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Floor Speech
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Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, bottom line: This is unnecessary. There are robust existing coordination mechanisms among the IGs to ensure comprehensive oversight, provisions in the committee-passed NDAA to assist the DOD IG with enhanced hiring authorities, and $27 million in dedicated funding for oversight for each of the three IGs from DOD, State, and USAID.
The provision also includes a requirement that the lead inspector general complete a briefing to any Member of Congress within 15 days of request. This almost certainly ensures that the LIG will spend their time scheduling and briefing Members of Congress, not conducting oversight.
Lastly, as drafted, the $10 million authorization of appropriations is nonviable funding, and the offset is not valid as neither element includes a funding account for money to go to or from. So this is entirely hollow budget authority.
With that, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment.
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Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I join my colleagues today in expressing my great disappointment in my colleague from Alabama and his continuing hold on military promotions. He has argued--and I have seen him say this several times--that he is not affecting military readiness and that a hold on the promotions of senior officers does not hurt our national security, and, if it did hurt our military readiness, that he would certainly stop the hold.
So I am here to tell you about six different jobs and the individuals nominated to those particular positions, and for people to decide whether or not they think that having these positions go unfilled with a confirmed officer is jeopardizing our military readiness.
The first position is at the Army Space and Missile Defense Command. This is the Army's force modernization proponent and operational integrator for global space, missile defense, and high-altitude capabilities. It sits at the nexus of integrated deterrence between U.S. Space Command, U.S. Strategic Command, and U.S. Northern Command-- a pretty important job I would think.
To fill the position, the President has nominated MG Sean A. Gainey to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army and a commanding general of the U.S. Space and Missile Defense Command. Major General Gainey has served for 33 years and has moved some 15 times in those years of service. He is a graduate from the Georgia Southern University ROTC Program. In those 33 years of service, he has earned the Distinguished Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with one bronze oakleaf cluster, and the Bronze Star. He currently serves as Director of the Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office, Director of Fires, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, U.S. Army, Washington, DC.
I think the U.S. Space and Missile Defense Command is a pretty important job and pretty relevant to our national security.
A second position that is being left unfilled with a confirmed nominee is that of Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, U.S. Army, head of Army Logistics.
We have been talking at length about logistics in a contested environment, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. The Army G-4 develops, implements, and oversees Army strategy, policy, plans, and programming for logistics and sustainment to enable total Army readiness today and a force modernized for the future.
To fill the position of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, Army Logistics is MG Heidi Hoyle. Major General Hoyle graduated from the West Point Military Academy and embarked on a 29-year career spanning 20 different assignments, including her position as the Director of Operations within the office of the Army G-4, as well as numerous combat deployments. She has been awarded the Legion of Merit with two bronze oakleaf clusters, the Bronze Star Medal with one bronze oakleaf cluster, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. She is more than qualified to fill this position, and the position needs her in it.
Another position that is going unfilled with a confirmed officer is to be filled by BG Laurence Linton to be a major general in the U.S. Army Reserve. Brigadier General Linton is currently serving as Deputy Commanding General-Support, 88th Readiness Division at Fort Snelling, MN. Brigadier General Linton graduated from the State University of New York ROTC Program and began a 31-year career of service that included 24 different duty assignments, notably deploying to Haiti, Bosnia, and Kuwait. General Linton served most recently as Chief of Staff of Operation Warp Speed, the critical effort to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination development. General Linton has been awarded the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal with silver oakleaf cluster and one bronze oakleaf cluster. I cannot think of someone more deserving of this promotion.
The President has also nominated BG Stacy M. Babcock to be a major general in the U.S. Army Reserve. Most recently, General Babcock served as the Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, KY. He graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology ROTC Program in 1991 and has now served 32 years, a career spanning 25 different assignments, including a deployment to Bosnia and three separate deployments to Iraq. General Babcock has been awarded the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star.
The President has also nominated COL Peggy McManus to be a brigadier general in the Army Reserve. Colonel McManus serves as the Deputy Director, Senior Policy Board Advisor, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Washington, DC. Colonel McManus was commissioned in 1992 via ROTC and has now served 31 years, a career spanning 20 different assignments, including a combat tour to Iraq. Colonel McManus has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal with one silver and one bronze oakleaf cluster.
The President has also nominated Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Gebara to be lieutenant general in the U.S. Air Force and Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Force.
Do you think that not having a confirmed officer appointed to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration is not hurting our military readiness? Of course, it is.
Major General Gebara would be responsible to the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for Nuclear Deterrence Operations. He would provide direction, guidance, integration, and advocacy regarding the nuclear deterrence mission of the U.S. Air Force and engage with joint and interagency partners for nuclear enterprise solutions--only if Senator Tuberville would allow him to take up this position.
And, finally, I want to talk to you and read to you the background of MG Robert M. Collins, who is nominated to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army and Military Deputy-Director of the Army Acquisition Corps, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. If confirmed, General Collins would be the senior military adviser in Army acquisition matters. This is at a time of critical modernization by the Army. I know very well the Future Vertical Lift Program, and it is critical that we have a capable officer in this position. He is currently serving as Deputy for Acquisition and Systems Management. He graduated in 1992 from the Shippensburg University ROTC Program. He has now served 31 years in uniform, spanning 21 different assignments. We need this officer in his job, in this position.
These are just a handful of individuals I am reading today. In which one of these positions does my colleague from Alabama think military readiness is not being affected, being left unfilled?
All I can say is, Senator Tuberville, please reconsider. You are indeed putting our national security, our military readiness in jeopardy by continuing this hold.
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