[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 194 (Monday, November 27, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MILITARY PROMOTIONS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on Senator Tuberville's blockade, 
before the end of the year, the Senate must put a stop to a grave abuse 
carried out by the senior Senator from Alabama: the brazen, months-and-
monthslong blockade of over 350 military nominees.
  The blockade of hundreds of military nominees, to push the hard-right 
view on abortion, is something that the majority of Americans do not 
support. Let's look at what happened in the referenda results over the 
last 2 years.
  It is something never seen before in the Senate. It has cost our 
military preparedness dearly. It has thrown the lives of hundreds of 
families into limbo.
  Members on both sides of the aisle are reaching a boiling point with 
Senator Tuberville, and before the year is out, we are going to act to 
bring his blockade to an end.
  In the coming weeks, I will bring a resolution to the floor, approved 
by the Rules Committee, allowing the Senate to quickly confirm the 
hundreds of military leaders that Senator Tuberville has obstructed. I 
thank Chairman Klobuchar and Senator Reed and everyone else who has 
championed this measure, and I hope my Republican colleagues who care 
about military preparedness end up supporting this resolution or at 
least getting Senator Tuberville to back down.
  No matter what, we have an obligation to act because Senator 
Tuberville's military holds are an anomaly in the history of the 
Senate. If every Senator did what Senator Tuberville has done and held 
up military confirmations because of this or that partisan issue, no 
matter how deeply felt, it would grind the Senate to a halt. It would 
be a catastrophe for our military. We dare not go further down that 
road. We have gone too far already.
  To all of my colleagues who don't want to see the military forever 
ensnared in partisan fights, I urge them to support this resolution or 
else implore Senator Tuberville to stand down.

                          ____________________