[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 20, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S70-S71]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to executive session and the Intelligence Committee be
discharged from further consideration of PN 78-10, the nomination of
Avril Haines to be Director of National Intelligence; that the Senate
proceed to its consideration; that there be 10 minutes of debate on the
nomination equally divided in the usual form; that upon the use or
yielding back of time, the Senate vote without intervening action or
debate; and that, if confirmed, 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. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will read the nomination.
The legislative clerk read the nomination of Avril Danica Haines, of
New York, to be Director of National Intelligence.
There being no objection, the committee was discharged and the Senate
proceeded to consider the nomination.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I rise to support the nomination of
Avril Haines to be the Director of National Intelligence. Ms. Haines is
a historic nominee and would be the first woman to lead our
intelligence community in this critical role. With a background at the
Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Council, she
understands the work of our intelligence professionals and the need to
ensure a frank and nonpartisan process to deliver the information that
underpins national security and foreign policy decisions.
Ms. Haines has applied her keen intellect to a number of pursuits,
even including running a bookstore in Baltimore and serving as a senior
fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She
has a firm commitment to her country and to encouraging others to
serve, including as a member of the National Commission on Military,
National, and Public Service.
After a tumultuous 4 years and a President who routinely scorned the
work of our intelligence community, it is critical to restore
professional leadership who will work with the administration and
Congress, deliver honest assessments, and speak truth to power. Ms.
Haines is the right woman for the job.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the nomination
of Avril Haines to be Director of National Intelligence.
Let me speak for a few moments, but I want to first of all thank
members of particularly the Intelligence Committee on both sides of the
aisle. My good friend, the Senator from Oregon, the Finance Committee
chair, is someone who has deep and passionate concerns about the civil
libertarian issues in our country. He is part of the yin; there is some
yang on that committee. He raised I think important questions with the
nominee, and I appreciate his courtesy in allowing this to move
forward.
But I also want to thank, at least until tomorrow, the chairman of
the committee, Senator Rubio, and my Republican colleagues as well.
When we discussed moving on this nomination in a very timely manner,
the good Chairman Rubio and Senator Burr worked with all the members of
the committee. I thank my friend, the Senator from Idaho, for his
courtesy as well.
I am very proud of the fact that the first nomination to be
considered under the Biden administration is going to be Ms. Haines. I
think that reflects the approach of the Intelligence Committee, and
again, I see the chair of the committee on the floor now, and I want to
thank him personally--Senator Rubio--while he is on the floor for that
courtesy.
I think part of the reason we were able to move so quickly is because
this position is of such critical importance to the country that it is
only appropriate that it be the first nomination to be confirmed by the
Senate.
Avril is extraordinarily qualified for the role, having worked in
national security for most of the last two decades. After working for
several years at the State Department, Ms. Haines came here to the
Senate, where she worked on the Foreign Relations Committee as a deputy
chief counsel. Following another stint at State, Ms. Haines moved to
the White House, where she served 3 years as a Deputy Assistant to the
President and Deputy Counsel for National Security.
In June of 2013, President Obama chose Ms. Haines to serve as the
Deputy Director of the CIA, making her
[[Page S71]]
the first woman to hold that office. Ms. Haines served with the Agency
until 2015, at which point she moved to academia and the private
sector. She was a senior researcher at Columbia University, a senior
fellow at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, and a member of the
National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service.
Avril Haines has all the qualifications we would want for a DNI. But
more than that, I believe she is firmly committed to rebuilding the
office of the Director of National Intelligence and reestablishing the
role of that office as not only the coordinator of our Nation's
intelligence community but as an adviser to the President and Congress
that will not shy away from telling the hard truths.
Since Ms. Haines was nominated for this role by President Biden, I
spent a fair amount of time talking to her about her future as the
Director of National Intelligence and the enormous job that she will be
taking on.
In our conversations and in her confirmation hearings, Ms. Haines was
strong and thoughtful about the future challenges our country will
face. My first question to her was about China. Her answer was equally
clear-eyed, pointing out the many ways in which China is an adversary
to our Nation by stealing IP or hacking our systems and undermining our
security, while also pointing out that there are many places where we
will have to engage with China as a partner, like on tackling climate
change.
She had equally focused answers about the role of Iran as a state
sponsor of terror and the need to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear
weapon.
For every question she was asked by my colleagues on the committee,
she demonstrated that she understood not only the challenges of the
coming future but the IC's role in understanding those issues and
meeting them head on.
I have also been impressed from the beginning--and continue to be
impressed--by her understanding of the important role of the DNI and
the IC and her commitment to making sure that the IC tells policymakers
what they need to hear, not only what they want to hear.
The last 4 years have been hard on the intelligence community. You
only have to read a newspaper or turn on a TV at some point to know
that. Since the 2016 election, the IC has faced false accusations of
trying to undermine the then-President and seen many of their leaders
fired for simply doing the right thing, speaking truth to power. It
should surprise no one that all of this has led to some damage within
the IC, particularly to morale.
I believe that Avril Haines is the right nominee to repair this
damage. She will support the men and women of the IC and protect them
from political pressure. She will insist that they tell us their best
analysis and not shy away from telling decision makers that their
cherished beliefs are wrong. She will insist on telling truth to power.
Ultimately, this is why I urge my colleagues to send a strong message
of support for the men and women of the IC and to support Avril Haines
for DNI. She is capable, qualified, and will undertake the serious
responsibilities with a clear-eyed sense of promise.
I yield the floor.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to yield back all
time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.