[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 767-768]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          WAIVER LEGISLATION FOR THE NEXT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Senate is faced with a clear but 
complicated choice: support this expedited legislation that will pave 
the way for the confirmation of the next nominee to be Secretary of 
Defense or embroil one of the most consequential Cabinet positions--and 
with it the lives of

[[Page 768]]

thousands of men and women, as well as our national defense--in what 
would surely become a legal and legislative morass.
  The Framers of the Constitution established that the Senate should 
provide advice and consent in the appointment of such Cabinet nominees. 
Congress subsequently, in the aftermath of World War II, sought to 
implement limitations on who could serve as Secretary of Defense, 
specifically, a cooling off period for members of the military 
nominated to serve as Secretary of Defense. The goal? To ensure that 
America's military would remain under civilian control. Circumventing 
these limitations requires an act of Congress. It has been done just 
once before, ironically almost immediately after Congress first enacted 
those limitations.
  In Gen. Mattis, the President-elect--who is inexperienced in the 
world of military affairs and has sometimes proven rash in his public 
comments--has identified an able leader, who is tremendously popular 
and who has time and again shown himself worthy of the respect he has 
earned. I believe he will be a voice of reason in the Department of 
Defense and was encouraged to hear at his confirmation hearing this 
morning that he understands the importance of civilian control of our 
Defense Department and intends to preserve that tradition.
  As Senator Reed said earlier today in the Armed Services Committee, 
this is a once-in-a-generation waiver. Chairman McCain similarly 
emphasized that he supports the law that this legislation would 
temporarily waive. I do not support efforts to change the law to 
permanently eliminate this statutory cooling off period. I am 
disappointed that the Senate majority has insisted on creating an 
expedited debate on such a critical question. I cannot support such an 
abrupt and accelerated revision of the law, even in the form of a one-
time-only exemption. I couldn't support such a haphazard process, 
regardless of who the President, President-elect, or the nominee is.
  As I said in December when the Senate considered the legislation that 
paved the way for this rushed process today, my vote on this bill does 
not foreshadow my vote on Gen. Mattis's nomination. I do believe that 
Gen. Mattis can respect the boundaries that make our Armed Forces the 
strongest in the world. I believe Gen. Mattis will offer a critical 
perspective to an inexperienced and sometimes volatile incoming 
Commander in Chief. And those are reasons why I believe he may receive 
my support when the Senate considers his nomination.

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