[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 171 (Thursday, November 19, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8141-S8143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NOMINATION OF ADAM SZUBIN
Mr. BROWN. Another way to fight this war on terrorism and to help our
efforts on fighting ISIS is to actually put the people in place in the
U.S. Government who help us do that. I came to the floor today to join
Senator Casey--my friend from Pennsylvania who is
[[Page S8142]]
going to mention him too--and to support the nomination of Adam Szubin.
Adam Szubin has been delayed for more than 200 days by Republican
obstruction in the Senate banking committee. Well, who is Adam Szubin?
Adam Szubin has been nominated--listen to this job--to be the Under
Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes at the Treasury
Department. This isn't a low-level employee who has nothing to do with
ISIS, fighting ISIS, and fighting terrorism; this is the No. 1 person
in the Treasury Department--perhaps the No. 1 person in our whole
government next to the Commander in Chief--who is in the position to
fight terrorism and fight the kinds of financial crimes that ISIS
depends on to fund its operations.
We had a hearing. Originally Mr. Szubin worked for the Bush
administration for a number of years. He has been serving interim
during the Obama administration, but my colleagues on the banking
committee, my colleagues in the Senate, simply have refused to bring
Mr. Szubin to a vote. He served Republican and Democratic
administrations in senior positions. There is no question, zero
question, that he is qualified for this position.
Let me tell you a little more about him. In 15 years he has
distinguished himself as a tough, aggressive enforcer of our Nation's
sanction laws--not against England or Germany--but against countries
such as Iran, Russia, North Korea, against money launderers, against
terrorists, against narcotraffickers, the source of a good bit of the
money for terrorist groups such as ISIS.
Republicans say the administration is not doing enough; Barack Obama
won't stand up. Well, the Republicans are blocking this appointment
that would give the President the tools he needs to fight terrorism.
Again, more about Mr. Szubin, he earned his undergraduate and law
degrees with high honors, he was a Fulbright scholar in Israel before
joining the Department of Justice. As I said, he served with President
Bush and with President Obama; he was counsel to the Deputy Attorney
General. He worked as trial attorney on the Terrorism Litigation Task
Force. He received the Department of Justice Special Commendation Award
for his work countering terrorism. For 9 years he directed the
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Many of us first came to
know him then--in both parties--as a thoughtful policymaker and superb
lawyer. Both parties respected him until Barack Obama nominated him;
then Republicans seemed to forget how good he was and how qualified he
was.
The Anti-Defamation League in this letter described him as an
``intellectual heavyweight who has worked effectively with global
partners to amplify the effects of U.S. sanctions.''
The United Against Nuclear Iran, a group that strongly opposed the
President's deal with Iran, supports Mr. Szubin to be promoted, to be
confirmed by the Senate.
Many of my colleagues on the banking committee said: We are not going
to confirm Szubin because he was for the Iran nuclear deal. Well, he
worked for the President of the United States, who was negotiating it.
Of course, he was for it. But are they going to oppose him because they
don't like what his boss did or are they opposing him because they
don't like much of anything President Obama did?
The fact is that group after group, whether they are for the Iran
nuclear agreement or against it--it really doesn't matter--supports Mr.
Szubin.
His mentor, Bush Under Secretary Stuart Levy--his mentor and his
predecessor, not immediate predecessor but predecessor--was confirmed
by the Senate 3 weeks after his nomination. But you know what, both
parties then with President Bush recognized that you confirm somebody
who is central to the war on terrorism. Republicans then believed that.
Today, with a Democratic President, even though Adam Szubin is
supported by darn near everybody--with his qualifications, with his
support and work in two administrations--they don't want to bring him
forward for a vote. I am not even sure why. I hear all kinds of
reasons, none of them really on the record, none of them official, from
my colleagues. Oh, they don't like President Obama or this guy must be
a bad guy because President Obama appointed him or he was part of the
government when the nuclear agreement with Iran was negotiated. All of
these reasons simply don't pass a straight-face test. This is a
critical national security post, and it needs to be filled permanently
and quickly.
Mr. Szubin heads what is, in effect, Treasury's economic war room. It
manages U.S. efforts to combat terrorist financing and fight financial
crimes. Again, ISIS, ISIL, gets a good bit of its funding through
illegal activities like that. If the U.S.--and if Mr. Szubin has the
full range of powers that we have given him in the Congress, he can
help us fight that kind of financing, stop that kind of financing for
ISIS.
He is helping to lead the charge to choke off their funding sources
to prevent them from developing additional capacity to strike more
targets around the world. He is working to hold Iran to its commitments
under the nuclear deal and to lead a campaign against the full range of
Iran's other destructive activities. He is supported by the Global
Jewish Advocacy and, as I said earlier, by the Anti-Defamation League
and by United Against Nuclear Iran.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the documents
from the organizations I just mentioned.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
American Jewish Committee,
Washington, DC, November 4, 2015.
AJC Statement on Adam J. Szubin Nominee for Under Secretary of Treasury
for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
Jason Isaacson, AJC Associate Executive Director for
Policy, today issued the following statement on the
organization's behalf:
AJC has worked with, and admired the dedication and
effectiveness of, the Under Secretary-designee for Terrorism
and Financial Intelligence, Adam Szubin, whose nomination is
now before the Senate Banking Committee.
At a time when Iran and its terrorist proxies are ever more
active and empowered, and when other terrorist threats to the
United States and its allies are escalating, it is urgent
that Treasury have in this critical position an experienced,
creative, tireless watchdog, who has the know-how and the
authority to lead U.S. efforts to track and choke off the
financial lifeblood of terror.
As Acting Under Secretary, Adam Szubin has demonstrated
that resolve and that skill--to the benefit of America's
security and that of our allies. We look forward to his
continued public service.
____
Anti-Defamation League,
New York, NY, September 9, 2015.
Hon. Richard Shelby,
Chairman, Banking Committee, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Sherrod Brown,
Ranking Member, Banking Committee, U.S. Senate, Washington,
DC.
Dear Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Brown: On behalf of
the Anti-Defamation League, we write in support of President
Obama's nomination of Adam J. Szubin to serve as Under
Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, Department of
Treasury.
As director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control
(OFAC), Mr. Szubin has earned a reputation as an intellectual
heavyweight who has worked effectively with global partners
to amplify the effects of U.S. sanctions. OFAC has been
dubbed America's war room, a front line for the United States
and its allies against terrorists and tyrants. It is a
critical part of the effort to engage global partners to
amplify the impact of sanctions and to innovate in the way
that the U.S. targets violators.
OFAC's effectiveness, under Mr. Szubin's leadership, has
exemplified the balance between working quietly behind the
scenes or through diplomatic channels and sending strong
public messages around the world about America's robust
commitment to crack down sponsors of tcrror like Iran.
But Mr. Szubin has done much more than simply ably
administer and enforce U.S. sanction against terrorism,
weapons proliferation and rogue states. He has continued to
expand and innovate how sanctions are devised and implemented
as he has done with respect to sanctions on Iran and Russia.
As Members of Congress have debated how to balance
diplomacy and sanctions, leaders on all sides of the debate
are unified in their assessment that the strong, vigorous
enforcement efforts by committed professionals like Adam
Szubin have been one of the most potent and effective tools
against the funding of terror and the isolation of rogue
regimes.
We urge the Committee to act promptly and favorably on Mr.
Szubin's nomination.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Greenblatt,
National Director.
[[Page S8143]]
____
[From the United Against Nuclear Iran, Nov. 3, 2015]
UANI Supports Senate Confirmation of Adam Szubin as Under Secretary for
Terrorism and Financial Crimes
Ambassador Wallace and Senator Lieberman Express Support for
Confirmation
New York, NY--United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO
Ambassador Mark D. Wallace and UANI Chairman Senator Joseph
I. Lieberman issued the following statement today regarding
the Senate confirmation of Adam Szubin as Under Secretary for
Terrorism and Financial Crimes in the U.S. Department of the
Treasury:
``UANI was a leading opponent of the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement with Iran. The
administration's success in blocking bipartisan and majority
opposition to the JCPOA on Capitol Hill should not be the
basis to oppose the confirmation of Director Szubin as Under
Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Crimes.
Simply put, he is the best person for the job, a true expert,
a dedicated public servant and fully committed to serve his
country. He has shown those traits over two successive
administrations--a rare feat in Washington. On behalf of
UANI, and in the strongest possible terms, we support
Director Szubin's confirmation. We respectfully call on all
of our Senate friends who were rightfully frustrated by the
administration's tactics related to the JCPOA to put those
concerns aside and support the confirmation of Director
Szubin.''
Mr. BROWN. He has support across the political spectrum--or at least
he did until he was nominated by this President.
I serve on the banking committee with Chairman Shelby. I sit next to
him as the ranking member. I like Senator Shelby. I work with Mr.
Shelby day-by-day on many things. He has described Mr. Szubin as
``eminently qualified.'' He has served with distinction in senior
national security roles--I will say it again--for 15 years under
Presidents of both parties. He is well regarded around the world for
his intellect, courage, and expertise. He deserves the strong backing
of the Senate.
Republicans in Congress need to stop holding our national security
apparatus hostage to political demands. They should allow--we should
allow Adam Szubin and other national security nominees to be approved
as soon as possible.
Again, strip the partisanship away. Do what is right: Confirm Adam
Szubin; confirm these other national security people.
They aren't controversial. The only thing controversial about these
nominations is that Barack Obama made them. Well, the last time I
checked, he was elected President of the United States twice, including
my No. 1 swing State in the country--the hardest one to win, the one
that both parties fight for in every election. He carried my State
twice. He carried my State by over 100,000 votes.
He is the President of the United States. He appointed Adam Szubin,
who is eminently qualified, who has had support from both parties. Why
don't my colleagues confirm him, giving him the full range of powers to
fight ISIS, to keep ISIS from getting the resources and the financing
they are getting now to launch these terrible terrorist crimes against
innocent men and women all over the world?
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak in morning
business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is in morning business.
The Senator is recognized.
____________________