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Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I rise today to address the Senator from Alabama's decision to hold hundreds of nominations--literally hundreds of nominations--that have been submitted to this body, and I want to join my colleagues who have taken the initiative and stand alongside with them and our men and women in uniform who protect our right to speak in these Halls every day and our other fundamental liberties in this country.

We ask our men and women in uniform to do more now than ever before, particularly as we are engaged in countering Vladimir Putin's murderous assault in Ukraine. I have visited them in Germany, where they are training Ukrainians. I have spoken to them at the border in Poland, where they are providing essential military weapons to the Ukrainians. I have seen them at work all around the globe, as have my colleagues.

Even though we are at peace formally right now, it is only because they are a deterrent to our adversaries and enemies around the globe. The threats are rapidly evolving and rising, and the U.S. military is the only force that can stem the tide of autocracy, which is the reason why I am so, so outraged that the Senator from Alabama is choosing to cripple our military by placing on hold a series of critical nominations.

Earlier this year, Secretary Austin issued a memo, a policy memo, guaranteeing that servicemembers would have easier access to reproductive healthcare. They can now take nonchargeable leave and receive per diem while traveling to receive care, finally establishing a parity with every other medical procedure, every other healthcare procedure available to DOD personnel.

The Secretary's decision rectified a DOD policy that marginalized the women who serve in our Nation and provide that essential guarantee of peace and freedom. It damaged readiness. It truly does put people first that we have corrected that egregious error.

Instead of celebrating that servicemembers now have access to healthcare and policy programs that they have consistently sought, Senator Tuberville called the policy--and I am quoting--``a waste of time and resources.'' He believes that protecting the well-being and privacy of those who serve--and again, I am using his words--is ``immoral'' and ``illegal.'' I disagree. I couldn't disagree more. Servicemembers shouldn't have to wonder whether they are going to receive healthcare.

Providing access to reproductive care certainly isn't a distraction; it increases readiness and preparedness and the strength of our force. He is doing the very thing he accuses the new policy of doing, which is to damage readiness and jeopardize our Nation's security. He is doing it by holding up the President's nominees.

Let me just talk about those individuals whose nominations he has blocked.

Rear Admiral George Wikoff is the President's nominee to be the next commander of the Navy's 5th Fleet. He is an accomplished Navy aviator, a former TOPGUN instructor, and has extensive experience in the theater he has been nominated to command. His service is essential to the 15,000 personnel responsible for defending American interests in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Seas. It isn't a luxury or convenience; it is essential that he be there.

Rear Admiral Fred Kacher was nominated to lead the Navy's 7th Fleet, which is tasked with deterring Chinese aggression across the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 30,000 sailors and marines are assigned to the 7th Fleet and constitute our first line of defense in the Pacific.

While Iran and China search for every opportunity to threaten American interests in the Middle East and Pacific, Senator Tuberville's response is to deprive the 5th and 7th Fleets of their incoming commanders.

He is holding our next military representative to NATO, Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, a remarkable officer with more than 30 years' experience. She is the recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Bronze Star Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

During the largest land war in Europe since World War II, the Senator from Alabama is blocking Admiral Chatfield's promotion. Again, not a luxury, not a convenience, not superfluous; it is essential to our national defense.

And he is blocking MG David Hodne's nomination to the role of deputy commander for the Army's Futures Command. That Futures Command position oversees the design of force capabilities into the future and ensures our soldiers maintain lethal advantages on the battlefield.

His hold is preventing the Army's next Vice Chief and Chief of Staff from assuming command.

Later this year, Gen. Charles Brown's nomination to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be blocked if the Senator from Alabama does not lift his hold.

Let's be clear about what is at stake here. Blocking these nominations, simply because of his putting personal beliefs above national security, is a threat to our national defense.

He is doing Putin and Xi's jobs for them. He claims that this action is about the President trying to legislate from the White House. He claims that the Department of Defense had an abortion policy for decades.

Respectfully--and I mean very respectfully--to a colleague in this body, I would remind him for decades that women in the military had to hide their abortion from their commanders and that referrals for care operated on a whisper network.

If it were up to the Senator from Alabama, he would override the medical recommendations of military doctors and commanders across the force.

I hope that he will stand with the military and their families and forgo future action blocking this essential set of nominations.

The Senator from Alabama is entitled to his opinion. The military that he is so keen to stop from advancing its nominees defends the Constitution that gives him that right to his opinions and his right to speak from his heart and his conscience. But families who sacrifice so much already are waiting for this body to act. They are waiting so they can enroll their children into new schools, find new churches, start new jobs. Harming the military and their families serves only the interests of our adversary.

I urge my colleague from Alabama to lift his hold and let the military continue to defend our freedom from those who seek to destroy it.

46 through 52, Calendar Nos. 82 through 107, Calendar Nos. 110 through 113, Calendar Nos. 130 through 139; that the nominations be confirmed en bloc; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I am going to yield to my colleague from Hawaii in just one moment.

I would like to clarify--because I am a member of the Armed Services Committee, as Senator Tuberville is. We work together on a lot of issues. I will support his right, as part of the NDAA process, to raise this issue as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

As my colleague from Illinois has rightly suggested, and I think we can all agree, that is a clear forum to raise any issue. We disagree-- deeply disagree--on this one.

And there are many votes on the NDAA through the markup session that we will conduct over not just several hours but several days. And every year, we report out from the Armed Services Committee--in the 12 years I have been on it--consistently, a bipartisan measure. There may be a couple of no votes, but it is deeply bipartisan. We can work together on our national defense.

Blocking these nominations is contrary to that spirit, in my view, because it, basically, prevents us from moving forward with vital leadership in the U.S. military if there is bipartisan support to advance. So I am hoping that, again, my colleague from Alabama, whom we work with on many issues, will simply take that forum as a way to move forward.

I yield to the Senator from Hawaii.

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