[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 22, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4669-S4670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of Kiran Arjandas Ahuja

  Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, I am here today to talk about those things 
that unite us as Americans, and I am here to talk about those things 
that divide us.
  For centuries, public service has been something that unites 
Americans, drawing us together. Citizens from all walks of life serve 
in our military. They serve in Federal and State and local governments. 
They serve in police units and in fire departments across our country. 
They serve as teachers and coaches. And we as a nation are better off 
for their service and for their sacrifice.
  Those who serve our Nation do it not because they have to but because 
they want to. They do it because they believe this Nation is worth 
serving. They do it because they believe this Nation is worth 
defending. They believe it is worth celebrating. And they are right to 
think all of those things. Service to this country is an act of 
selflessness that affirms our Nation is a place worth believing in.
  But I am concerned that the present administration and this 
President, President Joe Biden, do not share this point of view. I am 
worried that President Biden is nominating for Federal office 
individuals who do not share a view of America as a good and decent 
place, who do not believe that the history of this Nation is worth 
celebrating; nominating, instead, people who believe that this is a 
country founded in racism and shot through with corruption.
  Many of these nominees are partisans of a viewpoint that goes by 
different names but shares several features in common--a view that 
America is a systemically racist place and systemically unjust; a view 
of America as corrupt; a view of American society as one that needs to 
be deconstructed, that needs to be pulled apart, torn down, and then 
rebuilt in a fundamentally different way.
  Now, this broad ideology has become known in public as critical race 
theory or sometimes just critical theory. And let me tell you, as 
someone who has taught in our Nation's universities, someone who has 
seen our institutions of higher learning up close, I would say to those 
in the media and elsewhere who now deny that there is any such thing as 
critical theory, that critical theory is, in fact, very real, it is 
very influential, and it appears to have become the animating ideology 
of this administration. That is cause for great concern.
  Critical theory is an ideology that says the United States is rotten 
to its core. The leaders of this movement think our society is defined 
by White supremacy. They think our leaders are complicit, at best.
  They think that all Americans are either oppressors or oppressed. In 
our world-class military, these critics see a vehicle for 
discrimination. In our American flag, they see propaganda. In our 
family businesses, they see White supremacy. In our police officers, 
they see agents of racial oppression.
  These critics allow no room for merit, for experience, or for grace 
in our life together. They pit Whiteness and Blackness against each 
other in a manner that reduces every American, no matter their 
character or their creed, to their racial identity alone.
  One of these critics, Dr. Ibram Kendi wrote this:

       The only remedy to past discrimination is present 
     discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is 
     future discrimination.

  That is right. That is what he said. Think about that for a moment. 
He is saying he is opposed to equality under the law. He is opposing 
our merit-based system for Federal employment. Dr. Kendi and his 
followers are in no uncertain terms advocating for State-sanctioned 
racism in the United States of America.
  Now, it is a free country. Dr. Kendi and these other authors can 
write their books and debate their views and put them out in public. It 
is absolutely their right to do so. They are welcome to do so. But what 
we cannot allow--what we must not allow--is our Federal Government to 
affirm and sanction and advocate this critical race theory. We cannot 
allow the United States of America, the greatest Nation on Earth, to 
legitimize a new era of racial engineering.
  In the past few years, critical race theory has gained new prominence 
in the giant corporations, in the media, in the military, and even in 
our children's schools. We are seeing this across the country. We have 
seen too many of our children exposed to a curriculum like the 1619 
Project and its derivatives that encourage division rather than unity, 
that rewrites our history in the service of an ideological agenda 
rather than in the service of truth.
  Young children set off to school with eyes full of hope and hearts, 
full of pride in our country, only to be taught that White privilege 
defines the Nation, that subjects like mathematics are inherently 
racist, that the Christian faith is oppressive. They are taught that 
the nuclear family perpetuates racism.
  Now, imagine for a moment if you were taught the same. Imagine if you 
were taught that your dreams were unjust or unfair, that your family 
were oppressors, that you were at fault for the problems of our society 
today. These are just children. We should be nurturing their dreams. We 
should be nurturing their hopes. We should be giving them a great hope 
for the future, for the future of this great Nation known as the United 
States of America, a hope for the future of the greatest Nation in the 
history of the world, rather than teaching them to mistrust their 
classmates and to distrust their own history.
  It doesn't end there. Last year, we discovered that Federal agencies 
and other organizations funded by taxpayers were holding workplace 
training sessions where Federal employees were told that ``virtually 
all White people contribute to racism''--that is a quote--or where 
civil servants were required to say that they ``benefit from racism.''
  Now, President Trump put an end to this divisive curriculum, and he 
was right to do so. Workplace diversity training should focus on 
bringing people together, not on driving them apart. But under this new 
administration, I fear that critical theory is making a comeback.
  In March, President Biden rescinded the former President's ban on 
this divisive curriculum, and now, he has nominated Kiran Ahuja to be 
Director of the Office of Personnel Management. That is a key position 
that runs human resources for the entire Federal Government and 
millions of its employees. Ms. Ahuja's nomination is before the Senate 
today. I am concerned that Ms. Ahuja is a disciple of radical 
theorists. She has frequently promoted Dr. Kendi. She called him a 
``thought leader'' at her confirmation hearing back in April. Just last 
year, Ms. Ahuja wrote that we must free the Nation from the ``daily 
trials of White supremacy.'' Those are her words.
  She appeared to endorse Dr. Kendi's claim that the election of 
President

[[Page S4670]]

Trump in 2016 was an example of ``racist progress'' in this country, 
and she declared that we must do everything in our collective power to 
realize Dr. Kendi's vision for America.
  I am concerned that, as the Federal Government's HR director, Ms. 
Ahuja could use her platform to promote radical ideologies that seek to 
divide rather than unite people. She could bring critical race theory 
back into Federal Government training and to every level of Federal 
personnel, stronger than ever. And I am not alone in this concern. All 
of my Republican colleagues on the Homeland Security Committee opposed 
Ms. Ahuja in a vote back in April
  Two weeks ago, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association--they 
represent 100,000 Federal police officers that protect and defend our 
Nation every day--they announced that they were also concerned about 
Ms. Ahuja's nomination because of her advocacy of critical theory.
  I have to say, I agree with Federal law enforcement. I agree with 
what they said in their letter. We should nominate candidates for 
public office that are committed to ideological neutrality, to 
fairness, and to impartiality under the law. I want to be clear, I do 
not for a moment question Ms. Ahuja's sincerity or integrity. In fact, 
I thank her for her willingness to serve the Nation; but I cannot agree 
with what appears to be her fundamental ideology. At the end of the 
day, this is not about politics or personalities; this is about 
ensuring that the Federal Government stands for unity, not division, 
harmony, not hate.
  As the Reverend Dr. King famously said, and he was right, we should 
judge our fellow citizens by the content of their character, not by the 
color of their skin. We need a strong nation with strong citizens who 
see each other as Americans, not as oppressors or oppressed.
  Now, I have heard a lot of criticism about my position here today. I 
have heard the corporate media and those on the left say that I 
misunderstand critical theory or that it is not real or that it is not 
a real problem. I have heard many say the United States is indeed built 
on oppression and remains a systemically racist place.
  All I can say is that is not the America I see, that is not the 
America I know. The working people of this country who have rallied to 
this Nation's flag in every hour of danger, who are the first to help a 
neighbor in need, who coach our Little Leagues and volunteer at our 
churches, who go to work day in and day out to provide for their 
families and protect the place they call home, these are not 
oppressors; these are liberators. These are not oppressors; these are 
great people. They live with a spirit of liberty that has made this 
country the greatest country in the history of the world, and they want 
to see that liberty extended to every member of the American family. 
That is who the American people are. That is what makes them great. 
That is what they believe--because they are a great people. Our future 
is a cause for hope and not despair.
  The advocates of critical theory tell us we have to dismantle our 
culture, our history, our families, our Jewish and Christian heritage 
and beliefs because they are all oppressive. They say the future of 
this Nation will be defined by racial division and racial strife. I 
reject that prophecy of our future, and I take my stand on the goodness 
of the American people and the God who guides us. I take my stand on 
hope.
  It is not oppression that defines the American story. It is hope. 
From the minutemen at Lexington and Concord, to the pioneers who found 
a new life in the West, to the heroes of the Underground Railroad, to 
the Union soldiers at Little Round Top, to the workers who fought the 
old monopolies for fair pay, to the women who fought for suffrage, to 
the young men who twice liberated Europe, to the civil rights 
demonstrators likes of Bull Connor, to the firemen and police officers 
who rebuilt New York and gave this country confidence again in the 
years after 9/11, it is love for one another and love for our country 
that we call home that has defined our story and given us hope; and 
that love and that hope will define our future once again. I am 
confident of it.
  In this Nation, we are not united by ethnic creed or race or 
religion--and proudly so. We are united by our shared history. We are 
united by what we love together. We are united by the radical belief 
that those who liberate others, those who practice grace and mercy, 
those who call forth the best in those around them, they are the ones 
who changed the world; and that principle, that truth, that hope, is 
what drives our history. And we are not done building that history yet. 
The greatest Nation in the history of the world is not done yet.
  Critical theory in all of its guises distorts our history, it 
destroys our common love, and it would leave us hopelessly divided, at 
enmity with one another and alone. To this dark vision, we must say no. 
To radical hope, we must say yes.
  For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote no on Ms. Ahuja's 
nomination.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I rise to support Kiran Ahuja's nomination 
to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM. Ms. Ahuja 
is a proven leader who has the experience and commitment needed to 
restore confidence in OPM and provide a vision for the future of the 
Federal workforce.
  OPM is an independent agency that supports more than 2 million 
Federal employees who serve all across the government. Both OPM and the 
Federal workforce have faced unprecedented challenges in recent years, 
from attempts to dismantle the agency, to a record-setting government 
shutdown, to the coronavirus pandemic. And unfortunately, these 
challenges were made worse due to the lack of consistent and committed 
leadership at OPM. Our dedicated public servants are on the frontline 
every day, responding to the ongoing pandemic, protecting our national 
security, and delivering vital services to the American people each and 
every day. The dedicated men and women who serve at OPM and throughout 
the civil service deserve a qualified, experienced leader who is 
committed to supporting the people who make government work.
  Ms. Ahuja's career includes over two decades of management 
experience, including running nonprofit organizations, leading the 
White House initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during 
the Obama administration, and serving as Chief of Staff at OPM.
  Throughout this confirmation process, Ms. Ahuja has demonstrated that 
she understands the mission of OPM and the experience of safeguarding 
the nonpartisan civil service. She has committed to working closely and 
transparently with Congress to strengthen and to modernize the Federal 
workforce.
  I am confident that Ms. Ahuja is the right person to lead OPM at this 
pivotal time. She will provide the strategic vision and the management 
needed to reinvigorate the Federal workforce.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the confirmation of 
Kiran Ahuja for Director of OPM.