[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 595]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     NOMINATION OF CONDOLEEZZA RICE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, over the course of today, we will be 
considering the nomination of Condoleezza Rice to be Secretary of 
State. I want to be the first on this floor and on this day to honor 
Condoleezza Rice with our expression of strong support. She is an 
outstanding choice, and the American people are fortunate to have a 
public servant of her talent and her intellect.
  During her tenure as National Security Adviser, Dr. Rice has been a 
steady and trusted adviser, a confidante of the President of the United 
States. In a role of crafting policy and helping guide decisionmaking, 
she has demonstrated extraordinary skill. But this should come as no 
surprise. Dr. Rice is a woman of remarkable accomplishments. Throughout 
her life, she has applied her razor-sharp mind and her steely 
determination to reach the highest peaks of achievement. And it started 
early.
  Dr. Rice was born in Birmingham in 1954. By the age of 3, she was 
already a piano prodigy, playing hymnals for her family. By age 5, she 
was playing right alongside her mother on the church organ bench. At 
19, Condoleezza Rice earned her bachelor degree in political science 
cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Denver, and just a 
year later her master's from Notre Dame. At the young age of 26, having 
earned her Ph.D., Dr. Rice became an assistant professor at Stanford 
University. A decade later, Dr. Rice was elevated to the post of 
provost, which at Stanford and most universities is the equivalent of 
the chief operating officer of the university.
  From 1989 to 1991, Dr. Rice served the first Bush administration as 
Director and then as Senior Director of Soviet and East European 
Affairs at the National Security Council. During this time, Dr. Rice 
brought her considerable expertise in Eastern European affairs to the 
administration's handling of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Germany's 
reunification, and the transition of the Soviet Union to the Russian 
Federation. This, combined with her years of foreign policy experience, 
particularly in the post-9/11 context, makes her distinctly qualified 
to lead the Department of State.
  We are a nation at war. As Secretary of State, Dr. Rice will be a key 
player in winning this war. She will have the responsibility of 
advancing democracy and freedom across the globe, not only to protect 
us from attack but to fulfill America's unique moral purpose. Outlaw 
regimes must be confronted. Dangerous weapons of proliferation must be 
stopped. Terrorist organizations must be destroyed. Dr. Rice has both 
the ability and the experience, from fighting the Cold War through 
fighting this war on terror, to meet these daunting challenges.
  Dr. Rice possesses a rare combination of management and 
administrative experience, of public policy expertise, of high academic 
achievement and, not least importantly, a graciousness that will serve 
America's interests well in these difficult and challenging times. 
America needs a leader of her caliber.
  Dr. Rice has said that while growing up, her dad John and her mother 
Angelena taught her that in a country where racial segregation and Jim 
Crow were an ugly fact of life, she had to be twice as good to get 
ahead. I think it is fair to say she has surpassed this high charge.
  Dr. Rice is an author, a classically trained pianist, an ice skater, 
and tennis player. She speaks Russian fluently and is an avid fan of 
football. In fact, we are grateful she has set aside at least for the 
moment her ambition to become commissioner of the National Football 
League.
  A woman of deep faith in God, liberty, and freedom, Condoleezza Rice 
will protect and serve our national interests. I should also note Dr. 
Rice would be the first African-American woman to serve as Secretary of 
State. I urge the Senate to give Dr. Rice their strong support. I hope 
and expect to see her confirmed swiftly so she can begin addressing the 
urgent threats and challenges that face our Nation.
  I yield the floor.

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