[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 140 (Thursday, September 15, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5817-S5819]
EXECUTIVE SESSION
______
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination,
which the clerk will report.
The assistant bill clerk read the nomination of Susan S. Gibson, of
Virginia, to be Inspector General of the National Reconnaissance
Office.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 15
minutes for debate, equally divided in the usual form.
[...]
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, today I wish to support Ms. Susan
Gibson to serve as the next inspector general of the National
Reconnaissance Office, NRO, the first to be confirmed by the U.S.
Senate.
In 2013, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which I chaired
at the time, included in its Intelligence Authorization Act a provision
to require Senate confirmation of the inspectors general for the
National Reconnaissance Office and the National Security Agency. Ms.
Gibson represents the first nominee to be considered by the Senate for
the NRO position.
I had the pleasure to meet Ms. Gibson earlier this year, prior to the
Senate Intelligence Committee's open hearing which took place on June
7, 2016, to consider her nomination. I personally appreciated our frank
discussion for it demonstrated Ms. Gibson's understanding of the role
of the inspector general and the need for principled, objective, and
effective oversight of every aspect of the NRO.
With this confirmation, it will be Ms. Gibson's job to ensure that
the NRO remains free of waste, fraud, and mismanagement, while
supporting efforts to drive the organization toward more efficient and
effective operations. I believe that Ms. Gibson possesses the extensive
experience and background necessary to carry out this mission.
It is also important that Ms. Gibson recognizes her responsibility to
keep the appropriate Members of Congress fully and currently informed
about the concerns she may identify at the NRO.
I do not want to sugarcoat it, but this is big job. It is a big job,
in part, due to NRO's size and the complexity of its mission. Ms.
Gibson will be required to dig deep into some very technical and
complicated programs, including some of the most classified and
expensive programs.
But it is also a big job because it comes with the extra
responsibility of conducting oversight of an organization in which most
activities are conducted in secret. The duty to the American public
cannot be overstated.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on which I currently
serve as vice chairman is charged with ensuring the intelligence
community operates in a manner that is legal, efficient, and abides by
the values of the American people. The committee requires effective and
independent inspectors general to support us in this task. It is my
expectation that Ms. Gibson will make full use of the authorities
provided to her as an inspector general.
So, again, congratulations on Ms. Gibson's well-deserved confirmation
to this important position, and I want to thank her again on her
continued service to the country.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, my understanding is that we have 7
minutes left on the Republican side, and I ask unanimous consent to use
those 7 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
[...]
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Gibson
nomination?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the
Senator from New Hampshire (Ms. Ayotte), the Senator from Wisconsin
(Mr. Johnson), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), and the Senator
from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).
Further, if present and voting, the Senator from New Hampshire (Ms.
Ayotte) would have voted ``yea''.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer),
the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Kaine), and the Senator from Vermont
(Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from
Virginia (Mr. Kaine) would each vote yea.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 93, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 142 Ex.]
YEAS--93
Alexander
Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt
Booker
Boozman
Brown
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Donnelly
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Flake
Franken
Gardner
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heinrich
Heitkamp
Heller
Hirono
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
King
Kirk
Klobuchar
Lankford
Leahy
Lee
Manchin
Markey
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Nelson
Paul
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Reed
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Schatz
Schumer
Scott
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Stabenow
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Udall
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NOT VOTING--7
Ayotte
Boxer
Johnson
Kaine
Moran
Sanders
Vitter
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the
President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
____________________
