[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 1516]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am pleased that we are going to be 
considering the Ambassador to Burma. Everyone knows the personal 
attention Senator McConnell has shown to the country of Burma for many 
years. I am pleased we are going to get an Ambassador to Burma.
  I hope everyone understands we are really shortchanging the State 
Department. We have numerous people held up. The Secretary of State has 
called me on several occasions lamenting the fact that he is having 
trouble getting the work done because we don't have the people to do 
the work.
  Fifteen foreign policy nominations are being held up by Republicans, 
and we have a number of Ambassadors who are being held up: Sweden, 
Norway, Luxembourg, and Trinidad--a number of countries that are 
extremely important to what we are doing here. It is a shame that they 
are being held by Republicans. It is very unfortunate.

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