[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 19 (Tuesday, February 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S223-S225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     EXECUTIVE CALENDAR--Continued

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I have the honor of serving on the 
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee--a 
committee you serve on--which oversees, as you know, the Department of 
Homeland Security since the committee was first formed.
  Almost two decades later, I remain convinced that the nominees we 
confirm to lead that Department must possess sound judgment, integrity, 
relevant experience, boundless energy, and the leadership skills that 
will enable them to take on some of the most daunting challenges that 
we face today as a nation.
  The Department of Homeland Security is a Department with a budget of 
over $50 billion and a staff of over 240,000 men and women. Its 
Agencies protect our country from ever-evolving domestic and foreign 
threats; they respond to natural disasters; and they help to secure our 
critical infrastructure.
  Unfortunately, in recent years, the senior leadership ranks of this 
Department have come to remind many of us as something akin to 
executive branch Swiss cheese, with critical positions remaining vacant 
for far too long or without Senate confirmation at all. In fact, the 
Department of Homeland Security has been without a Senate-confirmed 
Secretary for 21 months. Think about that--21 months. Meanwhile, there 
is no shortage of work to be done from the clear and present threat of 
domestic terrorism to responding to the SolarWinds cyber breach to 
helping distribute the COVID vaccine.
  Now, more than ever, it is crucial for this important Department to 
be led by men and women who have been vetted and confirmed by Members 
of this body. The American people deserve a capable leader at the helm 
of this Department, and I believe that leader is Alejandro Mayorkas.
  Ali represents the best of America. Born in Havana, Cuba, Ali knows 
firsthand what it is like for a family to flee its native land and come 
to the United States in search of refuge. He is a man of integrity and 
a person of principle who possesses a truly, truly remarkable work 
ethic. What is more, he may well be the most qualified nominee we have 
ever been asked to consider to lead the Department of Homeland 
Security.
  He has previously served admirably as its Deputy Secretary for nearly 
4 years, and before that as the head of DHS's largest Agency, U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services. As Director of this Agency, he 
worked to combat immigration fraud. He directed and implemented the 
DACA Program to protect hundreds of thousands of Dreamers and much 
more.
  As Deputy Secretary, he led the Department's successful Unity of 
Effort initiative to improve morale in an Agency which previously had 
the lowest morale of any large Agency in our Federal Government. In 
fact, the Department that reported the greatest improvement in morale 
in the final year of the Obama administration was the Department of 
Homeland Security, in large part, due to Ali's leadership and that of 
former Secretary Jeh Johnson.
  As Deputy Secretary, Mr. Mayorkas also shepherded through Congress 
cyber security legislation to enable the Department of Homeland 
Security to better protect our dot-gov and private sector networks. I 
think he may have also had something to do with reining in the Ebola 
plague.
  Those who know Ali well will tell you that he is no ideologue. He has 
no partisan agenda. Rather, he is a thoughtful, policy-minded public 
servant who has spent much of his career improving the Department of 
Homeland Security so that the men and women who serve there can better 
protect our homeland.
  We have seen that he is willing to work with Democrats, Republicans, 
and their staffs to get things done. That is one of the many reasons 
that five former Secretaries of Homeland Security, Democratic and 
Republican alike, have encouraged us to confirm him swiftly.
  I know that Ali can do this job. He has already demonstrated that. 
And I believe that many of our colleagues here today know it as well. 
After all, Ali Mayorkas has been confirmed three times in the past, 
including once as U.S. attorney for the Central District of Columbia.
  Having said that, though, some of our Republican colleagues are 
attempting now to use a 2013 IG investigation as a cudgel against his 
nomination. As it turns out, we have seen this movie before. I should 
note that a number of those colleagues were not serving in Congress at 
that time in 2013 and most were not serving on the Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs Committee when we considered Ali's nomination 
that year to serve as Deputy Secretary.
  I was privileged to serve as chairman of the committee at that time. 
In fact, I led the fight to confirm him. It was the toughest fight I 
have had in 20 years here. It is one thing to disagree with the nominee 
politically, but to continue to question Ali's dedication and integrity 
on the basis of an IG report, as some of our Republican colleagues have 
done, flies in the face of available evidence, including his decades of 
public service. At a time when our Nation faces so many crises, we 
cannot afford less than full support for this nominee.
  So I want to take a few minutes today to set the record straight, if 
I can. Here are the facts.
  In 2013, an IG investigation into Ali Mayorkas's oversight of a 
program within U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, known as the EB-5 
Program, was conducted in a highly irregular manner, including through 
false leaks to the media literally on the eve of his confirmation 
hearing. As a result of the IG's public leaks and his failure to 
complete a report before the close of Congress, Ali was denied a chance 
to have any concerns fully litigated ahead of his confirmation in the 
Senate in 2013.
  Ultimately, the IG who initiated the investigation stepped down later 
that year amid bipartisan calls for his resignation. Last year, that 
same former IG was charged by the Department of Justice with 16 counts 
of fraud--16 counts of fraud
  Following Ali's confirmation, my staff and I worked to ensure that 
the subsequent IG completed the report into any allegations. In 2015, 
that new IG, John Roth, produced a report building on the work of the 
2013 investigation. The report found no evidence of wrongdoing by Ali. 
None. What it did suggest, however, was that some of his actions as 
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may have created 
the ``appearance of favoritism.''
  In particular, it asserted that Ali met with a number of well-
connected individuals over time regarding their concerns over the EB-5 
Investor Visa Program. After Ali joined the U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services as its Director in 2009, he came to the conclusion 
that this program was not well run. He was not alone in this 
conclusion. Ali has testified that as Director of U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services, he received more complaints from Members of 
Congress, on both sides of the aisle, regarding the EB-5 Program than 
he did about any other program.
  In response to these bipartisan concerns, as Director of the Agency, 
Ali did what, in my opinion, many of us would expect an Agency head to 
do. He rolled up his sleeves, and he worked with his employees to gain 
an understanding of how the program was being run and to find out how 
they might make it run better. He directed systemic changes that 
included improving management and administration of the program in 
order to reduce favoritism and to combat fraud. He also proposed 
reforms of the program to Congress in an effort to prevent future 
abuses--reforms which, unfortunately, were not pursued by Congress--our 
fault, not his.
  And yes, as Director, he set a precedent for getting back to Members 
of Congress quickly in response to their inquiries, even if the answers 
his Agency came up with was ultimately not what they wanted to hear.

[[Page S224]]

  Completing the 2015 IG report was important to clear Ali of any 
wrongdoing. But these findings and Ali's actions have been 
mischaracterized by some of our colleagues who assert that he showed 
favoritism by reaching out personally to the staff of former Senator 
Harry Reid over an EB-5-related issue they had raised on behalf of a 
constituent.
  As it turns out, though, the report is clear. Ali Mayorkas did reach 
out to that staff--not to deliver preferential treatment but, rather, 
to let the staff know that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
would not be able to accommodate the request of that staff and their 
Senator. And why? If responsiveness to inquiries by Members of Congress 
and their staff, regardless of whether the response is favorable or 
not, is a problem for my colleagues--any of my colleagues--that is news 
to me.
  Let me make one more point, if I may. As someone who knows Ali and 
has known him for years--knows his family, knows his work, knows his 
ethic--I believe the 2015 IG report was missing some needed context. 
Let me try to provide it
  Fortunately, though, Ali provided it in a 32-page response. The 
response was almost as long as the IG report itself. Among other 
things, it describes how he met not just with Democratic Members but 
with a number of our Republican colleagues to address issues important 
to them, including international adoption and fighting fraud in our 
immigration programs. Following those meetings, just as with the EB-5 
Program, Ali took appropriate steps to make improvements based on 
feedback from his constituents. That is what leaders should do.
  Those examples and others included right there in the 2015 IG report 
serve to further illustrate Ali's commitment to doing what he thought 
was right, to improving the Department by carrying out the law without 
fear or favor, and by responding promptly and fully to inquiries from 
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.
  If Ali Mayorkas is confirmed today, I am hopeful that many of our 
colleagues and our staffs will have a chance in the years to come to 
work with him and his team at the Department of Homeland Security and 
witness for themselves the kind of leader he truly is. We are fortunate 
that an individual as well prepared and qualified as Alejandro Mayorkas 
may soon have the opportunity to lead the Department through the many 
crises and challenges it faces and which our country faces today.
  But you don't have to take my word for it. The late Tom Coburn, a 
dear friend of mine and former colleague of many of us, led the fight 
against Ali's confirmation in 2013, when he had been nominated to be 
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Tom was then the ranking member 
of the Homeland Security Committee, and I was serving as its chairman. 
Tom, sadly, is deceased. We lost a good man, a really good man, a 
couple of years ago.
  Tom's staff director of the committee, at the time, was a very 
capable gentleman. His name is Keith Ashdown. I think it is important 
to note that last week, Keith sent a letter to our committee. In it, he 
wrote of his strong support today of Ali's nomination to serve as 
Secretary of DHS.
  Mr. Ashdown wrote these words. He said:

       I first came to know Mayorkas when I was the Republican 
     staff director of this committee [the Homeland Security 
     committee]. At that time, I was working to block his 
     nomination to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of 
     Homeland Security.

  He went on to say:

       With the benefit of hindsight, I am glad my efforts to 
     block his nomination were ultimately unsuccessful.

  How often do you hear that? Mr. Ashdown went on to write:

       As Deputy Secretary, Mayorkas worked in a bipartisan manner 
     to respond to the Committee's requests and concerns.

  He added:

       Having been on the other side of this battle, I understand 
     the importance of vetting a [nomination] thoroughly. But no 
     one has been vetted more than has Ali Mayorkas.

  Mr. Ashton concluded with these words. He said:

       I urge the [United States] Senate to expeditiously confirm 
     Ali Mayorkas as [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary 
     without delay.

  Without delay.
  Signed:

       Sincerely, Keith Ashdown.

  Let me close today, by saying that I am grateful, and I know that the 
Mayorkas family is grateful as well, to Keith Ashdown and to the 
Republican Senators who have broken ranks in committee and on the floor 
in last week's cloture vote, who have taken the time to fully consider 
this nomination, and who now support it. We are grateful to you. I 
sincerely hope that more of our colleagues will join them and us today.
  I would say to my colleagues, I don't stake my reputation on a lot of 
people, but I am more than willing to stake it on Ali Mayorkas, just as 
I have three times before in this same Chamber. If you are undecided 
today, colleagues, I hope you will join me this time. Ali Mayorkas will 
make us and this country proud. In fact, I believe, he already has.
  While we are waiting for folks to come onto the floor, I just want to 
explain to people who ask: What is this EB-5 Program? It is a program 
that is designed to bring foreign capital into this country to help 
build businesses and provide jobs in return for the ability to come to 
this country and eventually have legal residency here. That is what it 
is about.

  I want to say everything I do, I know I can do better. Every program 
that we have, even the ones that I helped to create, we can make them 
better. The EB-5 Program, which is a bipartisan program that was 
created, I think, under partnership with Ted Kennedy and Senator Chuck 
Grassley, if I am not mistaken, wasn't a perfect program, and it wasn't 
administered in a perfect manner either.
  The Constitution of our country has its Preamble, as we all know. It 
starts off with these words: ``We the People of the United States, in 
Order to form a more perfect Union.'' That is what it says: ``We the 
People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union.''
  That includes writing more perfect legislation and creating more 
perfect programs. When we find that they are not and that they are 
flawed, and that maybe some of the people who are administering them 
are ill-equipped with their skills and technology and backgrounds to 
oversee those programs, we have to make some changes. To those people 
whose feelings were hurt and those people who maybe had to find a 
different path in their careers, I reach out to you with a heavy heart.
  But I want to close by saying: Ali Mayorkas is a good man. He is a 
great nominee. He served us before, and he will do it again. Let's give 
him our votes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Mr. PETERS. Madam President, I ask I unanimous consent to complete my 
remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. PETERS. Madam President, I rise in support of confirming 
Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland Security. I appreciate my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle for advancing this critical 
nomination so that we can finally provide the Department of Homeland 
Security with a qualified, experienced, and Senate-confirmed leader 
that they so desperately need.
  Mr. Mayorkas is a proven leader and has the experience to protect the 
American people from harm. Throughout his confirmation process, Mr. 
Mayorkas confirmed his commitment to transparency and working on a 
bipartisan basis to ensure the Department is able to take on persistent 
and emerging threats.
  And right now the threats we face are severe from domestic terrorism, 
including the rise of White supremacist violence to cyber attacks from 
foreign adversaries, to tackling a deadly pandemic. DHS continues to 
face daunting challenges, challenges that have only been made more 
difficult to address due to the years of chaos during the previous 
administration.
  That is why former Homeland Security Secretaries from both Republican 
and Democratic administrations, other senior Homeland Security 
officials, and law enforcement organizations have urged the Senate to 
quickly confirm Mr. Mayorkas--because they know he is well prepared for 
the difficult task that lies ahead.

[[Page S225]]

  The Department of Homeland Security needs leadership, and it needs it 
now. By voting to confirm Mr. Mayorkas, this body can show every 
American that we are committed to ensuring that they are safe and 
secure
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam President, I rise to express my support for the 
nomination of Mr. Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as Secretary of the 
Department of Homeland Secretary. His long career in public service, 
first as a prosecutor and later as Director of the U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services--USCIS--will provide DHS with much needed 
experience, expertise, and stability.
  DHS is the third largest Federal agency, and under the Trump 
administration, it had six Directors in 4 years, four of whom were 
never Senate confirmed. This lack of stability at the leadership level, 
combined with the Trump administration's brutal immigration tactics and 
confrontational actions against peaceful protesters, sowed chaos and 
distrust in and about the Department.
  Mr. Mayorkas will need to meet the challenges of restoring moral 
authority and guiding the Department through this difficult time. The 
challenges are many: executing a nationwide vaccine strategy to combat 
COVID-19, combating the rise of far-right, anti-government extremism 
and White supremacy, and strengthening our cyber defenses. I was 
pleased that he committed to supporting both DACA and TPS and working 
with Congress to support these communities. Maryland has a vibrant TPS 
population, with over 6,600 TPS holders working in essential industries 
during the coronavirus pandemic. Congress must act to extend permanent 
protections to these individuals and ensure that they have a safe and 
secure future with their families here in the United States. Unlike the 
previous administration, which torpedoed bipartisan congressional 
efforts to pass commonsense immigration reform, I am confident that Mr. 
Mayorkas will work with Congress to tackle these pressing priorities.
  I was dismayed that my Republican colleagues sought to delay Mr. 
Mayorkas's nomination at such a crucial time. Approximately 4 weeks 
ago, domestic terrorists attacked Congress in an attempt to overturn 
the 2020 elections. Last week, for the first time, DHS released its 
first national bulletin warning about domestic rightwing extremism. The 
Department will need to work with the FBI and DOJ to combat one of the 
most lethal and persistent threats against our democracy. We cannot 
wait a minute longer, and Mr. Mayorkas must be confirmed immediately.