[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 193 (Wednesday, November 3, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7699-S7700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Nomination of Michael Lee Connor

  Madam President, I come to the floor briefly today to support Michael 
Connor's nomination to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Army for 
Civil Works.
  Senator Hoeven and I are here together because we both care very much 
about getting this position filled. All of us have major, major 
projects in our States that need to be built, and he needs to get in 
this job. We are hopeful that we will have a vote on this tomorrow.
  Michael brings to this position unparalleled experience in water 
management, and I am not just talking about his professional work but 
also his upbringing. He grew up on the edge of the desert in New 
Mexico, and he was raised with a heightened understanding of the 
importance of water practices. Over the course of his career, he has 
spent nearly two decades at the Department of the Interior. During that 
time, he led efforts on water resource management. This experience will 
be vital as he takes on this new leadership role.
  We all know about the importance of the Army Corps of Engineers' 
Civil Works Program, from supporting navigation on our inland waterways 
and coastal ports to maintaining reservoirs that supply water to 
communities, to providing flood protection and risk management.
  Senator Hoeven and I are here together because we care a lot about 
flood protection. The Red River doesn't divide us between Minnesota and 
North Dakota; it unites us in our efforts to protect our communities. 
The Red River of the North has exceeded flood stage 55 times between 
1902 and 2019, and the problem has worsened in recent years, with 7 of 
the top 10 floods occurring during the last 30 years. As we begin to 
see more and more severe impacts from extreme weather events, water 
management and resiliency will be increasingly important all over the 
country.
  To build up sustainable water infrastructure that can manage flooding 
across all 50 States, we need leaders like Michael Connor overseeing 
the Army Corps. Time and again, he has proven himself to be a dedicated 
and capable leader.
  Michael Walsh, a retired Army major general and former Corps of 
Engineers Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, 
said in an interview that Michael Connor ``has deep experience with 
water resource issues. He'll bring that experience to the Army.''
  I am proud to be supporting him. Again, we are very hopeful that we 
can have this vote tomorrow.
  I want to thank Senator Hoeven for the work that he has done in 
making sure we can clear the way for this vote on his side of the 
aisle.
  Senator Hoeven.
  Mr. HOEVEN. Madam President, I thank the senior Senator from 
Minnesota for her hard work in getting Michael Connor to the floor. I 
have been very pleased to join with her, and, obviously, we are hopeful 
that, tomorrow, we will have that vote.
  The position of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works 
is critical to every Member of this body. Every State has interactions 
with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Assistant Secretary is 
the top civilian who oversees the Corps of Engineers. The Assistant 
Secretary plays a vital role in formulating the Corps' budget, in 
setting policy and priorities for the Corps, and in ensuring that an 
incredible array of projects is managed and executed across the Nation.
  For example, in my State of North Dakota, we have Corps projects in 
communities like Minot on flood protection. A number of years ago, we 
had 11,000 people and 4,000 homes and buildings inundated. Obviously, 
flood protection is incredibly vital for them,

[[Page S7700]]

and we need the Corps working to get that done.
  In the Red River Valley of the North, as Senator Klobuchar said so 
accurately, we are working together for comprehensive flood protection 
in that region. It is a multibillion-dollar, multi-State project that 
uses the latest approach of a public-private partnership with a WIFIA 
loan guarantee. We are doing things in a way that hasn't been done 
before that can really help us cut into the backlog that the Corps has 
on these flood projects.
  But it takes a lot of work and a lot of creativity to keep that 
moving forward, and so we need the Assistant Secretary in place to help 
us do that, and that is why we need to move forward with this 
confirmation vote.
  And as Senator Klobuchar said correctly, Mr. Connor is well qualified 
for this position. He held the No. 2 position at Interior from 2014 to 
2017. He also served as Commissioner of the Interior's Bureau of 
Reclamation from 2009 to 2014. He worked on Capitol Hill from 2001 to 
2009 as counsel to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
  So he has got the background to do this. He is ready to go. Let's 
have this vote on confirmation and let's put him to work for the great 
people of this great country.
  And with that, I would defer again to the Senator from Minnesota for 
any concluding remarks she has, but, again, I want to thank her for 
working on this in a bipartisan way.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. With that, I will turn it over to Senator Murray.
  Thank you very much, Senator Hoeven.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.