[Congressional Record: February 7, 2007 (Senate)]
[Page S1706-S1707]



               NOMINATION OF JOHN M. McCONNELL TO BE DNI

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, today the Senate has confirmed the
nomination of VADM Mike McConnell to be the next Director of National
Intelligence. It is hard for me to imagine a better choice than Admiral
McConnell.
  The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence received Admiral
McConnell's nomination to replace John Negroponte on January 22, 2007.
He completed all the requisite paperwork and the committee held a
hearing with Admiral McConnell on February 1. The committee met on
February 6, and voted unanimously to report the nomination to the
Senate with a favorable recommendation.
  I am pleased that the Senate has moved quickly to act on this
recommendation. I think this swift consideration of the nomination is
recognition of both the importance of this position and of the
qualifications of Admiral McConnell.
  As my colleagues know, the position of Director of National
Intelligence was created by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism
Prevention Act 2004. That legislation drew on recommendations from the
congressional and commission reports on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the
Senate Intelligence Committee report on Iraq prewar intelligence, the
Report of the Joint Inquiry by the House and Senate Intelligence
Committees into the events of 9/11, and the recommendations of numerous
other commissions and reviews going back 50 years.
  The creation of the DNI was an important step. We now have, for the
first time, an individual whose primary job is to run the intelligence
community as a whole. Until the creation of the DNI, the old Director
of Central Intelligence wore two hats--as the head of the Intelligence
Community and as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. But
this structural change, while important, was only the first step to
reforming intelligence. The DNI must make the 16 agencies of the
intelligence community work as one toward a common goal. Director
Negroponte has started the community down that path. It is going to be
up to Admiral McConnell to move us further along.
  A quick review of his resume will show even the casual observer that
Admiral McConnell is incredibly well qualified for this critical
position. He retired from the Navy as Vice Admiral after 29 years of
service. Most of his service during this distinguished career was as an
intelligence officer.
  While on active duty he served as Director of Intelligence on the
Joint Staff during the Persian Gulf War. This made him the principal
intelligence advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, GEN Colin
Powell. He went on to become the Director of the National Security
Agency, our Nation's largest intelligence agency.
  Upon retiring from the Navy, Admiral McConnell went to work for Booz
Allen Hamilton where he has been a senior vice president for
intelligence and national security. He also is currently chairman and
chief executive officer of the Intelligence and National Security
Alliance, an industry group that works with the Government looking for
ways to solve some of our complex intelligence problems. He has the
requisite Government experience supplemented by a decade in the private
sector.
  In his appearance before the Intelligence Committee last week I think
it is fair to say that he impressed all members of the committee with
his knowledge of the issues and the difficulty of the task ahead. But I
was particularly encouraged by his answers to questions about the
relationship with Congress.
  It is no secret that I have not always been happy with the level of
access the intelligence committee has had to materials it needs to do
its job. On some of the most important and sensitive programs in the
Intelligence Community, we have been frustrated in our attempts to do
oversight because we have

[[Page S1707]]

not been able to get documents and other information critical to
understanding and therefore evaluating these programs. In other cases
the administration has placed burdensome and unwarranted limits on
access by Senators and staff.
  Vice Chairman Bond and I are making a concerted bipartisan effort to
deal with these questions. And we are making headway. One issue that we
both raised with Admiral McConnell at his hearing has now been
resolved. We also have seen movement, if not complete satisfaction, in
other areas. Admiral McConnell's answers convinced me that he will be
an ally in this area. It is my view that the intelligence community
needs to view Congress as a partner in supporting intelligence
activities that protect America and I think he will do that.
  I thank all of my colleagues for supporting support the confirmation
of Admiral McConnell and I look forward to working with him in his new
role as Director of National Intelligence.

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