[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 1929]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     CONFIRMATION OF MICHAEL POMPEO

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, the Senate recently voted to confirm 
Representative Mike Pompeo to be the Director of the CIA. While I do 
not agree with many of the views that Congressman Pompeo has expressed 
in the past, I have worked with him on legislation, and I know that he 
is a dedicated and experienced public servant. I believe he is 
qualified to lead the CIA at a critical time in our country's history. 
I was also extremely concerned about the nature of the President's 
press conference in front of the CIA memorial wall that honors those 
who lost their lives while in service. This press conference occurred 
before Representative Pompeo was confirmed by the Senate, and it 
provided an additional reason for putting seasoned leadership at the 
Agency without delay.
  Like many of my colleagues, I was concerned about Congressman 
Pompeo's past views on torture. That is why I personally asked 
Representative Pompeo about the use of torture, and as he did at his 
hearing, he stated unequivocally that he would not use illegal enhanced 
interrogation techniques at the CIA. Senator Feinstein and I have 
requested and received written confirmation to reinforce the commitment 
he made at his hearing to uphold laws that ban torture. As a member of 
the Senate Judiciary Committee, I intend to exercise robust oversight 
to ensure that these laws are upheld.
  I am opposed to torture. In 2007, I voted against Michael Mukasey for 
Attorney General because of his views on waterboarding. In 2015, I 
voted to strengthen the legal prohibition on torture by limiting 
interrogation techniques and requiring that the Red Cross has access to 
all detainees. I have also introduced bipartisan legislation, the 
Torture Victims Relief Act, to support torture treatment programs in 
the United States and abroad to help torture survivors recover from 
their trauma and rebuild productive lives.
  The 1984 United Nations Convention Against Torture has been ratified 
by 157 countries, including the United States. The world continues to 
look to America for its steadfast leadership and we must continue to 
fight against the practice of torture and other cruel and inhuman 
treatments.

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