[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 217 (Thursday, December 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9250-S9251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            VOTE EXPLANATION

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, for the information of the Senate, while I 
was necessarily absent for the confirmation votes of Ramin Toloui and 
Rashad Hussain, I want the Congressional Record to reflect my support 
for their confirmations. Had I been present, I would have voted in the 
affirmative.
  Ramin Toloui is nominated to be the Assistant Secretary of State for 
Economic and Business Affairs. He is the professor of the Practice for 
International Finance at Stanford University, and the Tad and Diane 
Taube Policy Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy 
Research. His teaching and research focus on international economic 
policy, financial crises, and the economic impact of artificial 
intelligence. He began his career as a civil servant at the Department 
of the Treasury. His nomination was favorably reported by the Foreign 
Relations Committee, and he is superbly qualified to hold this 
position.
  Rashad Hussain is nominated to be Ambassador at Large for Religious 
Freedom. He is a senior counsel at the Department of Justice's National 
Security Division. He previously served as President Obama's Special 
Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation--OIC--as U.S. Special 
Envoy for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, and as Deputy 
Associate White House Counsel. In his role as OIC Envoy, Professor 
Hussain helped develop U.S policy and deepen and expand partnerships 
with Muslim-majority countries, civil society organizations, and the 
OIC, the world's second largest multilateral organization after the UN. 
As Special Envoy for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, 
Professor Hussain led an interagency body that worked with 
international partners to amplify credible narratives in countering 
terrorist propaganda. Having been reported favorably by the Foreign 
Relations Committee, I have no doubt of his qualifications for this 
position.

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