[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 201 (Wednesday, December 6, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Military Promotions

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I also am here to talk about gun 
violence, but before I get to that, I want to address some of the 
comments we heard from Senator Tuberville.
  I think the people of this country and the people who are visiting 
our Chamber today need to understand that, for 10 months, Senator 
Tuberville has been playing politics. He has literally held the 
entire--entire--military chain of command hostage. He was offered a 
vote on his policy; he turned it down. He was the subject of a rules 
exception passed through my committee on a 9-7 vote that would have put 
all of the nominations together. Even then, he kept standing his 
ground.
  Finally, when he realized that a number of his Republican colleagues 
who came to the floor repeatedly were going to vote for that change, he 
finally relented. But it was the words of the military families and the 
veterans' families that made the biggest difference--the spouses who 
had put their own jobs on hold, who had left their jobs teaching school 
because they thought they were going to move, and the people who didn't 
even know where to put their parents in assisted living because they 
didn't know. These are military families who are serving our country.
  And national security? He held up numerous key personnel at a time 
when there are conflicts all over the world.
  Still, it is important to note, which he admitted on the floor today, 
he is holding up 11 four-star officers, including the head of CYBERCOM, 
at a time when Vladimir Putin and other tyrants see that cyber as a 
weapon of war. He is holding up the commander--the commander--of the 
Pacific Air command. So he continues his hold.
  And, yes, we will not go home for Christmas until we finish our work 
and get through these 11 additional officers being held.
  Let me just end this moment by quoting him from the hallways 
yesterday from a reporter. He was asked about this.
  He said:

       I have loved to have five downs in football instead of 
     four, but you can't do it. It's got to be fair for everybody.

  He was asked if he had regrets.

       It was pretty much a draw. I mean, they didn't get what 
     they wanted.

  Really? Who is ``they''? I guess the ``they'' are the military 
members, the servicemembers, who serve our country.
  And my last message on this front is that this is not a game, Senator 
Tuberville. This is not a game. This is not a football game. These are 
real people's lives and the security of our country, and I am pleased 
that we have gotten through these 425 nominees, but there are clearly 
more to go.