[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 182 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1535-E1536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             COMMENDING THE PRESIDENT ON GRIFFIN NOMINATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT B. ADERHOLT

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 8, 2017

  Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend President Trump 
for nominating Michael D. Griffin to be Principal Deputy Under 
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD/
ATL).
  There is a saying that a person was made for a certain job. In the 
case of Dr. Griffin, this is true.
  We currently have a convergence of space and national security 
factors which are matched only by a handful of circumstances in the 
past.
  I am thinking of Russia placing Sputnik in space, and President 
Kennedy refusing to accept missiles in Cuba, and of President Reagan's 
placement of Pershing missiles in Europe and starting the SDI, or 
Strategic Defense Initiative Office.
  With the nomination of Mike Griffin, we have a person with the 
experience of working in SDI yet also being the initiator of new ideas, 
such as the commercial cargo resupply program for NASA's ISS 
(International Space Station).
  For this particular job at the Pentagon, that is what we need--a 
person who knows how to utilize best practices of the past, combined 
with the openness and boldness to recommend to the Secretary of Defense 
the decisive actions which will keep America pre-eminent in technology, 
and give America the edge, when and if we must engage in armed 
conflict.
  Dr. Griffin holds degrees from six separate universities, his 
management experience in business and as former Administrator at NASA, 
as well as his work serving as a professor and as a consultant on 
Department of Defense review panels such as the Mitchell Commission 
(rocket launch engines), all prepare him well for this assignment and 
for the rising challenges facing our military around the world.
  After his confirmation, I look forward to working with him and the 
rest of our Department of Defense to help provide what is necessary for 
our national security.

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