[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 21 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1479-S1481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NOMINATIONS
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I again thank the distinguished majority
leader. He made reference to the George Washington Farewell Address. I
remember 25 years ago, a quarter of a century ago, I gave the address
and I was awakened on that day to 25 inches of snow. The only people
who came to the Congress that day were the Presiding Officer, a clerk,
and myself to deliver that address. I remember I walked from my then-
residence some 2 miles in the snow. There was a farmer's march here,
and they were all in a tent camp, and a tractor drove me up the hill
the final 3 or 4 blocks. It was one of the few moments of any fame in
my life. I was picked by The New York Times as the ``Man of the Week''
for forging through the storm to give that very important address.
Since then, it has all been downhill for me.
I wish to address the Senate with regard to these nominations for the
Department of Defense. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the
Record a brief biography of each of these distinguished Americans who
have stepped forward to take on these responsibilities.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
James I. Finley
Jim has over 30 years of multi-national business leadership
and management experience. Programs span air, land. sea and
space for the DoD, all services and DARPA, and include the
FAA Automatic Surface Detection Radar systems and the NASA
Space Shuttle Program. Systems and subsystems experience
includes mission analysis, design. development and deployment
of weapon delivery, flight control, navigation, information
management, C4ISR, battle space management, chem/bio defense
systems. His education includes a Masters of Business
Administration, MBA, and Bachelors of Science in Electrical
Engineering, BSEE.
With a background that includes marketing, finance. program
management, engineering and manufacturing. he brings a broad
experience base of technology including international
technology transfer, outsourcing, product development, multi-
plant operations management, lean manufacturing
implementation, demand flow technology programs, six sigma/
black belt systems, information technology systems,
purchasing, logistics, facilities, security, product support
and total quality management.
His leadership and strategic planning abilities have led
many companies. including large and small operations, to
achieve double-digit financial growth. Jim has also
participated in many acquisitions and divestitures providing
business analysis including strategic fit, organizational
alignment, marketing assessments, project evaluations and
manufacturing audits.
Jim has achieved significant operational recognition and
success through progressive, increasing management
responsibilities at General Electric, Singer. Lear Siegler,
United Technologies and General Dynamics, where he was a
Corporate Officer, President of Information Systems and Chair
of the Business Development Council. In 2002, Jim formed his
own consulting company, The Finley Group, LLC, that provides
business assistance and advice for all facets of the business
cycle including start-up, growth, acquisition and
divestiture.
He resides in Ghanhassen, Minnesota, and enjoys golf,
cycling, fishing, reading and volunteer's work.
____
Pete Geren
Pete Geren joined the Department of Defense in September of
2001 to serve as Special Assistant to the Secretary of
Defense with responsibilities in the areas of inter-agency
initiatives, legislative affairs and special projects.
Prior to joining the Department of Defense, Geren was an
attorney and businessman in Fort Worth, Texas.
From 1989 until his retirement in 1997, Geren was a member
of the U.S. Congress, representing the Twelfth Congressional
District of Texas for four terms. He served on the Armed
Services, Science & Technology and the Public Works and
Transportation Committees during his tenure in the Congress.
Geren received his BA degree from the University of Texas
in 1974 and his JD from University of Texas Law School in
1978. He and his wife, Beckie, have three daughters, Tracy,
Annie and Mary.
____
Thomas Paul D'Agostino
Mr. Thomas Paul D'Agostino is the Assistant Deputy
Administrator for Program Integration and leads the Office of
Defense Programs at the Department of Energy's National
Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA. Mr. D'Agostino directs
the Stockpile Stewardship Program, SSP, which is responsible
for maintaining the safety, security, and reliability of the
Nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. The NNSA's nuclear
weapons complex includes three national research
laboratories, the Nevada Test Site, and four production
plants,
Defense Programs oversees the SSP, which employs over
30,000 people around the country. This approximately $5.2
billion program encompasses operations associated with
manufacturing, maintaining, refurbishing, and dismantling the
nuclear weapons stockpile. Defense Programs also provides
oversight and direction of the research, development, and
engineering support to maintain the safety and reliability of
the nuclear weapons stockpile in the absence of underground
testing, and assures the capability for maintaining the
readiness to test and develop new warheads, if required.
In other previous assignments, Mr. D'Agostino served as the
Deputy Director for the Nuclear Weapons Research,
Development, and Simulation Program where he directed the
formulation of the programs and
[[Page S1480]]
budget for the research and development program that supports
the SSP. From 1989 to 1996, Mr. D'Agostino worked in numerous
assignments within the Federal Government in the startup of
the Department's tritium production reactors and at the Naval
Sea Systems Command as a program manager for the SEAWOLF
submarine propulsion system.
Mr. D'Agostino is currently a Captain in the U.S. Naval
Reserves where he has served with the Navy Inspector General
and with the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Submarine
Warfare in developing concepts for new attack submarine
propulsion systems. He also served with the Deputy Chief of
Naval Operations for Plans, Policy, and Operations, N3/5, in
the Navy Command Center in the Pentagon. In this capacity, he
was the French Desk Officer for the Chief of Naval Operations
responsible for all Politico-Military interactions with the
French Navy and served as the Duty Captain at the Navy
Command Center.
He spent over eight years on active duty in the Navy as a
submarine officer to include assignments onboard the USS
Skipjack, SSN 585, and with the Board of Inspection and
Survey where he was the Main Propulsion and Nuclear Reactor
Inspector. In this position, he performed nuclear reactor and
propulsion engineering inspections for over 65 submarines and
nuclear-powered ships in the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets.
Mr. D'Agostino's awards include the Navy Commendation Medal
with Gold Stars, Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Expeditionary
Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense
Service Medal, Presidential Rank Meritorious Executive Award,
and numerous other awards. Mr. D'Agostino is married to Beth
Ann Alemany of Manchester, CT, and has two children. Mr.
D'Agostino is a member of the Senior Executive Service.
Education: Naval War College, Newport, RI, MS National
Security Studies, 1997 (Distinguished Graduate), Johns
Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, MS Business Finance, 1992,
United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD. BS Physical
Science, 1980.
Mr. WARNER. In a time of great concern for those of us who, on a
daily basis, work the situations primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan, I
hope to make I think my sixth or seventh trip to that region in the
not-too-distant future, and I am hopeful that a number of Senators will
find the opportunity to make similar trips because the situation in
both areas, in my judgment, still has a high degree of fragility and a
high degree of uncertainty. We have to reinforce the resolve of our
Nation, working with our coalition partners, to achieve the goals that
were set down by the respective governments in the coalition and,
indeed, the wise and strong leadership of the President of the United
States, in the absolute necessity that we enable both of these nations
to establish that form of democracy that they consider best suits them.
Great progress has been made in Afghanistan. Elections have been held
there. We have seen recent elections likewise in Iraq. Progress is
being made. I will have further remarks on this subject when the Senate
returns after the recess. But it is absolutely imperative that the
various factions in Iraq--Shia, Kurds--work together to bring in a
representative group from the Sunni faction to establish this
government. It seems to be off to a start, a little slower--I will
speak for myself--than I had hoped. But we have to impress upon the
leadership in those three political divisions that time is running out.
That government must be formed. They must pick individuals of
unquestioned strength and integrity to run the Ministries--primarily
the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Homeland--the Interior.
I think we have given an extraordinary measure, through loss of life,
loss of limb, through economic support. It is an enormous drain. We
will soon be dealing with enormous sums of money in continuing
supplementals to allow those people in Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, to
achieve their level of democracy.
As does every Member of this Chamber, I feel for those members of the
family in the United States, and indeed for those of our coalition
partners, who have lost a family member or are bringing back their
family member to nurture that individual who has been wounded so they
can once again resume their life and their own responsibilities.
Surveillance
I wish to comment on a different subject which has given me a great
deal of concern, and that is this question of surveillance. I will
unhesitatingly now say, given the statements yesterday by the
distinguished chairman of the Intelligence Committee--I am privileged
to serve on that committee--that in consultation with the White House,
we will proceed, hopefully, on a constructive and fair and objective,
to the extent we can get politics out of it, look at the existing laws
and determine such modifications as can be agreed upon.
I have continuously taken that stance, quietly, in consultation with
my colleagues here, with members of the gang of 14, I may say, which
has taken a constructive role in other areas--they have given some
consideration and they have a position on that after we return. But it
is imperative that we approach this in a bipartisan way.
The intelligence system underpins--it is the foundation on which we
conduct our operations of the military in harm's way. It is what we
call a force multiplier, meaning for every bit of factual, sound,
accurate intelligence effort that can be given to the Armed Forces
engaging the enemy, the likelihood is that it produces an advantage
such that you possibly would have fewer military people to carry out
the mission if you know with great precision what has to be done. We
refer to it as a force multiplier in the annals of military planning
and history, throughout our recent history. That system has undergone
some stresses, occasioned by the wise--I was a partner through this--
legislation to establish the means by which our Nation, through its
military and civilian representatives, deals with those taken as
prisoners. That is behind us.
We are now faced with the imperative necessity to give our President
every possible power in which to continue to utilize the wide spectrum
of assets this Nation has to gain that same intelligence to guide us in
the days and the weeks and the months to come and, indeed, I say the
years to come because the war on terrorism is going to go on long after
I have departed this Earth, and it will be the responsibility of my
children and my grandchildren, regrettably, for their lifetimes.
That is the turn of events that we now experience in this troubled
world. Consequently, our President, as the leader of the most powerful
Nation of the free world, must be given all the powers that we possibly
can under our Constitution, preserving the integrity of what we call
our basic rights and freedoms as given by the Constitution. But at the
same time, without that valuable intelligence, we run a greater and
greater risk to preserve these freedoms if we do not have it strong and
in place and fully functioning.
I hope we can arrive at some legislative package--and it should not
be seen as the administration giving in to the Congress or the Congress
overriding. No, we must work as coequal branches in partnership.
Recently I had a chance to have a private conversation with the
Attorney General of United States and, indeed, the senior officers who
are engaged in intelligence gathering. I felt they should build a
bridge between the two branches of Government and let us cross it
together and decide how we can strengthen this system and leave no
doubt--I underscore that--no doubt in the minds of every American
citizen that our President is acting within the law, acting consistent
with the Constitution of the United States as those powers were
enumerated 200-plus years ago but still are as vitally important today
as ever.
But this world has moved so far, for example, in the 30-odd years of
the FISA Act, which is the core piece of legislation at the moment that
is out in the public domain with years of study--so much new technology
has come on that it is time to look at the revisions which need to be
made under that act.
I do not think we should hold tenaciously on this question of the
constitutional authority of Government as being the sole province of
the administration for interpretation. Having trained in the law
myself, I don't express any great expertise, but I know men and women
of clear and sound and patriotic conscience on both sides of this issue
looking at the words of the Constitution will determine exactly what
the powers of our President are. Yes, this is a political potion and
element to the debate, but still beyond that there are men and women of
good, sound character and will on both sides of that issue.
People say: Well, let it be resolved by the courts. It may well come
to pass.
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But each day we let this uncertainty exist has the potential to
further impair the intelligence system. Those of our citizens engaged
in it and those partners we share intelligence with around the world
are beginning to wonder if there is an uncertainty about the status and
the authority of what we are doing out on the front lines gathering
intelligence, as well as all the way through the chain back to those in
positions of responsibility in Washington and elsewhere. You might not
get the degree of intelligence that you need.
We have to remove that uncertainty, and move this Nation forward ever
so strongly in its collection capabilities, and remove from those
citizens--I am not one who follows the polls, and I am not one dictated
to by the polls, but the reality is a lot of citizens of clear
conscience believe the President may not be acting within the law. We
have to remove that. We want every person in the United States to
believe our President is acting within the law as we pursue this war on
terrorism.
I am very pleased to support what the distinguished Chairman Pat
Roberts said about the meeting yesterday, and that there will be, in a
consultative process, an analysis made by the Congress and the
administration in resolving this, and possibly we can seek legislation.
It will be a challenge because of the question of the degree of
knowledge that we have with regard to how collection is undertaken and
how we translate that into law. That will be an unusual challenge
facing this body, and we are going to have to reach down and search in
our souls and put politics to one side and determine that we are acting
in the present and long-term interests of this country--that we have to
do it in such a way that when it is concluded we have across the board
supported the American public to continue to move forward stronger.
I yield the floor.
____________________