live up to the
commitment he made to the Foreign Relations Committee earlier this week
and devote his time and energy ``not only to the salient matters of
diplomacy, but also to the arts and letters, the streets and fields,
the industries and entrepreneurs, those who innovate and those in need,
all of which preserve and strengthen the heritage and common causes of
America and the United Kingdom.''
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Statement on the Nomination of Felix Rohatyn
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I was privileged to be on the floor at the
time the distinguished majority leader put forth the Executive
Calendar, including the name of Felix Rohatyn to be the United States
Ambassador to France. I had the privilege of introducing Mr. Rohatyn to
the Committee on Foreign Relations. And together with his lovely wife,
Elizabeth, I assure the
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Senate that they will make an extraordinarily competent team to
represent our Nation.
And now, Mr. President, I am going to do something that is unusual. I
ask unanimous consent that Mr. Rohatyn's statement before the committee
be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Statement by Felix G. Rohatyn Before the Subcommittee on European
Affairs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, July 29, 1997
Mr. Chairman and members of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee.
It is a great honor for me to appear before you today to
seek your consent to President Clinton's nomination of me to
serve as the next American Ambassador to France. It is also a
very emotional experience, for many reasons.
Let me begin by expressing to you, Mr. Chairman, my
appreciation for your courtesies and those of your staff. You
have been gracious and helpful to me and to my family in
assisting us through this rather daunting process.
I am, as you know, a refugee who came to this country from
Nazi-occupied Europe in 1942. As long as I can remember,
going back to those very dark days, being an American was my
dream. I was fortunate to achieve that dream, and America has
more than fulfilled all of my expectations. To represent, at
this time, my adopted country as her Ambassador would be the
culmination of my career; to have been nominated to represent
my country in France, a country where I spent part of my
childhood and with which I have had a lifelong relationship,
both professional and personal, seems to me more than I could
have ever hoped for.
I have been fortunate in having had a long and active
career in investment banking. Over the last 40 years or so I
have provided financial advice to a number of domestic and
foreign corporations, mainly involving their activities in
mergers and acquisitions. I have also, over the years, served
on the boards of directors of a number of large multinational
corporations. This activity has included a number of
negotiations through which French companies made significant
investments in the U.S. and vice versa. This, coupled with
the fact that my former firm has an affiliate in Paris, has
allowed me to maintain close personal relationships with a
number of French business leaders, as well as with leaders
from the world of culture, media and the arts. I have also
over the years known a number of senior government leaders
and have had the honor of being decorated by the French
government.
I believe that my business experience, as well as my
relationship with French leaders and my knowledge of France
in general, will enable me to represent my country
effectively if you choose to consent to my nomination.
I also believe that our relationship with France is
extraordinarily important. Aside from the history of allied
cooperation going back to Washington, Thomas Jefferson and
Lafayette, we have fought side by side with France in World
Wars One and Two, and more recently in the Gulf War. We sit
side by side with France in the U.N. Security Council, in the
OECD, and in every other major multinational institution; our
soldiers are participating together today in NATO's important
peacekeeping operation in Bosnia. France is one of our
largest trade partners and one of the largest foreign direct
investors in the U.S.; we are the largest foreign investor in
France. While we have many differences with France, in a
variety of areas, I believe that, most importantly, France is
a democracy which is our friend and with whom we share our
most important values.
France, like some other European countries, is going
through a difficult period of adjustment to the changes
demanded by global economic forces. France's success is
dealing with her problems is important not only in the
context of our bilateral relationship, but also in the
context of the future architecture of Europe. The U.S. has,
for the last 50 years, encouraged the political and economic
integration of Europe. France's role in such integration is
critical.
Mr. Chairman, I have had the great privilege of serving my
city and my state at a time when New York City was in
considerable difficulty. I hope that you will give me the
opportunity, by consenting to my nomination, to represent my
country's interests at a time and in a place which is
important to the U.S. I can assure you that, should you do me
this honor, I will make every effort to do so effectively.
STATEMENT ON THE NOMINATION OF JAMIE RAPPAPORT CLARK
Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I would like to make a few remarks about
the nomination of Jamie Rappaport Clark to be Director of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service. The President nominated Ms. Clark on
July 9, and I am pleased to report that last Thursday, July 24, the
Committee on Environment and Public Works reported out the nomination.
Jamie Clark is an outstanding candidate for the tasks at hand. She
has worked closely with the Environment Committee staff and Committee
members' staff on the Endangered Species Act and other tough issues. I
have heard nothing but glowing reports of her ability to work with the
Administration and Congress, which will serve her well, if confirmed.
Throughout her educational and professional experiences, she has been
involved on a daily basis with the principles of fish and wildlife
management. Jamie Clark has worked with the Fish and Wildlife Service
for over 8 years, both at the regional level and at headquarters. For
the past 4 years of her tenure with the Service, she has held the
position of Associate Director of Ecological Services.
Prior to joining the Fish and Wildlife Service, Jamie Clark was the
lead technical authority for fish and wildlife management on U.S. Army
installations worldwide. From 1984 until 1988, she managed the Natural
and Cultural Resources program within the National Guard. She also was
a research biologist for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute and
worked for the National Institute for Urban Wildlife as a wildlife
biologist.
Jamie Clark's educational background is equally impressive and suits
her well to the position of Fish and Wildlife Service Director. She
holds a master's degree (MS) in Wildlife Ecology from the University of
Maryland and a bachelor's degree (BS) in Wildlife Biology.
If confirmed, Jamie Clark will be responsible for developing and
carrying out policies to conserve, protect, and enhance the Nation's
fish and wildlife and their habitats. A number of challenging tasks
fall on the shoulders of the Fish and Wildlife Service Director,
including the management of the National Wildlife Refuge System; the
implementation of the Endangered Species Act; fish hatchery management;
recreational fishing programs; management of non-indigenous and exotic
species; conservation and management of migratory waterfowl and wild
birds; and the list of responsibilities goes on.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is an agency with the wonderful but
difficult task of serving as an advocate for fish and wildlife. It must
protect these public resources in the face of much criticism and
question. The Service is charged with fulfilling its own mission in
light of competing and sometimes conflicting mandates. It also must
address the contentious issues of private property rights, water
rights, and takings. The Service has done a remarkable job in recent
years of developing initiatives that deal with many of these issues.
The internal guidance documents for permits; the new safe harbor,
candidate conservation and ``no-surprises'' policies; the policy for
Native American rights; and the streamlining initiatives for federal
agencies have all led to better implementation of the Endangered
Species Act, better public relations, and ultimately better protection
for the species.
I am confident that Jamie Clark has the experience, insight, and the
strength to lead the Fish and Wildlife Service to continue these
initiatives and develop new ones through the challenges ahead. Thank
you.
statement on the nomination of edward gnehm, jr.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, it is a great personal pleasure for me to
express my congratulations to Ambassador Edward Ghehm, Jr. as the
Senate completes its action on his nomination to be Director General of
the Foreign Service. I have known Edward Ghehm, or Skip, as his friends
call him, since the days when we were in college together. He and I
were college roommates for 3 years. Skip has been a brother to me since
we first met. I know him better than any investigator could hope--and
there isn't anything I know I wouldn't share, from his sense of humor
to his work ethic. Skip has always put God and Country first. He has
lived a motto that says, ``If what you did yesterday still seems
important, you haven't done much today.''
It doesn't seem all that long ago, we were both attending George
Washington University here in the Nation's Capital. We used to dream
about the future. I can tell you, we never dreamed that ``someday''
we'd both be before a congressional panel, me as the junior Senator
from Wyoming, and Skip as the President's nominee for a key State
Department post.
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Through the years, we have kept track of each other. I have been very
proud, but not surprised, that Skip has gone on to accomplish great
things in his career with the State Department. I've lived around the
world through my brother.
Skip has been a man for our time. A quick glance at Skip's duty sheet
will show that whenever there has been a ``hot spot'' in the world
community that warranted the careful attention of the State Department
and a search for ``the right one''--someone with a great sensitivity to
a tense foreign situation and strong diplomatic skills to help find a
solution--Skip was often the one they called.
To name a few of his tours of duty with the State Department, Skip
has served in the Vietnamese Embassy, he has been in Nepal, and he has
been stationed in many posts in the Middle East.
Skip was a part of the team that negotiated hostage releases. He has
been in charge of evacuating Embassy families. Each change of
administration has sought out his expertise, his counsel, and his
active participation in our foreign policy. When Operation Desert Storm
became necessary, once again Skip was there, serving as our Ambassador
to Kuwait. You'll remember the proud moment when the American flag went
back up at our Embassy--Skip was the person you saw raise the colors.
Most recently, Skip has been serving as the Deputy U.S.
Representative to the United Nations.
Ambassador Gnehm is a man of great character, strongly held
principles, and the greatest integrity you could hope to find. He has
earned the respect of those he works with, and his counterparts in the
foreign countries and Embassies in which he has been assigned.
Skip is the perfect choice for the Foreign Service. He has always
seen the foreign service as his best chance to serve--to make a
difference. And he has made a difference. He has the experience and the
determination it takes to succeed. He's a proven leader who understands
the need to follow orders and the direction of our foreign policy. He
possesses the finest of administration skills. I have no doubt that the
wealth of talent he possesses will enable him to lead with confidence.
As always, Skip will do a fine job and produce results.
It is with great pleasure that I support his nomination.
NOMINATIONS OF GEORGE OMAS, JAMES ATKINS, AND JANICE LACHANCE
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, we have had some others cleared. Therefore,
I ask unanimous consent that the Senate continue in executive session
to consider the following nominations on the Executive Calendar, the
nominations of George Omas, James Atkins, and Janice Lachance which
were reported from the Governmental Affairs Committee today, that the
nominations be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the
table, any statements relating to the nominations appear at the
appropriate place in the Record, and the President be immediately
notified of the Senate's action.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The nominations considered and confirmed en bloc are as follows:
federal retirement thrift investment board
James H. Atkins, of Arkansas, to be a Member of the Federal
Retirement Thrift Investment Board for a term expiring
September 25, 2000.
office of personnel management
Janice R. Lachance, of Virginia, to be Deputy Director of
the Office of Personnel Management.
Postal Rate Commissioner
George A. Omas, of Mississippi, to be a Commissioner of the
Postal Rate Commission for a term expiring October 14, 2000.
Mr. Lott. I yield the floor.
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