[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 126 (Thursday, July 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3765-S3766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



             Unanimous Consent Request--Executive Calendar

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the 
confirmation of Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez to be an Assistant Secretary 
of Defense for Health Affairs, or ASDHA.
  The Defense Department is responsible for the health and welfare of 
over 1.3 million Americans who are entrusted with protecting our 
Nation. In order to ensure they get the care they need and deserve, the 
DOD must have an Assistant Secretary of Defense in place to lead their 
health affairs.
  This position is the principal adviser to the Secretary of Defense 
for all health and force health protection policies, programs, 
activities, and the Integrated Disability Evaluation System. The ASDHA 
is responsible for the execution of the DOD medical mission, to provide 
and maintain physical and mental health readiness for medical services 
and support to members of the military services, their families, and 
those held in the control of the military services.
  Dr. Martinez-Lopez is eminently qualified for the position and has an 
impressive history of public service. Dr. Martinez-Lopez graduated from 
medical school in 1978. He retired from the U.S. Army as a major 
general and was the first Latino to head the Army Medical Research and 
Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, MD. He is the former director of the 
Army's worldwide medical research, acquisition, and logistics program, 
overseeing a vast research portfolio that included cancer, trauma, 
infectious diseases, aviation medicine, and telemedicine research.
  Dr. Martinez-Lopez also directed the premier national biological and 
chemical defense laboratories and research program and led the 
development of the National Biodefense Campus at Fort Detrick.
  He served as the commanding general of the Center for Health 
Promotion and Preventive Medicine, where he directed a worldwide public 
health organization and was responsible for preventive medicine, health 
promotion and wellness, global medical surveillance, occupational and 
environmental health, and health risk communication.
  Dr. Martinez-Lopez has an extensive military and medical background 
that makes him eminently qualified to fill this critically important 
role. But Republican obstruction has left us without a confirmed 
Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs for nearly a year, endangering 
the health of our servicemembers and the safety of our Nation.
  Unfortunately, Dr. Lopez is not the only critically important 
civilian DOD nominee Senate Republicans are blocking. Just yesterday, 
Chairman Reed came to the floor to ask for unanimous consent on the 
nominees to serve as inspector general of DOD, Assistant Secretary of 
the Navy, and a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed 
Forces.
  This unprecedented obstruction must end, and we must fill these 
important positions, including Dr. Martinez-Lopez, as quickly as 
possible.
  I urge my colleagues to confirm this nominee.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the 
following nomination: Calendar No. 779, Lester Martinez-Lopez, of 
Florida, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense; that the Senate vote 
on the nomination without intervening action or debate; that the motion 
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; and that any 
statements related to the nomination be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I rise in 
objection to this nominee due to his support of President Biden's 
irrational and now proven foolish vaccine mandates for our military.
  Last August, the Biden administration imposed a COVID-19 vaccine 
mandate across the entire military. This led to the expulsion of 
thousands of qualified, honorable servicemembers who elected not to 
receive the vaccine. This DOD mandate failed to account for immunity to 
the virus many troops gained through natural infection, which we now 
know is equal to or greater than the effectiveness of the vaccine. The 
mandate also failed to account for the fact that these men and women 
are our bravest and healthiest Americans, with strong immune systems.
  Recently, we learned that the Army cut roughly 60,000 National Guard 
and Reserve members from pay and benefits for refusing to take the 
COVID vaccine at the beginning of July. This decision was made at a 
time when more than 30 percent of its recruitment slots are not 
fulfilled.
  The recruiting crisis has gotten so bad that the Army is now placing 
enlistees who exceed body fat standards into a dietary and exercise 
program in order to lose weight. This manpower shortage could result in 
undermanned units and potentially longer deployments as well as greater 
dependence on National Guardsmen to meet mission goals.
  These personnel shortages are clear and obvious, and they are getting 
worse. Yet the ideologues in charge of this administration refuse to 
drop the vaccine mandate for the military. There is no longer any 
rational basis to persist in this demand other than as a deliberate 
campaign to punish dissenting opinions and oppress political enemies.
  The Department also appears to be going out of its way to deny 
religious accommodations for our troops. More than 24,000 members 
across the branches have submitted religious accommodation requests. 
Almost all have

[[Page S3766]]

been rejected. The Air Force approved fewer than 130 of the more than 
9,000 religious requests submitted by airmen.
  It is time for this administration to do what is morally right and 
patriotic, what is decent and sensible and prudent for the readiness of 
our military, and drop this vaccine mandate. Further, the Defense 
Department should reinstate those servicemembers who have been expelled 
for this reason, return them to their previous positions, and provide 
backpay for time missed.
  But until they do so, I will continue to object to this nominee. And, 
therefore, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Hawaii.
  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, very briefly, the fact that my colleague 
is objecting to the consequences of not adhering to the requirement for 
vaccination is not within the purview of Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez. So, 
therefore, their objection as to this particular nominee is misplaced 
and, in my view, irrelevant.
  I again call on my colleagues to enable this nominee to come forward 
under unanimous consent.