[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.
____________________