[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 21, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3677-S3678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Nomination of Marshall Billingslea
Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I rise in support of Mr. Marshall
Billingslea, who has been nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of
the Treasury for Terrorist Financing.
Mr. Billingslea proved at his nomination hearing before the Banking
Committee that he is exceptionally qualified for this job. As Assistant
Secretary for Terrorist Financing, Mr. Billingslea would be in charge
of coordinating Treasury's efforts on terrorist financing, anti-money
laundering, and other illicit financial threats to the domestic and
international financial system.
Mr. Billingslea would work with the entire national security and law
enforcement communities, the private sector, foreign governments, and
other entities to carry out this mission.
As demonstrated at his confirmation hearing, his unique background
includes 22 years of experience working with these entities to protect
the Nation, and it also includes time in the legislative and executive
branches, as well as the private sector. After 9/11, Mr. Billingslea
served in senior positions in the Department of Defense and NATO. Prior
to that, he worked on national security affairs at the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, where he drafted numerous pieces of sections of
legislation intended to combat weapons of mass destruction and disrupt
terrorist networks.
Mr. Billingslea's qualifications and capabilities were affirmed when
he received bipartisan support from the Banking Committee in a 19-to-4
vote.
Before we proceed to the cloture vote on Mr. Billingslea, we will
have a final vote on Ms. Sigal Mandelker's nomination to be Under
Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, which I
spoke about yesterday.
These two positions are critically important to defending our Nation
from threats and securing our interests. As Assistant Secretary, Mr.
Billingslea would work closely with Ms. Mandelker as head of the policy
and outreach apparatus for the Office of Terrorism and Financial
Intelligence, which Ms. Mandelker would lead.
As we saw with the Senate passage of the Iran sanctions bill and our
Russia sanctions amendment last week, there is strong bipartisan
support in Congress to remain strong against these Nations. As with the
passage of that bill, I urge my colleagues to confirm Ms. Mandelker and
to move forward with Mr. Billingslea's nomination so they can carry out
the important work for which we have already shown such strong
bipartisan support.
Thank you. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the question is,
Will
[[Page S3678]]
the Senate advise and consent to the Mandelker nomination?
Mr. STRANGE. 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 senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
The result was announced--yeas 96, nays 4, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 150 Ex.]
YEAS--96
Alexander
Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Brown
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Cochran
Collins
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Donnelly
Duckworth
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Flake
Franken
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Hatch
Heinrich
Heitkamp
Heller
Hirono
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Leahy
Lee
Manchin
Markey
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Nelson
Paul
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Reed
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Rubio
Sanders
Sasse
Schatz
Schumer
Scott
Shaheen
Shelby
Stabenow
Strange
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
Young
NAYS--4
Booker
Gillibrand
Harris
Warren
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lee). The majority leader.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the
President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________