[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 49 (Tuesday, April 28, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3736-S3737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination on 
the Executive Calendar: Calendar No. 578.
  I further ask unanimous consent that the nomination be confirmed; 
that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that any 
statements relating to the nomination appear at the appropriate place 
in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the 
Senate's action; and that the Senate then return to legislative 
session.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The nomination was considered and confirmed, as follows:


                     department of veterans affairs

       Togo Dennis West, Jr., of the District of Columbia, to be 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, on February 24, 1998, the Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs held a hearing on the nomination of Acting Secretary 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs Togo D. West, Jr. be the 
permanent Secretary of that agency. The committee carefully evaluated 
the nominee and his statements before the committee. It reviewed Mr. 
West's submissions of his background and financial interests and the 
investigation completed on all Presidential nominations and conducted 
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As a result, the committee 
voted unanimously on April 21 to report favorably to the full Senate 
the nomination of Togo D. West, Jr. to be the Secretary of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs.
  The Department of Veterans Affairs has been without a permanent 
Secretary since Jesse Brown resigned in July 1997. This is too long a 
period for any department of the Federal government to be without its 
senior leader and manager. It is especially true for the Department of 
Veterans Affairs which is in a period of major transition

[[Page S3737]]

of its health program from inpatient to outpatient care in a period of 
a declining real budget. In addition, the Department's administration 
of its benefits programs has been seriously challenged and is in need 
of major restructuring and effective leadership. Also, the Department, 
like other federal departments and agencies, faces a major hurdle in 
adjusting its computer-based information systems to the Year 2000.
  It appears to me that Togo D. West, Jr. has the prerequisite 
qualifications to meet these challenges, to lead the Department, and to 
provide the health and benefits services which our veterans have come 
to expect and deserve.
  Mr. West has been serving as Acting Secretary since January 2, 1998, 
pursuant to a December 2, 1997, Presidential directive under authority 
of the so-called ``Vacancies Act,'' 5 U.S.C. 3348. He concurrently has 
been serving as Secretary of the Army, a position he has held since 
November 1993. He relinquishes that position upon being sworn in as 
Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  Mr. West's background is extensive and impressive. He was 
commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Field Artillery Corps 
upon graduation from college and following law school, he was called to 
active duty in the Army's Judge Advocate General Corps. In 1975, he 
served in the Department of Justice as an Associate Deputy Attorney 
General and in 1977 he was named General Counsel for the Navy. In 1979, 
he served as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense and 
Deputy Secretary, and in January 1980 was appointed General Counsel of 
the Department of Defense.
  Mr. West is an articulate and dedicated public servant. I believe 
that he will serve well the Department and our country's veterans. 
Therefore, I thank my colleagues for their support of this nomination.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I'm delighted to join the Chairman of 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Mr. Specter, in bringing before the 
Senate the nomination of Togo D. West, Jr., to be Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs and urging his confirmation.
  Mr. President, Togo West has a long history of serving his country 
and America's service members. He began his career as an Army lawyer 
from 1969 to 1973, first as part of the Army Judge Advocate General's 
Corps and later with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army 
for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. He left the Army in 1973, but never 
strayed far from public service. In 1975, he served in the Department 
of Justice as Associate Deputy Attorney General. In 1977, he was 
appointed to serve as the Department of the Navy's General Counsel. 
From there, he also served as the Special Assistant to the Secretary 
and Deputy Secretary of Defense, and in 1980 he was appointed General 
Counsel of the Department of Defense.
  Most recently, Togo West served our country as Secretary of the Army, 
a position he held beginning in 1993, until President Clinton appointed 
him Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs on January 2, 1998. As 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, West will be responsible for 
safeguarding and improving the VA's system of delivering health care 
and benefits to America's 26 million veterans. VA is the second largest 
federal agency, employing almost 235,000 people, many of them veterans 
themselves.
  Togo West will be filling the vacancy left by Jesse Brown, the former 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Jesse Brown has always been a tireless 
veterans advocate, and his leadership and energy are missed by veterans 
and others who also fight on behalf of veterans.
  Mr. President, Togo West has a wonderful opportunity to serve the 
veterans of our Nation in this new capacity. He has demonstrated 
himself to be a person of the highest integrity with extraordinary 
leadership skills. President Clinton has shown great confidence in him, 
his work, and his commitment to veterans by nominating him to serve in 
this important position. I concur with the President who has said that 
Togo West ``has always understood the special responsibility we owe to 
our men and women in uniform both during and after their years of 
service.'' His unique perspective and experience will serve him well in 
meeting the challenges that lie ahead.
  Mr. President, I am proud of the confirmation of Togo West. I thank 
my colleagues for their unanimous support of this nomination.

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