[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15583-15584]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
immediately proceed to executive session to consider the following 
nominations on today's Executive Calendar: Calendar Nos. 225, 226, 229, 
230, and 232.
  I further ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed, 
the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table; that the President be 
immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return 
to legislative business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The nominations considered and confirmed are as follows:


                     NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY

       Anne Rader, of Virginia, to be a Member of the National 
     Council on Disability for a term expiring September 17, 2004.


                    DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

       Eduardo Aguirre, Jr., of Texas, to be Director of the 
     Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of 
     Homeland Security.


               FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD

       Terrence A. Duffy, of Illinois, to be a Member of the 
     Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board for a term 
     expiring October 11, 2003.
       Terrence A. Duffy, of Illinois, to be a Member of the 
     Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board for a term 
     expiring October 11, 2007.


                    DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

       C. Stewart Verdery, Jr., of Virginia, to be an Assistant 
     Secretary of Homeland Security.


                  CONFIRMATION OF EDUARDO AGUIRRE, JR.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased to support the nomination of 
Eduardo Aguirre to serve as Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and 
Immigration Services (BCIS), in the newly-created Department of 
Homeland Security. I was very impressed with him at his nomination 
hearing, and I look forward to working with him in his new position.
  I am pleased that this nomination was referred to the Judiciary 
Committee, which continues to have jurisdiction over immigration 
legislation and oversight. Similarly, I am pleased that we were able to 
obtain unanimous consent last week for the Judiciary Committee to 
receive a subsequent referral on the nomination of Michael Garcia to 
head the Bureau of Customs and Immigration Enforcement--BICE.
  The recent Inspector General report on the treatment of ``9/11 
detainees'' shows the severe consequences that can be faced by those 
immigrants who fail to mention their unlawful status. Of course, the 
responsibility to remain here legally falls upon immigrants, but there 
are occasions when immigrants live up to that responsibility and are 
nonetheless failed by errors and backlogs on the Government's part. I 
hope and trust that preventing such errors will be a major priority for 
Mr. Aguirre. I also hope that he will use his position to battle the 
perception in many immigrant communities that the war on terrorism has 
become a war on immigrants.
  At his confirmation hearing, I talked to Mr. Aguirre about the former 
INS employees in Vermont who will be under his jurisdiction, including 
those at the Vermont Service Center in St. Albans. I recommended to him 
that he build on the established INS workforce throughout the State by 
making Vermont a regional center for his agency, and I was pleased that 
he seemed to take that advice seriously. I am eager to work with him to 
see that idea become a reality.
  On the national level, it was a priority for many of us in Congress 
that immigration services not be overlooked at the Department of 
Homeland Security. Although our security is paramount, the new 
Department must remember that our Nation's founding principals and 
economic health demand that immigration be handled in a fair and 
orderly way. After his confirmation hearing, I believe that Mr. 
Aguirre--himself a refugee--understands this at a fundamental level.
  He faces a challenging job. I have already written him about the 
backlogs that plague our immigration system, and I hope that he is able 
to make meaningful change in that area. The President has pledged to 
reduce the average backlog for immigration petitions to 6 months by 
2006--to do so is going to take serious investment, and I hope Mr. 
Aguirre will be a voice inside the administration to make that 
investment.


                 NOMINATION OF C. STEWART VERDERY, JR.

  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I rise today to applaud the Senate's 
approval of the nomination of C. Stewart Verdery, Jr., to be an 
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Border and Transportation 
Security Policy. Mr. Verdery's nomination was approved unanimously by 
the Committee on Governmental Affairs on June 17, and his confirmation 
will fill a vital position at the new Department of Homeland Security. 
I have known Stewart for over a decade, and believe that his 
experience, Jeffersonian conservative principles, and personal 
qualities make him well-qualified to serve in the new Department.
  The Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning at the Border and 
Transportation Directorate, Department of Homeland Security, is the 
principal adviser to the BTS Under Secretary for policy development in 
the substantive areas within the BTS Directorate, including immigration 
and customs enforcement, customs and border protection, transportation 
security, Federal law enforcement training, and domestic preparedness. 
The Assistant Secretary is responsible for ensuring that policies 
developed for BTS and its component agencies are designed to achieve 
homeland security objectives as directed by the DHS Secretary and BTS 
Under Secretary and to fulfill the BTS mission statement to ``protect 
national security and promote public safety by enforcing our nation's 
immigration and customs laws, providing an effective defense against 
all external threats, including international terrorists, and other 
threats such as illegal drugs and other contraband, while preserving 
the free flow of legitimate trade and travel.''
  Mr. Verdery is well-known to this body, having served for more than 6 
years in the U.S. Senate. He first served as counsel to my senior 
colleague from Virginia, Senator Warner, in his personal office and on 
the Senate Rules Committee. He joined the Senate Judiciary Committee in 
1998 as head of the crime and law enforcement unit, and then moved to 
become General Counsel to the senior Senator from Oklahoma, Mr. 
Nickles. In this role, Mr. Verdery advised the Senate leadership on a 
host of issues, including crime and law enforcement, commerce, judicial 
nominations, constitutional law, campaign finance, and 
telecommunications. He was widely respected among his peers and relied 
upon not only by Senator Nickles, but by many other members of the 
Republican Conference and their staffs as well.
  Whether managing the high-profile investigation of the disputed 1996 
Louisiana Senate election, helping direct the Clinton impeachment 
trial, or a host of other assignments, Mr. Verdery's organizational 
skills, political instincts, and notable work ethics enabled him to 
thrive in the demanding environment of the U.S. Senate.
  I had the opportunity to work closely with Stewart when the Senate 
Republican leadership designated him as a

[[Page 15584]]

lead staffer for the Senate Republican High Tech Task Force, which has 
the goal of advancing constructive technology policy in the Senate. As 
chairman of the High Tech Task Force in 2001-2002, I was impressed by 
his extraordinary command of complex technology issues and, perhaps 
more important, his ability to succinctly explain the issues to others. 
His advice and counsel were always sound and thoughtful, and through 
his effective and friendly manner, he instantly earned the respect of 
those with whom he worked.
  Stewart Verdery played a key role in the transformation of the High 
Tech Task Force into a lead advocate for the technology-friendly 
policies in the Senate. With his assistance, my colleagues and I were 
better prepared to advance a positive technology policy agenda in the 
Senate, including: the passage of a clean, 2-year Internet tax 
moratorium extension; passage of the upgraded Export Administration Act 
reauthorization; securing additional funding for anti-piracy 
prosecutions; and the hard-fought effort in the economic stimulus 
debate to make the Research and Development tax credit permanent, to 
provide enhanced expensing and to include the broadband tax credit.
  Mr. Verdery will be a valuable member of the team at the Department 
of Homeland Security. I wish Stewart, his wife Jenny and their two 
young children, Isabelle and Chase, all the very best health and 
happiness in this new endeavor.
  Mr. NICKLES. Madam President, I rise today to support the Senate's 
approval of the nomination of Stewart Verdery as the Assistant 
Secretary for Policy and Planning at the Border and Transportation 
Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security.
  I have worked with Stewart since his days as Counsel to the Senate 
Rules Committee and while he was at the Senate Judiciary Committee. He 
did an outstanding job in those capacities. As a matter of fact, he did 
such a great job I hired him to serve as my General Counsel in the 
Assistant Republican Leader's office. In his position there, he served 
not only as my counsel, but as a counsel for the entire Senate. We deal 
with a lot of issues in the U.S. Senate, and Stewart's counsel was 
invaluable to me and other Senators.
  I consider Stewart and his wife Jenny to be part of the family. Not 
only were they married while he was on my staff, but their two children 
were born as well. I respect him as both a professional and a family 
man.
  I have no doubt Stewart will excel in this new position, and it is 
with great pleasure that I support his nomination as Assistant 
Secretary for Policy and Planning.

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