[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 16, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S1207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



             Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today to seek unanimous consent 
to confirm four nominees to posts that are critical--critical--to our 
response to Putin's war against Ukraine.
  Through smoke and rubble and artillery fire, Ukrainians are leaving 
their homes with nothing more than a backpack, nothing more than their 
children in their hands.
  Over the past 20 days, Vladimir Putin's illegal and horrific assault 
on Ukraine has led more than 3 million refugees to flee into 
neighboring countries. Those who remain are suffering from a dire and 
deteriorating humanitarian situation.
  With Putin's army blocking aid convoys, millions of Ukrainians are 
facing lack of water, food, and heat. Meanwhile, Putin orders 
unprovoked, unjustified attacks on civilians--shelling apartment 
buildings, bombing maternity hospitals, and destroying kindergartens, 
committing atrocities throughout the country.
  The United States and the world have a duty to exact costs on Putin, 
to demand accountability for war crimes, and to provide aid for the 
millions of innocent Ukrainians who are suffering. If we want to rise 
to this challenge, if we want to respond to the mounting human 
suffering, one thing is clear: We need to have the people in place--the 
people the President has selected--to lead and carry out this work. 
Their leadership is critical in our response to the growing crisis in 
Ukraine and the looming refugee crisis across Eastern Europe. They will 
fight to defend human rights when they are violated. They will fight to 
defend democracy when it is attacked. They will make sure we maximize 
the pain and the price Putin pays for this heinous war.