[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 22 (Monday, February 8, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S696-S697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUESTS--EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise today for the fifth time to ask 
unanimous consent for a vote for the Ambassadors to Norway and Sweden. 
Senator Cruz has been objecting to this. I appreciate the bipartisan 
support for these nominees. They made it through the committees without 
any objections.
  These are the 11th and 12th biggest investors in the United States of 
America. They are our allies. They are our allies in our fight against 
Russian aggression. Norway shares a border with Russia. Yet every major 
European

[[Page S697]]

country has an ambassador except Norway and Sweden.
  I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session 
to consider the nomination of Samuel D. Heins, Calendar No. 263; that 
the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the 
nomination; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered 
made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lankford). Is there objection?
  The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on behalf of the junior Senator from 
Texas, Mr. Cruz, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Minnesota.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination that 
is to the country of Sweden: Azita Raji, Calendar No. 148; that the 
Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the 
nomination; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered 
made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The majority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on behalf of the junior Senator from 
Texas, Mr. Cruz, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Minnesota.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, as I said, this has been a bipartisan 
effort to get these two nominees confirmed. There is no one holding up 
the vote on these nominations except for Senator Cruz. We asked him to 
remove these holds. He has not voiced any concerns about these 
individual nominees. He has voiced concerns about unrelated foreign 
policy issues. There have been other holds in the past, but everyone 
has lifted their hold. I note that even Senator Cotton from Arkansas 
has said that there are no issues with the qualifications of these 
nominees and that these nominees should proceed to a vote.
  As I said, this is the fifth time I have come to the floor. I have 
also been joined by Senator Cardin, Senator Shaheen, and Senator 
Franken. This is something that has to get done.
  Listen to these numbers: Sam Heins has been waiting for 293 days to 
be confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to Norway. Azita Raji has been 
waiting 474 days to be confirmed as the first female U.S. Ambassador to 
Sweden. Both of these nominees were voted out of the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee without controversy and with significant bipartisan 
support. Not a single Senator has questioned the qualifications of Sam 
Heins or Azita Raji. That is because they are both qualified to take 
these jobs.
  We have an ambassador in France. We have an ambassador in England. We 
have an ambassador in Italy. We have an ambassador in Germany. We have 
an ambassador to nearly every European nation but not these two 
Scandinavian countries.
  More than 1,200 refugees seek asylum in Sweden every single day. I 
cannot tell my colleagues how many times I have heard people on both 
sides of the aisle talk about how during this refugee crisis we need a 
strong and unified Europe, and we need to be their allies, and they 
need to be our allies. While we may have disagreements on how to solve 
all of the refugee crises, we have to at least give support to our 
allies who are taking in these refugees.
  Sweden accepts more refugees per capita than any other country in the 
European Union. Norway expects to take in as many as 25,000 refugees 
this year. It has already provided more than $6 million to Greece to 
help respond to the influx of refugees seeking a way to enter Europe. 
All of us on both sides of the aisle have talked about this. Yet, right 
now, no Ambassadors are in those two critical countries.
  I would note they have Ambassadors from China in those countries. 
They have Ambassadors from Russia. They have Ambassadors. So the people 
of their countries who love the United States, who respect the United 
States, who travel to the United States, they want to know: How come 
every major nation has an ambassador to our country but not the United 
States of America?
  We also understand the important economic contributions Sweden and 
Norway make to our country. These diplomatic relations are 200 years 
old. That is why we have widespread support for these nominees. Yet one 
Senator--how can one Senator stand in the way of a vote affecting 
relations that are 200 years old?
  Our economic partnership with these countries is enormous. Sweden 
supports over 330,700 American jobs across 50 States. In the case of 
Norway, our trade partnership is $16 billion--$7 billion in exports, $9 
billion in imports. Leaving these countries without a U.S. Ambassador 
is a slap in the face to their governments, their people, and all of 
the American workers who are supported by Swedish and Norwegian 
investment in the United States. That is happening today.
  In addition to Sam Heins and Azita Raji, there are other nominees who 
are vital in our fight against terrorism; however, I am going to focus 
today on these two nominees.
  We have two countries, Norway and Sweden, that are members of NATO, 
that have joined us in the fight against Islamic extremists, that have 
joined us in the fight against ISIS. This is no way to treat them.
  I would also add, in kind of a combination of our national security 
interests and economic interests, that Norway has now signed to 
purchase 252 fighter planes--22 just recently--from Lockheed Martin. 
Those fighter planes are made in America. The country of Norway could 
have decided to buy those fighter planes from any nation in the world. 
They could have bought those fighter planes from Europe. Where did they 
buy those fighter planes from? They brought them from the United 
States, from Lockheed Martin, and that company is located in Texas. 
Those fighter planes are made in Fort Worth, TX, Senator Cruz's home 
State.
  So what do we say to Norway when they invest? We can do the math--
nearly $200 million a plane, 22 planes. So they have strong national 
security, as we see Russian aggression and Islamic extremism and as 
they join with us in fights across the world. What do we say? You are 
not worthy of an ambassador. Because one Senator--the Senator from the 
State where those fighter planes are made, from Fort Worth, TX--has 
decided to hold this up.
  What are we doing when we say to a major company in the United States 
that got a major deal with a foreign government that that government is 
not worthy of having an ambassador? What kind of encouragement do we 
give when we don't even let them have an ambassador?
  This is one of many examples of what is going on and why the people 
are so angry. We have heard from the Foreign Minister. We have seen 
comments from people of Norwegian descent and Swedish descent who do 
not understand how this could be going on right now, given everything 
Europe is confronting.
  It is my hope that we will be able to work these things out. We have 
been given various reasons from letters that have been written, to 
streets in front of embassies, for this hold. But we are hopeful that 
somehow we are going to be able to work this out. This is because of 
one Senator who is not even here in this Chamber day after day after 
day when I return to put these names in for Ambassador.
  We are not stopping. Senator Shaheen and I are going to come to this 
floor every single day and make the case for these countries. I am 
hopeful we will be able to resolve this.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to enter into a 
colloquy with the junior Senator from Montana for 20 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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