[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 155 (Tuesday, December 16, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6884-S6886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




NOMINATION OF SARAH R. SALDANA TO BE AN ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF HOMELAND 
                          SECURITY--Continued

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the time until 2:30 
p.m. will be equally divided in the usual form.
  Who yields time?
  If neither side yields time, both sides will be equally charged.
  The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to 
vote in a few minutes to confirm Sarah Saldana to be Assistant 
Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
  A number of our friends have come to the floor opposing Ms. Saldana's 
nomination, but incredibly enough, I have not heard them question her 
qualifications. Their opposition appears to be in response to the 
President's decision to bring 5 million hard-working, law-abiding 
immigrants out of the shadows earlier this month.
  Let me just say, as one Member of the Senate, we can quarrel about 
the timing and we can quarrel about the policy. I think for the most 
part the policy in the President's proposal is good. Do I wish we had 
done it as a body? Do I wish we had done our job? You bet I do. But I 
wish the President had delayed the announcement until a little bit 
later this year. He did not. So that is where we are.
  Whether you like the President's Executive order or not, today it is 
about whether we take our responsibility seriously to ensure that 
Federal agencies have the leadership they need to operate efficiently 
and effectively.
  The single most important ingredient of any organization, I do not 
care whether it is a governmental entity--I spent some time in the 
Navy--whether it is a military unit, whether it is a sports team, 
whether it is a school, business, whatever it might be, the single most 
important ingredient to the success of that entity is leadership.
  This is an agency where we are talking about filling a big gap in 
leadership in Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We call it ICE. It 
is critical. It is a critical law enforcement agency within the 
Department of Homeland Security. Listen to this: It has been without a 
Presidentially appointed leader now for more than 16 months. That is 
far too long, particularly when we consider all the issues we face 
along our borders and the more than 400 laws that this agency, 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, enforces.
  The agency plays a critical role in securing our borders. They take 
dangerous criminals off the streets. They send them back to their own 
countries in many instances. In fact, on any given day ICE arrests some 
370 criminal aliens in the interior of our country, they have some 
34,000 people in detention in this country, and they remove nearly 500 
criminal aliens from our country ever day. Every day all that happens.
  Managing such a large agency, with one of the most complex missions 
in the Federal Government, is a tall, tall order. This mission is made 
all the harder when the agency is forced to go month after month 
without permanent leadership.
  Immigration and Customs Enforcement had the unfortunate distinction 
of finishing last in the annual survey of employee morale among Federal 
agencies. That is right--actually, not last; they were tied for last. 
In how many agencies were the employees really quizzed or questioned 
about whether they are satisfied with their work? They finished last 
out of not 100, not 200, not 300, but out of 314 agencies. When I 
visited the agency recently, employees told me that one of their 
biggest frustrations was the lack of Senate-confirmed leadership. 
Thankfully, this is one problem we can remedy, and we can remedy it 
today.
  Ms. Saldana is a true American success story. She rose from humble 
beginnings in South Texas as the youngest of seven children. She went 
on to become an accomplished partner at a major law firm. She is now 
one of the Nation's top law enforcement officers. She could not be more 
qualified to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
  But do not take my word for it. One of our good friends here in the 
Senate, Mr. John Cornyn, the senior Senator from Texas, felt strongly 
enough about her qualifications that he was good enough to come and 
introduce Ms. Saldana at her confirmation hearing before the committee 
I chair and the Presiding Officer serves on, the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs. Senator Cornyn told us that day that 
she was highly qualified, fiercely independent, and had served her 
State with honor.

  This is what he said:

       If respect for the rule of law is our standard, and I think 
     it should be, we would be hard pressed to find a person more 
     qualified to enforce the law than Ms. Saldana.

  His comments. That is high praise, and I could not agree more.
  Nevertheless, Senator Cornyn and some of his colleagues now oppose 
Sarah Saldana's nomination--not because she is unqualified, not because 
she does not work hard, not because she does not have good values, but 
because she will have to carry out the President's recent Executive 
order on immigration. That may be understandable. I think it is also 
unfortunate. It does not punish the President to leave this position 
unfilled. It does not just punish the employees to leave this position 
unfilled. In the end, it punishes the citizens of this country. It 
makes it harder for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to accomplish 
its critical mission of helping to secure our borders. It makes it 
harder for them to do their job in terms of taking dangerous criminals 
off of our streets. And it hurts the men and women at ICE who deserve a 
leader to ensure this important agency runs as effectively as possible.
  I believe the President acted within the bounds--I know not everyone 
agrees with me on this, but I believe the President acted within the 
bounds of the law in announcing his Executive action. While I may 
quarrel with the timing of it, I also feel very deeply if we--not in 
this body but in the other body on the other side of the Capitol--had 
done our job with respect to immigration reform, we would not have this 
dustup today over this nomination. But whether or not you agree with 
me, opposing Ms. Saldana's nomination will do nothing to change what 
the President has done--nothing.
  I said it before; I will say it again. It is irresponsible for us to 
leave a critical agency such as this without a proven leader. It has 
been more than 16 months. It should not be another month or two or 
three.
  So I hope Ms. Saldana--the first Hispanic person and the second woman 
ever to be nominated to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement--does 
not fall victim to politics here in the Senate. By all accounts, she is 
exactly what this critical agency needs: a proven leader, a respected 
member of the law enforcement community.
  I urge all of my colleagues--Democratic and Republican and even the 
two Independents who are here with us serving their States--I urge you 
to support her. I am proud to do that today.
  Thank you, Madam President.


                             Cloture Motion

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before 
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of 
     Sarah R. Saldana, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
     Homeland Security.
         Harry Reid, Thomas R. Carper, Patrick J. Leahy, Patty 
           Murray, Tom Udall, Brian Schatz, Charles E. Schumer, 
           Barbara Boxer, Benjamin L. Cardin, Richard Blumenthal, 
           Jeff Merkley, Al Franken, Robert P. Casey, Jr., Martin 
           Heinrich, Elizabeth Warren, Richard J. Durbin, 
           Christopher Murphy.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate 
that debate on the nomination of Sarah R. Saldana, of Texas, to be an 
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, shall be brought to a close?
  The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer)

[[Page S6885]]

and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. 
Cochran), the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Johanns), and the Senator from 
Alabama (Mr. Sessions).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 53, nays 41, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 359 Ex.]

                                YEAS--53

     Baldwin
     Begich
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Johnson (SD)
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Walsh
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--41

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Coats
     Coburn
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Enzi
     Fischer
     Flake
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson (WI)
     Kirk
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rubio
     Scott
     Shelby
     Thune
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Boxer
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Johanns
     Sanders
     Sessions
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 53, the nays are 
41.
  The motion is agreed to.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, today, we will vote on the nomination of 
Ms. Sarah Saldana to serve as Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, 
where she will lead the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, 
office. Ms. Saldana has been considered and favorably reported by both 
the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and the 
Senate Judiciary Committee.
  A native of South Texas, Ms. Saldana is the youngest of seven 
children. Inspired by her mother's emphasis on education, Ms. Saldana 
went to college and graduated from law school. She established a 
successful career as an attorney in private practice before becoming a 
Federal prosecutor. In 2011, with the support of her home State 
Senators from Texas, the Senate unanimously confirmed her as U.S. 
attorney for the Northern District of Texas, and she became the first 
Latina U.S. attorney in the State's history. In this position, Ms. 
Saldana has earned a reputation as a tough but fair prosecutor. 
Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a firm and unequivocal 
commitment to enforcing the law, and she has pledged that she will 
maintain that commitment if confirmed to lead ICE.
  At her hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Government 
Affairs Committee in September, Senator Cornyn introduced Ms. Saldana 
and vouched for her qualifications, stating: ``If respect for the rule 
of law is our standard . . . we would be hard-pressed to find a person 
more qualified to enforce the law than Ms. Saldana.'' I agree. Ms. 
Saldana has made clear that, if confirmed, she will ``faithfully 
execute all immigration laws, including those laws that [she] or the 
President disagree with.''
  Some want to use Ms. Saldana's nomination as an opportunity to attack 
President Obama's Executive action on immigration, but that is not the 
issue we are considering today. There is no evidence that she was 
involved in either the House's refusal to allow a vote on the Senate-
passed comprehensive immigration reform bill or the President's 
decision to take what steps he could in the wake of the House's refusal 
to act. The vote before us concerns Ms. Saldana's qualifications to 
lead ICE, and she has proved that she is more than capable of executing 
the duties of the position. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has 
been without a Senate-confirmed leader for more than a year. If 
Senators want our immigration laws enforced, they should focus on 
filling this key leadership position.
  There is no question that Sarah Saldana is qualified to lead the 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. I urge Senators to vote to 
confirm her to this important law enforcement position at the 
Department of Homeland Security without further delay.
  Mr. ENZI. Madam President, I wish to express my opposition to the 
nomination of Sarah Saldana to be Assistant Secretary of Homeland 
Security.
  My concerns are not based on Ms. Saldana's qualifications. In fact I 
supported reporting her out of the Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs Committee on November 12, 2014 with every other member of that 
committee. However, in the wake of the President's unilateral changes 
to our immigration policies through Executive actions, I cannot support 
her confirmation at this time.
  The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is responsible for 
enforcing Federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and 
immigration. But last month President Obama announced that he and his 
Cabinet do not intend to deport several million illegal immigrants, and 
I cannot vote for someone who will not enforce our laws.
  By circumventing Congress on immigration and instituting his will 
through Executive actions last month, President Obama is eroding the 
very foundation of our country and form of government. This sets a 
dangerous precedent where future Presidents can flout any law they 
happen to disagree with and alter the law without going through 
Congress. Each branch of government is to act as a check against the 
others and not sit idly by as one exercises authority it does not have.
  For these reasons I must oppose Ms. Saldana's nomination at this 
time.
  Under the previous order, all postcloture time has expired. The 
question occurs on the nomination.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Sarah R. Saldana, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of Homeland 
Security?
  Mr. WICKER. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer) 
and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss), the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. 
Cochran), the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Johanns), and the Senator from 
Alabama (Mr. Sessions).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 55, nays 39, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 360 Ex.]

                                YEAS--55

     Baldwin
     Begich
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coburn
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Johnson (SD)
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Walsh
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                                NAYS--39

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Coats
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Enzi
     Fischer
     Flake
     Graham
     Grassley
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson (WI)
     Kirk
     Lee
     McCain
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rubio
     Scott
     Shelby
     Thune
     Toomey
     Vitter
     Wicker

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Boxer
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Johanns
     Sanders
     Sessions
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid

[[Page S6886]]

upon the table, and the President will be immediately notified of the 
Senate's action.

                          ____________________