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“Nomination of John K. Tien (Executive Session)” mentioning John Thune was published in the Senate section on pages S4602-S4603 on June 17.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
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The publication is reproduced in full below:
Nomination of John K. Tien
Madam President, as many of our colleagues know, the Department of Homeland Security is still a fairly young Agency, created in response to the attacks on September 11, 2001.
I vividly remember the tragic events of that day, a day as beautiful as today--sunshine, blue skies--and then the whole world changed, literally, while I was riding the train from Wilmington to Washington, DC. I recall also, vividly, how the Members of this body pulled together that day and our country pulled together that day. We, with the U.S. House of Representatives, we, with the President George W. Bush, set aside partisan politics, and we created the 9/11 Commission and adopted the great majority of its recommendations.
My recollection was the cochairs of the 9/11 Commission, former Governor of New Jersey, Tom Kean, a Republican, highly regarded, my neighbor across the river, and Lee Hamilton, Congressman from Indiana, who was chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, one of my mentors--he was a Congressman years ago--they led a group, the 9/11 Commission. I think they came to agreement unanimously on 42 recommendations, passed them off to what would become the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. We adopted almost every one of them unanimously, and it did a lot of good for our country and provided a lot of protection for our country, for our homeland.
Among the recommendations that he made was the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the expansion of our committee's jurisdiction to include homeland security. Before that, we were the Committee on Governmental Affairs, which is important. It was an oversight committee. But with the addition of the Department of Homeland Security, that responsibility grew enormously.
But since then, our committee has taken on a very different purpose. I am proud of the work that we have done that has made Americans safer today.
As someone who was very much involved in helping to stand up and assemble the Department of Homeland Security, I am proud of the way it has grown and matured over the last 20 years. I remain convinced that it is, in large part, the leadership provided by the nominees we confirm in this Chamber that enables the Department of Homeland Security to carry out successfully as its many missions.
The Department of Homeland Security is an Agency with a budget of over $50 billion and a staff of almost a quarter million men and women who are collectively responsible for protecting our Nation from many of the threats that we face. From the clear and present threats of both foreign and domestic terrorism to responding to cyber attacks on our critical infrastructure, to helping distribute relief and assistance in the face of natural disasters, there is no shortage of work to be done by that Agency and the men and women who work there every single day
I often say that leadership is the most important ingredient to the success of almost any organization on this planet. In sports, in business, in government, our leaders set the tone at the top. They lead by their example, and they are the ones who guide their team to accomplish its mission, or, in the case of the Department of Homeland Security, its many missions. That is why it is crucial that the Department of Homeland Security have Senate-confirmed, qualified leadership at its helm.
After years in multiple administrations leaving key Senate-confirmed posts vacant or held on an ``Acting'' capacity for far too long, this Department needs qualified leaders now more than ever.
It has been without a Senate-confirmed Deputy Secretary for over 3 years. Let me repeat that. This vital Agency has been without a Senate-
confirmed Deputy Secretary for more than 3 years. That has to change. With the confirmation of COL John Tien to serve, this body can do something about it, and we can do it today.
The responsibilities of the Deputy Secretary are daunting. Serving as a chief operating officer, the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security is responsible for the day-to-day business of the Agency and the management of its operations and 250,000 men and women.
Colonel Tien is a proven leader and dedicated public servant. He is a retired U.S. Army colonel, whose 24-year career includes three combat tours in Iraq and national security roles in the Clinton, the George W. Bush, and the Obama White Houses. He has worked hand in glove with people from different perspectives and commands the respect of Republicans and Democrats alike.
For the past decade, COL Tien has been a leader in the private sector, where he has held senior executive roles in our Nation's financial sector and managed complex organizations and operations.
His nomination has drawn bipartisan support. Dozens of national security leaders and experts, including several former military and civilian government officials who served under Democratic and Republican Presidents, have expressed their strong support for Colonel Tien's nomination.
Just a week ago, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, on which I serve, advanced his nomination by a wide margin--by a wide margin, bipartisan support. Given Colonel Tien's past leadership experiences, I am hopeful that the Department will finally get the Senate-confirmed leader it needs and deserves in this critical post.
The American people are counting on seasoned leadership at the Department of Homeland Security after too many years of vacancies. I describe those vacancies as Swiss cheese, executive branch Swiss cheese, and that needs to end.
I applaud President Biden for nominating Colonel Tien. I encourage my colleagues to confirm him.
Let me say on a personal note to Colonel Tien and his wife Tracy--and they have a couple of daughters, Amanda and Rebecca--when you serve, as he did in the military for 24 years, rising to the rank of colonel, you don't just serve that as an individual. It is not just the officer or enlisted person who is serving. If they have a family--and we almost all do--the family serves as well. If they have a spouse, they have children, they serve as well. And we don't often acknowledge that, not often enough, at least.
I just want to take a moment to say to Colonel Tien's wife Tracy, to their daughters, Amanda and Rebecca, we are grateful for your service as well. And we are honored and privileged that you would share a good man in this new role for our country.
And to Colonel Tien, whose mother recently passed away, I understand, just a few months ago, from COVID-19, let me say that I know your mom must be looking down from on high today and feeling very proud of her son on this day and every day.
With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Whitehouse). The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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