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Floor Speech
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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor this evening on behalf of the more than 1 million people who are serving this country and who rely on this Senate to put national security ahead of policy disagreements.
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, millions of Americans, including tens of thousands of U.S. servicemembers, lost access to reproductive care overnight. And I would just remind us all that the military relies on almost 18 percent of its makeup on women. Most of those women are of reproductive age.
Since the Dobbs decision, more and more States have put in place prohibitions on reproductive care--care that was previously the right of all Americans. Now, according to a recent RAND Corporation study, at least 46 percent of female servicemembers no longer have unrestricted access to care.
Now, as we all know, servicemembers and their families are stationed based not on the needs of themselves and their families--so not personal preference--but based on the needs of the Nation. And their sacrifice and commitment to serve means that they are uniquely affected by the restrictive healthcare laws that have come into effect in the post-Roe era.
To address the harm that these healthcare prohibitions have on servicemembers and military families, the Secretary of Defense issued commonsense guidance that protects the readiness of the force and family. And it is guidance that, I will remind everybody, the Secretary of Defense is legally empowered to issue and implement and, as Senator King so rightly pointed out, that has been in place for male members of our military for years, as long as we remember.
But the senior Senator from Alabama has chosen to break with precedent, to break with the decorum of this Chamber, and to hold 273 noncontroversial military nominations just because he disagrees--he personally disagrees--with this policy. And as Senator King and Senator Reed so eloquently pointed out, our servicemembers should not be used as bargaining chips in policy debates.
Senator Tuberville's actions are jeopardizing our national security; they are harming military families; and they are causing a whole generation of senior military leaders to question whether they want to stay in the military.
Worst of all, the Senator from Alabama knows exactly what the impact is of these holds because he serves with all of us on the Armed Services Committee. So he can't say this is not having an impact. He is hearing, as part of the committee, what the impact is. He knows that the unprecedented nature of his actions and the grave harm they pose to our country and the military are real.
For those who don't sit on the Armed Services Committee, I want to highlight some of the most grievous consequences of Senator Tuberville's actions.
Military families are not able to enroll their children into new schools on time. So we have a whole group of families with young children who--during the summertime would be the time they would be moving. They would be looking to get their children into new schools, and they are on hold.
Military spouses can't go to the next assignment and find a job.
What is particularly concerning for many of these families is that servicemembers are paid less than what they have earned. Just to give you some idea, 22 officers who have been selected for their first star will have to assume the duties of the higher grade while serving as a field grade officer, not a flag officer, and these officers are losing about $2,600 a month through no fault of their own. The last time I talked to members of our military, they weren't making enough money to be able to sacrifice an additional $2,600 a month. Twenty officers selected to the grade of O-8 are two stars. They will assume the duties of the higher grade while remaining in their current grade, and these officers are losing nearly $2,000 a month while this blockade continues.
Contrary to the misinformation that the Senator from Alabama has said on this floor, there will be no backpay for these officers. Their pay is tied to their rank, which is tied to their appointment to that rank, and that can't occur until the Senate provides its consent. They ought to be charging Senator Tuberville for this additional money they are losing because it is on his back, these additional costs that families are incurring.
Some of our most critical national security positions, like the Commandant of the Marine Corps, are also unfilled, and this comes at a time when we know that Russia is waging war in Europe and the People's Republic of China continues to threaten our interests across the globe.
What is so incredibly hard to understand is that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle I know are concerned about the PRC and the influence of China. Yet they are not willing to call their colleague out for what he is doing that provides a real opportunity for the PRC. With every vacancy in our ranks, our adversaries are gaining an advantage over us.
These holds affect real people who have dedicated their lives to preserving our freedoms in this country. Those people who are affected have earned more than being used as political pawns.
I want to take just a moment because we are here tonight to talk about those 273 officers who are being held up. I want to talk about some of those really incredible individuals whom the senior Senator from Alabama is blocking.
The first is a colonel whom I met when I went to Lithuania for the NATO summit. We went up to the base in Lithuania, Pabrade, and the Deputy Commander of EUCOM pointed out that COL Kareem Montague, who is currently the Deputy Commander of the 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Carson, who is deployed temporarily to Lithuania, was one of those general officers whose promotions are on hold.
The colonel has 28 years of service. He has been Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. He has been the Commander of the 5th Battlefield Coordination Detachment of U.S. Army Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor, in Hickam, HI. He has been the Commander of the 1st Battalion, 321st Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 18th Fires Brigade, 82nd Airborne, out of Fort Bragg. He has earned the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medals. The colonel doesn't deserve to be held up because the Senator from Alabama has a personal beef with Secretary Austin's policy.
Then we have eight officers from the Marine Corps who have been nominated to the rank of brigadier general. The first is Col. David Everly. He is currently serving as Chief of Staff of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. He has 28 years of service. He has been the Chief of Staff to the 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade. He has been the Commanding Officer of Command Element, 2d Marine Expeditionary Brigade. He has been the Commanding Officer of the Basic School Training Command. He has multiple combat and contingency operation deployments. He has received the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Bronze Star Medal. Colonel Everly doesn't deserve to be held up.
Neither does Col. Kelvin Gallman, also in the Marine Corps, currently serving as Senior Military Adviser to the Secretary of the Navy. He has 29 years of service. He has been the Division Chief, Deputy Division Chief, Joint Capabilities Division, J-8, Joint Staff. He has been Commanding Officer of Personnel Support Detachment. He has multiple combat and contingency deployments, and he has received the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal, and the Bronze Star.
Col. Adolfo Garcia, also with the Marine Corps, is currently serving as the House Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs. Some of us may have run into him in that capacity. He has 30 years of service in. He has been the Military Secretary to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. He has been the Assistant Chief of Staff to I Marine Expeditionary Force, the Commanding Officer of the 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division. He has multiple combat tours. He has earned the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. Again, he is on hold.
Then there is Col. Matt Good. Many of us know Colonel Good because we traveled with him because most recently he served as Director, Senate Liaison, Office of Legislative Affairs. I can tell you, having taken a number of trips with Colonel Good, what a great job he does, how committed he is, how committed he is to this Chamber, to the people serving in the Senate. To have Senator Tuberville do to Colonel Good and all of these members what he is doing is just unconscionable. Colonel Good has 27 years of service. He has been the Commanding Officer of the 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and commanding officer of the 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division. He has been Chief of Plans and Chief of the Security Cooperation Division of Joint Task Force North, U.S. Northern Command. He has had multiple combat and contingency deployments. He has earned the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
Like all of these marines, like all of the people we are talking about today, they have stellar records of serving this country, and what does Senator Tuberville do to them? He puts their nominations on hold. He denies them funding. He denies them the ability to get on with their lives.
Col. Trevor Hall, U.S. Marine Corps, is currently serving as Chief of Staff to the Marine Corps Forces Command. He has 29 years of service. He was Commanding Officer for the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit; Branch Chief, Trans-regional synchronization, U.S. Special Operations Command; Commanding Officer, Division Training Officer, 3d Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division. He has multiple combat and contingency deployments. He earned the Legion of Merit Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Col. Richard Joyce, also in the Marine Corps, is currently serving as Commanding Officer, Marine Aircraft Group 29, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing, with 28 years of service. He has been the Branch Head of the Expeditionary Air Warfare N98, Office of Chief Naval Operations; Commanding Officer, Special Projects Officer, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing. He has had multiple combat and contingency deployments. He has received the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Col. Omar Randall--also U.S. Marine Corps--is currently serving as Director of Logistics, Combat Element Integration Division, Combat Development and Integration. He has 27 years of service. He has been the Branch Head, Futures Branch, Installations and Logistics, Headquarters Marine Corps; Commanding Officer of Combat Logistics Regiment 37, 3d Marine Logistics Group. He has had multiple combat and contingency deployments. He has earned the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Then there is Col. Robert Weiler from the U.S. Marine Corps, who is currently serving as Military Secretary to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, with 28 years of service. He has been the Commanding Officer of the 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division; Director of Inspections; Commanding Officer of the 2d Battalion, 4th Marines; Senior Military Adviser, Force Development, Office of the Secretary of Defense--Policy. He has had multiple combat and contingency deployments. He received a Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and a Legion of Merit. Senator Tuberville wants to hold up his promotion.
Then I want to cite two people from the Navy who have been nominated for appointments to the grade of rear admiral.
The first is CAPT Brian Anderson, who is currently serving as Assistant Commander, Supply Chain Policy and Management, Naval Supply Systems Command in Mechanicsburg, PA. He has 28 years of service. He has been the Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Logistics Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, San Diego; Chief, Current Operations-Joint Operations Officer; deployed to CENTCOM AOR, Camp African, Kuwait; and Pakistan Liaison Officer. He has been assigned to the Defense Logistics Agency in Fort Belvoir. He earned the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Then there is CAPT Julie Mary Treanor. She is currently serving as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, with 29 years of service. She has been Commanding Officer of Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center in Norfolk; Naval Sea Systems Command, Director of Industrial Supply Operations, Naval Sea Systems. She also earned the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Both Captains Treanor and Anderson have been nominated to the grade of rear admiral. Yet Senator Tuberville has them on hold.
I am going to stop with that list. We have a lot of folks on the floor. We are going to continue to pick up the names of the people who are on hold.
But simply put, it is not acceptable to turn policy disputes into political brinksmanship when it comes to our servicemembers. As we have all said, we are happy to debate our colleagues on policy any day of the week, but that is not what we are doing. Instead, what we have is the senior Senator from Alabama singlehandedly holding military promotions hostage, using our servicemembers as political bargaining chips for his own benefit. His actions undermine our military's greatest strength--our people.
When he is asked about it, he says: Oh, it is playing really well at home.
Well, that is not what this is about. This is about making sure that we treat those people who serve in our military the way we ought to be treating them and that we defend our Nation and trust those folks who serve to make their own decisions about their own healthcare, just as I believe our constituents sent us to Washington to debate policy defenses, not to threaten the health and safety and welfare of those in uniform or to hold our security interests hostage.
So I hope that Senator Tuberville will hear us tonight, that he will let these qualified military officers get back to their work of defending the American people.
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