Unanimous Consent Request - Executive Calendar

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor of the Senate in great admiration for the Senator from Kentucky, for what he is doing to try to get information. All we are asked to do is to give advice and consent to the President on this very important nominee to be the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, the key to central intelligence in this Nation. I come to the floor this evening to thank my colleague from Kentucky for the leadership he has continued to show by asking questions which are not just questions of his, they are questions of the American people.

I was traveling around the State of Wyoming last week, talking to folks. I went to 13 different counties in our State of 23 counties. There were many questions being asked about drones, not just their accuracy but their intent and what this administration's policy is related to drones and how they can be used. People in my home State of Wyoming are concerned about drones being used in the United States, not just specifically for attacks against American citizens but also the concept in observation, in surveillance. What about our rights as citizens to privacy? Those are the questions that come up as I travel around the State.

I had a telephone townhall meeting the other evening with many people from all around Wyoming on the line. They admire the questioning from the Senator from Kentucky. They have concerns: Is Big Brother watching? What is happening and what role has government in observing and surveillance and looking into the lives of the American people?

It was not until Senator Paul asked the question would there be strikes on American citizens in America that I think things became very focused at home and all around the country. Then we got more e-mails, more concerns, because the specific question that Senator Paul is asking is a question that is on the minds of all Americans. I believe Senator Paul deserves an answer. The American people deserve an answer. So it is not just Senator Paul who deserves an answer, it is an answer to all of the people of this country. But I appreciate Senator Paul's leadership in asking the specific question.

The Intelligence Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence met, they had hearings, they had debates, discussions, deliberations, and actually they voted. That is why we are here on the floor tonight, to ask finally from the White House and from the nominee what the specific position and policy of this administration happens to be on drones. I know we have a unanimous consent request from Senator Paul and in a second I am going to ask him to explain and maybe reiterate his unanimous consent request, explain the resolution he wishes to vote on. I think the Senator deserves a vote. We want to make sure the public understands what we are discussing here. That is why I appreciate the leadership of Senator Lee who has come here as a constitutional scholar to address some of these concerns.

I think before many Senators are able to make the final decision of how to vote, how to give advice and consent to the White House, we need more information. We need to hear from the White House. We need to hear from the administration because the people all around the country want those same questions answered.

We do have a situation where the Senator from Kentucky said he is willing to have a vote. He is willing to allow a vote on this nominee on the floor of the Senate as soon as his question is answered. He would be happy to proceed with that vote as early as tomorrow morning.

The American people deserve better than they are getting right now from this administration in so many ways. This is but one. That is why I think all of us try to go home every weekend to learn what is on the minds of folks in our home States, in our home communities. This is clearly what I have been hearing about, traveling around Wyoming, a State of vast open spaces, a State of great majesty and beauty, but a State where people are concerned with their own privacy, with overhead surveillance and of course not just their own personal privacy but their security.

What are the rights and responsibilities of a national government when new technology exists, as we have seen with drones? I had the privilege of visiting our soldiers overseas in Afghanistan with a number of Senators in January. We have seen up close, through detailed video, the capabilities of drones, capabilities that were not there that many years ago. Questions such as this would have never arisen a number of years ago because the technology was not there. But now the technology is there. With that given technology, that raises new questions. That is why I think so many Americans are appreciative of the work by Senator Paul to specifically ask questions that have never been asked before because the technology was not there before. Now we have the technology, we have the know-how, and the question continues to be asked.

I ask my friend and colleague from Kentucky if he could explain perhaps his unanimous consent request, what vote he is asking for, why it is so important, and what it means to all of us as free citizens in this great Nation.

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Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come and ask my colleague if this is something he may have heard about at home as well, because this is something clearly on the mind of the people of Wyoming. Of course, just like Kentucky--and I will tell you when I was overseas in Afghanistan I ran not just into soldiers from Wyoming--I met eight of them in four different locations that I went to throughout Afghanistan. I met soldiers from Kentucky in each of those locations. So we are both from States with a significant commitment to our military. People over the centuries have continued to fight and defend our freedoms. But today in Afghanistan we have soldiers from my home State and your home State doing what they do to keep us free, defending the Bill of Rights, defending the Constitution.

When we talk about the Bill of Rights, let's think about what Ronald Reagan said. The Bill of Rights was not established to protect the government from the people, it was established to protect the people from the government. Search and seizure, freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, our second amendment rights to own and bear arms--those are the constitutional rights, individual rights that people are fighting for every day in Afghanistan. They want to know when they get home what sort of freedoms are there going to be in this country? Where is the role of liberty and freedom in our society?

That is why there is no better time, I would say, than this evening, before voting on the nominee to be the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency--the head of the CIA for the country--what better time to have this debate than during that nomination process about where is that line between freedom of individual citizens and the rights of a government which now has a technology which has not previously been there up until most recently.

So I ask my friend and colleague--No. 1, I congratulate him and thank him for remarkable leadership. I hear that all around my home State and I know he hears it at home as well. He hears it all around the country. But is this a concern on the minds of people? Is there a reason we are here to bring this out, not just because a couple of Senators are on the floor debating it? This is a crucial issue for this Nation.

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Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I have been able to put my hand on the letter Senator Paul has written to John Brennan on February 20. This is something that I believe brought in focus the key piece of what has been on the minds of the people in my home State with regard to their support for the question that Senator Paul is asking. Since I don't serve on that committee and was not part of the hearings, I wish to review this letter so I can specifically ask Senator Paul about the response he has received to this. Perhaps then we can share that with the American people as to why so many folks who have been focused on this believe it is of key importance.

The letter from Senator Paul says:

Dear Mr. Brennan, In consideration of your nomination to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, (CIA), I have repeatedly requested that you provide answers to several questions clarifying your role in the approval of lethal force against terrorism suspects, particularly those who are U.S. citizens.

It goes on to say:

Your past actions in this regard, as well as your view of the limitations to which you were subject, are of critical importance in assessing your qualifications to lead the CIA.

That is what we are doing. We are here in our role to advise-and-consent the President on a nomination he has made.

The letter goes on:

If it is not clear that you will honor the limits placed upon the Executive Branch by the Constitution, then the Senate should not confirm you to lead the CIA.

The people of Wyoming carry their Constitutions in their breast pockets. We have them with us just as Senator Bob Byrd used to do right here on the Senate floor, and many Members of the Senate do. We need to make sure the limits placed upon the executive branch by the Constitution are still upheld; otherwise, the Senate should not confirm Mr. Brennan to lead the CIA.

So the letter from Senator Paul goes on to say:

During your confirmation process in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, committee members have quite appropriately made requests similar to questions I have raised in my previous letter to you.

I agree. Members of the committee did make appropriate requests and wanted to have those same questions answered that Senator Paul has been offering, and they are that you expound on your views, Mr. Brennan, on the limits of executive power in using lethal force against U.S. citizens. This is against U.S. citizens, especially when operating on U.S. soil.

That is among the fundamental questions I have been asked during telephone townhall meetings when I travel the State of Wyoming. It comes down to the use of lethal force against U.S. citizens, especially when operating on U.S. soil.

The letter from Senator Paul goes on and says:

In fact, the Chairman of the SSCI, Sen. Feinstein, specifically asked you in post-hearing questions for the record whether the Administration could carry out drone strikes inside the United States.

We are now getting to the crux of the matter: drone strikes inside the United States.

Senator Paul goes on:

In your response, you emphasized that the Administration ``has not carried out'' such strikes and ``has no intention of doing so.''

So has not done it, doesn't intend to do it, but it doesn't answer the question that Senator Paul, the people of his home State, the people of my home State, and the people all across this country are asking.

Senator Paul goes on in his letter to Mr. Brennan:

I do not find this response sufficient.

As people are following what the Senator from Kentucky is doing here, more and more people are asking and focusing on this specific question. The question I and many others have asked is not whether the administration has or intends to carry out drone strikes inside the United States, but whether they believe they have the authority to do so. The question is about whether it has the authority to do so. The question is not whether they have carried them out, not whether they intend to, but do they have the authority to do so. This is an important distinction that should not and, I would add, cannot be ignored.

Well, the letter goes on:

Just last week, President Obama also avoided this question .....

So the President has avoided the question when posed to him directly. Instead of addressing the question of whether the Administration could kill a U.S. citizen on American soil, he used a similar line, that ``There has never been a drone used on an American citizen on American soil.''

Well, we believe that. We know that to be the case. We know that is the President's belief. We know that is the testimony of the nominee to be the CIA Director, but it evades the question. That is actually what Senator Paul says in his letter.

The evasive replies from the Administration to this valid question have only confused the issue further without getting us any closer to the actual answer.

So it is not whether they have intent or whether they have done it before, but do they have the authority to do so. This is the distinction which Senator Paul is trying to get at, as are many Americans all around the country who are tuning in to this important debate.

Senator Paul goes on to say in his letter to John Brennan:

For that reason, I once again request you answer the following question: Do you believe that the President has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and without trial?

Let me repeat:

For that reason, I once again request you answer the following question: Do you believe that the President has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil, and without trial?

Senator Paul goes on to say:

I believe the only acceptable answer to this is no.

And that is what the American people believe as well.

Senator Paul concludes:

Until you directly and clearly answer, I plan to use every procedural option at my disposal to delay your confirmation and bring added scrutiny to this issue and the Administration's policies of the use of lethal force.

He says:

The American people are rightly concerned, and they deserve a frank and open discussion of these policies.

So I come to the Senate floor tonight in support of my colleague and agree with what he is writing to John Brennan because the fundamental question is: Do you believe the President has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike, against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil and without trial.

Senator Paul goes on:

I believe the only acceptable answer to this is no.

So I would ask Senator Paul, through the Chair, if he could perhaps add a little light to this matter. This letter was sent to Mr. Brennan on February 20. It is now March 6. I know there has been some give-and-take and back-and-forth, but the fundamental question is one that has been on the minds of the people in my home State of Wyoming, as I traveled the State over the last few weeks.

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Mr. BARRASSO. What I just heard from the Senator from Kentucky is that these questions were asked in a bipartisan way. This was not partisan at all. I heard Senator Wyden from Oregon had similar questions. So this is a request for information.

Now, I have been able to find a copy for the first time of that January 25 letter that Senator Paul referenced to John Brennan, sent to him in his capacity as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and I just wanted to go through some of that and perhaps ask Senator Paul some specific questions related to it because it is my understanding that he has not gotten any kind of response to that.

The Senator mentioned three specific letters: First, the January 25 letter, then the letter of February 14, and then the letter of February 20 which, asks, really, the ultimate question: Do you believe the President has the power to authorize lethal force such as a drone strike against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil and without trial?

So now I have all three of those letters sent by Senator Paul to Mr. Brennan in his capacity currently as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and now the nominee to be the head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

So the letter goes:

As the Senate moves forward with its consideration of your nomination to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency, it will be necessary to examine not only your qualifications and record, but also to determine whether you will provide the necessary leadership as the head of an agency that operates under unique rules for transparency and that quietly holds significant influence over the advancement of America's strategic priorities around the globe.

No other agency is like the CIA--unique rules for transparency. So Senator Paul goes on:

After reviewing your record as well as the record of President Obama to whom you have provided a great deal of advice and direction on issues of national security and terrorism, I must ask several questions to help inform my decision on your nomination.

That is what a responsible Senator does, a Senator who has taken quite seriously his role in providing advice and consent to the President on a nominee--a key nominee of a specific agency that operates under unique rules for transparency.

So I think it is absolutely appropriate that Senator Paul would write such a letter, and the questions raised are appropriate, many of which have been raised in a bipartisan way.

So question No. 1: Do you agree with the argument put forth on numerous occasions by the executive branch that it is legal to order the killing of American citizens and that it is not compelled to explain its reasoning in reaching that conclusion? Do you believe this is a good precedent for the government to set?

What better, clearer question to ask than that? He goes on:

Congress has been denied access to legal opinions and interpretations authorizing placement of U.S. citizens believed to be engaged in terrorism on targeting notices, thus denying Congress the ability to perform important oversight.

Oversight is a key role of this Congress. Oversight is a key, critical role of this branch of government, of Congress.

Senator Paul goes on:

Will you provide access to those opinions as well as future opinions?

Very reasonable question.

The Senator said:

Would it not be appropriate to require a judge or a court to review every case before the individual in question is added to a targeting list?

Legitimate question.

Please describe the due process requirements in place for those individuals being considered for an addition to a targeting list.

Would you agree that it is paradoxical that the Federal Government would need to go before a judge to authorize a wiretap of a U.S. citizen overseas, but possibly not to order a lethal drone strike against the same individual?

I want to go back to this question when I am visiting with Senator Paul, but this is the kind of thing I get asked in Wyoming, and I am sure the Senator from Kentucky is hearing the same thing: Would you agree that it is paradoxical that the Federal Government would need to go before a judge to authorize a wiretap on a U.S. citizen overseas, but possibly not to order a lethal drone strike against the same individual?

So what you have to do if you wanted to perform a wiretap would be more than you would have to do if you wanted to do a drone strike. I think it is a very legitimate question because if not, Senator Paul goes on to ask:

Please explain why you believe something similar to the FISA standards should not be applied in regards to illegal action against U.S. citizens. Is it still your intent to codify and normalize the so-called disposition matrix, a targeting list that you helped to establish--

This would be Homeland Security Counterterrorism Assistant Brennan--

to direct counterterrorism operations in future administrations as well as the targeted killing procedures you have outlined in your playbook?

Then Senator Paul goes on and asks:

Aside from the President, how many people have access to the full disposition matrix? Of those, how many participate in the process to add individuals to the targeting list, and how many have the authority to veto an individual's inclusion?

This is a very thoughtful letter from Senator Paul to Mr. Brennan dated January 25, 2013. I want to continue to share with the American people the questions that have been asked by Senator Paul because I think they are so telling and so appropriate:

How many times have you specifically objected to an individual's inclusion on a targeting list? How many times have you recommended to the President against including an individual on the targeting list?

These are questions people want to know the answers to:

How often are the criteria used for determining whether an individual should be included on a targeting list amended?

Not simply reviewed; he is not asking about a review but an amendment.

How many government officials and which agencies participate in establishing these criteria? Does the National Counterterrorism Center have final say over all criteria?

Anybody who watches this issue closely has asked these questions and wants to know the answers.

Of those individuals who have been but are no longer included in the disposition matrix or other target list, how many have already been killed? How many have been removed from the list by other means? How many individuals remain in the disposition matrix or other targeting list today? And how does the number compare to the number in prior years? Is the number growing? Is the number shrinking? Is the number static? What is happening to those numbers?

How many U.S. citizens have been added to this disposition matrix or other targeting list? How many remain on the list? How many U.S. citizens have been intentionally killed by U.S. drone strikes since 2008? How many have been unintentionally killed by U.S. drone strikes during that same period of time?

In how many countries has the United States executed a drone strike against a presumed terrorist?

In each of the countries where the United States has executed a drone strike in the past 4 years, please provide a year-to-year estimate of those who self-identify or otherwise associate with al-Qaida within that country.

I come to read this as somebody who has just come to see the capacity of the drones. I see the junior Senator from Texas has been on the Senate floor as well. He and I traveled together to Afghanistan. We have been able to see directly video from drone strikes. We know the capacity. We know their ability to target precisely. These are questions that in previous wars were not asked because the technology was not there, but now these are questions that are asked, that are being asked, which is why I am so grateful for the leadership of Senator Paul in asking these questions.

The letter goes on:

You have indicated that no credible evidence exists to support recent claims that civilian casualties resulted from U.S. drone strikes.

Again, this is the letter from Senator Paul to John Brennan. He asks:

Please indicate how you define credible evidence and what process is in place to evaluate the legitimacy of alleged civilian casualties.

Which countries have publicly stated their support for U.S. drone strikes within their territory? Have any publicly indicated support for U.S. drone strikes in the long term?

In this letter:

How relevant is the opinion of the public in the countries where U.S. drone strikes are ongoing? In those countries, how would you characterize public opinion toward U.S. drone strikes?

In light of civilian casualties caused by the extensive use of drone strikes under your guidance, do you continue to stand by your remark that ``sometimes you have to take life to save lives?''

Do you condone the CIA's practice of counting certain civilians killed by U.S. drone strikes as militants simply because they were of military age and within close proximity of a target? Do you believe such accounting provides an accurate picture of our drone program?

These are key questions to be asked for a nominee to the Central Intelligence Agency and they deserve answers before anyone makes a vote yes or no.

What changes to the CIA review process will you put in place or have you attempted to put in place in your previous role to prevent further unintentional killings of U.S. dissidents? What role did you play in approving the drone strike that led to the death of the under-aged U.S. citizen, son of al-Awlaki? Unlike his father, he had not renounced his U.S. citizenship. Was this young man the intended target of the U.S. drone strike which took his life? Further, do you reject the subsequent claim apparently originating from anonymous U.S. Government sources--

Always a concern when you hear anonymous U.S. Government sources--

that the young man had actually been a military age male of 20 years or more of age, something that was later proven false by the release of his birth certificate.

Senator Paul goes on in the letter:

Do you believe that the inadvertent killing of civilians and the resulting anger from local populations should cause us to limit rather than expand the drone program?

Key question:

The CIA has and will reportedly continue to have authorization to carry out lethal drone strikes in Pakistan, autonomously and without approval from the President. Will you seek to reduce or eliminate this practice or keep it in place? Will you hold to the discussed 1 or 2 year phaseout of this authority or work to expedite the phaseout?

I could go on and on because these are key questions Senator Paul asked, and it all gets back to the fundamental question of: Do you believe the President has the power to authorize lethal force, such as a drone strike against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil and without trial?

So as I look at this letter of January 25 and look at the questions being asked:

Do you believe the lethal drone strikes constitute hostilities as defined by the War Powers Act?

On what legal basis does the administration derive authorization to conduct such strikes?

Then the President's own words:

The President has stated that al-Qaida has been decimated. Do you believe this assertion is correct and, if so, what is it that we are now targeting if not al-Qaida?

That is a fundamental question that came up in the hearings with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. When she came to the Senate, to the Foreign Relations Committee, they changed their tune and said: No, it was core al-Qaida; not just al-Qaida but core al-Qaida in Afghanistan, but, fundamentally, the tune has changed.

Senator Paul goes on:

Is the U.S. drone strike strategy exclusively focused on targeting al-Qaida or is it also conducting counterinsurgency operations against militants seeking to further undermine their governments such as in Yemen? Would you support expansion of the CIA's drone program in Mali to provide support to counterterrorism operations?

We all know what happened there and the impact in Benghazi and the concern that those who weren't captured or tried in Benghazi for the atrocities there went then to Mali. So, again, a key question.

The Senator goes on:

Do you believe a long-term, sustained drone strike program can eliminate all threats to the American people or completely eliminate al-Qaida as you have indicated in your intent? If not, how would we eventually wind down the drone program? At what point do you believe drone strikes will reach the point of diminishing returns? If so, can it be done on the scale the drone program operates on now or would it have to be expanded?

I was going to specifically ask Senator Paul to discuss this question:

Do you support the Attorney General's 2012 guidance to the NCTC that it may deliberately collect, store and continually assess massive amounts of data on all U.S. citizens for potential correlations to terrorism, even if the U.S. citizens targeted have no known ties to terrorists?

That gets into the whole thing we started on earlier today.

Where is the role of individual freedoms, the right to trial, the right to be heard, the right to present their case? What about the fundamental rights in the Bill of Rights?

The final question here to Mr. Brennan is this:

Please describe in detail the steps you have taken as assistant to the President as well as transparency measures you would support as Director of the CIA to improve the transparency of the administration's counterterrorism policy.

Mr. President, I would just say that they are extremely well-thought-out questions by a very thoughtful Senator and questions to which the American people would like to have answers.

There is more to the letter, but I would like to take a second to ask Senator Paul if he feels those have been adequately addressed and if he feels he has gotten closer to the solution to the question of, do you believe the President has the power to authorize lethal force such as a drone strike against a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil and without trial? That would be my question to Senator Paul.

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