[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 144 (Tuesday, August 28, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5987-S5988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CONFIRMATION OF LYNN A. JOHNSON

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today the Senate confirmed the nomination 
of Lynn Johnson to lead the Administration for Children and Families. 
In less chaotic times, she would be running an office that few people 
outside of Washington would hear much about. In the coming months, 
however, she will be responsible for undoing a lot of the damage this 
administration has done with respect to separating immigrant children 
from their parents.
  There are a few key matters I want to discuss today as this debate 
closes.
  As the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, I voted against 
sending Ms. Johnson's nomination to the Senate floor. There were far 
too many unanswered questions and misleading statements from the 
administration regarding its family separation policy.
  In the last week, I spoke with Ms. Johnson at length about what she 
needs to accomplish if she is confirmed. She committed to me that she 
would change how the Administration for Children and Families, and 
particularly the Office of Refugee Resettlement, handle several key 
policies. I want to guarantee that those commitments are laid out on 
the record.
  First, Ms. Johnson made several commitments to improve the treatment 
of the kids in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement or in 
facilities that receive grants from ORR. Those changes include 
prohibiting solitary confinement as a punishment or an attempt to 
change behavior; prohibiting arbitrary restraint policies; prohibiting 
the distribution of psychotropic medications or sedatives outside of 
emergency situations; unless the agency or facility has the informed, 
written consent of a parent or guardian; prohibiting any security 
measures that are not necessary for children's protection, such as 
denying children access to drinking water or preventing them from 
making private phone calls; and guaranteeing the confidentiality of 
information disclosed by children to therapists and counselors during 
treatment.
  Ms. Johnson also committed to ensuring that separated children can 
call their parents or legal guardians as frequently as they wish. Calls 
can be monitored if there are documented safety concerns, but 
otherwise, ORR and private facilities cannot prevent kids from talking 
to their parents or guardians. If the parent or guardian is in the 
custody of Homeland Security, the agencies must establish a way to 
connect them by phone.
  Finally, Ms. Johnson committed to conducting a full review, within 90 
days, of the oversight, staffing, training, medication, and licensing 
policies for ORR-funded facilities. She will issue a report to Congress 
describing

[[Page S5988]]

the oversight of those facilities, as well as the actions the 
Administration for Children and Families will take to correct any 
problems.
  That review will include a stem-to-stern examination of the policies 
related to services offered to immigrants after their release. That 
includes legal services and healthcare, including reproductive 
healthcare.
  If Ms. Johnson's agency cannot complete that review in 90 days, they 
will provide a summary of their work to date and give the Congress a 
new timeline and a guarantee of when the process will be finalized.
  Let me be very clear: These are not suggestions from me or from the 
Finance Committee. These are commitments set in stone. The Finance 
Committee is going to watchdog this every day going forward. We will do 
everything in our power to hold Ms. Johnson to these commitments.
  This administration's continuing mistreatment of migrant children and 
their parents is cruel and inhuman. Separating kids from their parents 
has harmful, long-lasting effects to these kids' physical and mental 
well-being. There is a lot of work left to be done reunifying the 
families that were broken apart as a result of the administration's 
``zero tolerance'' policy. I believe Lynn Johnson will be an 
improvement. I supported her nomination today, but you can bet my 
colleagues and I are going to go to every length to hold her to the 
commitments she has made.
  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, today I voted yea on the confirmation of 
Lynn Johnson of Colorado to lead the Administration for Children and 
Families under the Department of Health and Human Services. As the head 
of the agency that oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Mrs. 
Johnson now faces the daunting and critically important task of 
overseeing the ongoing reunification of hundreds of children and 
parents who were forcibly and cruelly separated by this administration 
at the southern border.
  This nightmare is far from over. As of today, hundreds of children 
have still not been reunified with their families. According to 
information I received from the Department of Health and Human Services 
yesterday, 43 of these children are being held in facilities in my home 
State of Florida. I am outraged at the slow pace of reunification, and 
I am furious that these children are still being subjected to the 
unimaginable trauma of separation at the hands of our government.
  I conveyed these serious concerns to Mrs. Johnson when I met with her 
last month. It is my hope that she understands the gravity of the 
situation she has now inherited. I expect her to immediately put 
forward a plan to reunify all remaining separated children with their 
families and to ensure that these children are treated humanely while 
they are held in facilities that she now oversees. I will continue to 
monitor this crisis, and I will continue to hold this administration 
accountable for its policies.

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