[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 167 (Monday, November 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11298-S11299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 530, the 
nomination of David Gompert, to be Principal Deputy Director of 
National Intelligence; that the nomination be confirmed, and the motion 
to reconsider be laid upon the table; that no further motions be in 
order; that any statements relating to the nomination be printed in the 
Record; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's 
action, and the Senate resume legislative session.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Merkley). Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The nomination considered and confirmed is as follows:

[[Page S11299]]

            office of the director of national intelligence

       David C. Gompert, of Virginia, to be Principal Deputy 
     Director of National Intelligence.

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I support the nomination of Mr. David 
C. Gompert to be the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence 
and urge my colleagues to support this nomination. The Senate Select 
Committee on Intelligence unanimously approved Mr. Gompert's nomination 
by voice vote on October 29.
  The Principal Deputy DNI is an extremely important position that has 
two main responsibilities: 1: to assist the DNI, and 2: to act on 
behalf of the DNI in his absence or due to a vacancy in the position.
  The Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Blair, has made clear 
to me and to the committee his strong desire to have Mr. Gompert in 
place to carry out his duties. In fact, Director Blair's predecessor, 
Admiral Mike McConnell, told the Committee when he was in office that 
carrying out the DNI function requires a strong and able deputy, and 
that a lengthy vacancy in the PD-DNI positions was a major problem 
during his tenure.
  Mr. Gompert has made clear that he will assist Director Blair by 
serving as the lead intelligence official in many policymaking areas, 
including the numerous National Security Council meetings in which 
intelligence assessments play a key role.
  He will also have an important role to play in assuring that the 
National Intelligence Program, which was recently disclosed to account 
for $49.8 billion in fiscal year 2009, is managed well and provides to 
the American public the intelligence capability required to keep the 
nation safe and its policymakers well informed.
  Especially given Mr. Gompert's role in the private sector, the 
committee will look to him to import and insist on strong management 
practices to reign in troubled acquisitions, improve information 
sharing, and help run our intelligence apparatus as a true community 
and not just a collection of agencies.
  If confirmed, Mr. Gompert will be the third principal deputy DNI 
since Congress created the position in 2004. As I mentioned previously, 
the position has been unfilled for much of the time, so I am pleased 
that the President has nominated Mr. Gompert and I am also pleased he 
will be confirmed quickly.
  Mr. Gompert was nominated by President Obama on August 6, 2009--the 
day before Congress broke for the August Recess. After going through 
the pre-hearing procedures, the Senate Intelligence Committee held a 
confirmation hearing on the nomination on October 13, 2009. As part of 
the confirmation process, Mr. Gompert was asked to complete a committee 
questionnaire, pre-hearing questions, and post-hearing questions for 
the record. The answers provided by Mr. Gompert have all been posted to 
our committee website.
  From my meeting with Mr. Gompert and based on his answers to the 
questions put to him by members of the Intelligence Committee, I can 
say that Mr. Gompert has proven that he will be an excellent addition 
to help the Office of the Director of National Intelligence carry out 
all of its important responsibilities and to make continued reforms. 
His responses to our questions have been thoughtful and thorough.
  Mr. Gompert has almost 40 years of experience as a national security 
professional and information technology company executive. He has also 
served as a national security analyst in senior White House and State 
Department positions.
  Most recently, Mr. Gompert has worked in the Office of the Director 
of National Intelligence--ODNI--on a short-term assignment to evaluate 
how the ODNI's mission managers are working in practice. In that 
informal role, Mr. Gompert worked to identify what additional measures 
can be taken to facilitate mission management and other forms of cross-
agency teaming of analysts and intelligence collectors.
  Before his service at the ODNI, Mr. Gompert was a Senior Fellow at 
the RAND Corporation. Prior to this he was Distinguished Research 
Professor at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at 
the National Defense University.
  In 2003 he was a senior advisor for National Security and Defense to 
the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.
  He has also been on the faculty of the RAND Pardee Graduate School, 
the United States Naval Academy, and the National Defense University.
  Mr. Gompert served as President of RAND Europe from 2000 to 2003, 
during which period he was on the RAND Europe Executive Board and the 
chairman of RAND Europe-UK. He was vice president of RAND and director 
of the National Defense Research Institute from 1993 to 2000.
  From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Gompert served as special assistant to 
President George H. W. Bush and senior director for Europe and Eurasia 
on the National Security Council staff. He has held a number of 
positions at the State Department, including deputy to the Under 
Secretary for Political Affairs, 1982-83; deputy assistant secretary 
for European Affairs, 1981-82; deputy director of the Bureau of 
Political-Military Affairs, 1977-81; and special assistant to Secretary 
of State Henry Kissinger, 1973-75.
  Mr. Gompert worked as an executive in the private sector from 1983-
1990, when he held executive positions at Unisys and at AT&T.
  At Unisys, 1989-90, he was president of the Systems Management Group 
and vice president for Strategic Planning and Corporate Development. At 
AT&T, 1983-1989, he was vice president, civil sales and programs, and 
director of international market planning.
  Mr. Gompert holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from 
the United States Naval Academy and a Master of Public Affairs degree 
from the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University.
  In sum, Mr. Gompert will be an asset to the Intelligence Community 
because he has worked at the intersection of intelligence and policy 
for much of his career.
  His background has provided good management experience and a unique 
perspective on how to address the challenges lying ahead for the 
Intelligence Community.
  I look forward to the Senate approving Mr. Gompert's nomination and I 
yield the Floor.

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