[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 15, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7229-S7230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to the consideration of the following nomination, which the 
clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read the nomination of Mark T. Esper, of Virginia, to 
be Secretary of the Army.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will now be up 
to 10 minutes of debate on the nomination, equally divided in the usual 
form.
  The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the nomination of 
Dr. Mark Esper to serve as the next Secretary of the Army. The Senate 
Armed Services Committee held a hearing on his nomination on November 
2, and he was voted out of committee shortly thereafter.
  Dr. Esper is a proud graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. Following 
his graduation from West Point, Dr. Esper served as a rifle platoon 
leader and subsequently deployed with the 101st Airborne Division 
during the 1991 Gulf war. He went on to command an airborne rifle 
company that supported a NATO rapid reaction force. As such, Dr. Esper 
has learned the trade of a soldier from the very basics, leading other 
young Americans in combat. To me, that is probably the best training 
one could have to be a Secretary of any service.
  Following Dr. Esper's active duty service, he transferred to the 
Virginia National Guard. He ultimately retired with the rank of 
lieutenant colonel.
  In addition to Dr. Esper's military career, he also has a wealth of 
public policy service, having worked on Capitol Hill as Majority Leader 
Bill Frist's national security adviser, as well as serving in the 
Department of Defense during President George W. Bush's administration.
  Finally, for the past 7 years, Dr. Esper has worked at Raytheon, 
where he rose to the senior echelons of the company to serve as the 
vice president for Government Relations.
  The U.S. Army is one of our greatest institutions, and if Dr. Esper 
is confirmed today, he will be leading an organization at a time in 
which it is facing many challenges. Most urgently, the Army must 
continue to improve full spectrum readiness while, at the same time, 
deploy soldiers around the world.
  The Army also continues to grapple with modernizing the force, to 
include how best to make targeted investments in programs and canceling 
those efforts that are underperforming or are cost prohibitive.

[[Page S7230]]

  Based on Dr. Esper's qualifications and experience, as well as his 
testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, I will vote in 
favor of his nomination to be the next Secretary of the Army.
  Dr. Esper's unique perspective will enable him to tackle many 
challenges facing the Army head-on, and I trust that as the next 
Secretary of the Army, he will do his best to lead the men and women, 
and their families, who serve this Nation so ably and courageously.
  Once again, I would like to say that with his experience as an 
infantry platoon leader at the front, with soldiers of the 101st 
Airborne Division, he knows--as few people do--the real cost of our 
national security and the real challenge of being in our Army. It is 
keeping faith with those men and women and it is doing everything they 
can and we can to protect this Nation. With that experience, I am very 
confident that he will be an extraordinary Secretary of the Army.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Moran). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.