[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 157 (Monday, September 13, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6450-S6451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



             Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 323, Marcela 
Escobari to be Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development, and that the Senate vote on the nomination 
without any intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, reserving the right to be object, as I 
described minutes ago, the Biden administration is in outright defiance 
of Federal law. An overwhelming bipartisan majority of the Senate and 
the House have passed tough sanctions on Russia--sanctions that work; 
sanctions that shut down the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for a year. But 
when President Biden came into office, he chose to override Federal law 
and instead to give a multibillion-dollar gift to Vladimir Putin in 
Russia. That decision is a generational geopolitical mistake. It harms 
U.S. national security interests, it benefits Russia, and it hurts 
Europe.
  Moreover, my hold on these nominations, I have expressed to the 
administration in writing and orally over a month ago. They have a path 
to lifting the hold on the Treasury Department nominees and the career 
State Department nominees simply by either enforcing sanctions under 
CAATSA on Russia or overriding those sanctions and triggering a vote in 
this body where Members of this body can register our views on whether 
Joe Biden is correct in giving this multibillion-dollar gift to 
Vladimir Putin that undermines our national security.
  Accordingly, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Madam President, it is unfortunate that this last 
nominee is objected to. This particular position--we are talking about 
Haiti. We are talking about having an Assistant Administrator that can 
help us restore the tragic situation in Haiti to a place in which 
people can live and won't seek migration to the United States.
  When we are talking about what is happening in the Western 
Hemisphere, in Venezuela, where there is a huge humanitarian set of 
refugees leaving; when we talk about what is happening

[[Page S6451]]

in Cuba with reference to the movements for democracy, this particular 
position would be dealing with all of that.
  I must say, I know that my colleague wants to say none of this would 
have changed anything. That is not the case. I am not saying that the 
ultimate result in Afghanistan would have changed, but certainly, when 
we do not have people in key positions advocating for U.S. national 
security and policy, it exacerbates the set of circumstances because we 
don't have the wherewithal to do what is necessary. There are many 
other key positions I will be coming to the Senate floor and 
highlighting how that has a risk to national security.
  Finally, I would just simply say CAATSA was violated by President 
Trump when he exercised no sanctions on the same issue that my 
colleague is concerned about. I happen to agree with him on the issue; 
I disagree with him in the process in which he is pursuing it. But that 
started with President Trump.
  By the way, President Trump started with a surrender agreement to the 
Taliban. He gave them everything, got nothing in return. He let them 
have 5,000 prisoners, Taliban prisoners, who were returned to the 
Taliban--that added to the fighting force--and got none of the 
commitments that were necessary to deal with a negotiation or a peace 
deal with the Afghan Government. He got nothing at all except a total 
surrender and then dramatically reduced the troop levels at that time.
  So there is a lot to talk about about Afghanistan, not only in the 
immediate context but over what has happened over the last 20 years. 
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee intends to do that extensive 
review through a series of hearings.
  Let's put history exactly where it belongs--in the right context.
  I yield the floor.

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