S6240 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 2, 2014 Mr. MCCAIN. I ask unanimous con- around the world. The nomination of We’re not dealing with civil society mem- sent that I be allowed to address the Ms. Colleen Bell is probably the most bers but paid political activists who are try- Senate on the pending nominations be- egregious example of that. ing to help foreign interests here. fore the Senate. Hungary is a close ally—in many re- Amazing. Orban, who has fueled em- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without spects—but there is no doubt that since ployment with public works projects, objection, it is so ordered. taking office in 2010 the Hungarian said he wants to replace welfare soci- eties with a workfare state. But the f Prime Minister, Mr. Viktor Orban, has centralized power, has faced scrutiny main problem is that Mr. Orban is RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME due to actions that critics charge are cozying up to Vladimir Putin. He has The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under inconsistent with democratic prin- now entered into a nuclear deal, and he the previous order, the leadership time ciples and practices. His government is practicing the same kinds of anti- is reserved. has reduced the independence of Hun- democratic practices as what seems to f gary’s courts, pushed through con- be his role model—Vladimir Putin. troversial changes to the constitution, Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- EXECUTIVE SESSION and placed acute restrictions on non- sent that a letter to Mr. REID from the governmental organizations. In other 15 former presidents of the American Foreign Service Association be printed NOMINATION OF NOAH BRYSON words, this is a very important coun- try. This is a very important country in the RECORD. MAMET TO BE AMBASSADOR EX- There being no objection, the mate- TRAORDINARY AND PLENI- where bad things are going on. Ms. Bell’s experiences have been rial was ordered to be printed in the POTENTIARY OF THE UNITED RECORD, as follows: STATES OF AMERICA TO THE largely relegated to producing the tele- MARCH 6, 2014. ARGENTINE REPUBLIC vision soap opera ‘‘The Bold and the Beautiful.’’ Now, I am sure television DEAR SENATOR REID, Among the nominees for ambassadorships currently under consid- viewing is important in Hungary, but eration by the Senate, three have generated NOMINATION OF COLLEEN BRAD- the fact is this nominee is totally un- considerable public controversy: George LEY BELL TO BE AMBASSADOR qualified for this position in this coun- Tsunis (Norway), Colleen Bell (Hungary), and EXTRAORDINARY AND PLENI- try. Noah Mamet (Argentina). The nominations POTENTIARY OF THE UNITED Now, if it were, as I say, some Carib- of Mr. Tsunis and Ms. Bell have been for- STATES OF AMERICA TO HUN- bean country or some other, I would warded to the full Senate by the Senate For- GARY understand that. But here we are in a eign Relations Committee. relationship with a country where, ac- As former presidents of the American For- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under eign Service Association, the professional as- cording to Bloomberg News, ‘‘Orban the previous order, the Senate will pro- sociation and trade union of career members says he seeks to end liberal democracy ceed to executive session to consider of the Foreign Service, we urge you to op- in Hungary. Hungarian Prime Minister the following nominations, which the pose granting Senate consent to these three Viktor Orban said he wants to abandon candidates. Although we have no reason to clerk will report. liberal democracy in favor of an doubt that the nominees are conscientious The legislative clerk read the nomi- ‘illiberal state,’ citing Russia and Tur- and worthy Americans, the fact that they nations of Noah Bryson Mamet, of Cali- key as examples.’’ appear to have been chosen on the basis of fornia, to be Ambassador Extraor- By the way, we have an excellent their service in raising money for electoral campaigns, with minimal demonstrated dinary and Plenipotentiary of the DCM there in Hungary who has been United States of America to the Argen- qualifications for their posts, has subjected doing a great job. them to widespread public ridicule, not only tine Republic; and Colleen Bradley Ms. Bell has two qualifications. One Bell, of California, to be Ambassador in the U.S. but also abroad. As a result, their is she is a producer of a television soap effectiveness as U.S. representatives in their Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of opera. She has no experience in foreign host countries would be severely impaired the United States of America to Hun- policy or national security, no famili- from the start. Their nominations also con- gary. arity with the language, country, or vey a disrespectful message, that relations The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- the region, has never been there, and with the host country are not significant ator from Arizona. lacks meaningful knowledge of history enough to demand a chief of mission with BELL NOMINATION relevant expertise. or economics. Her only significant These three nominations represent a con- Mr. MCCAIN. Mr. President, I don’t qualification is that she bundled, as tinuation of an increasingly unsavory and usually object to the appointments and the word is used, $800,000 to President unwise practice by both parties. In the words nominations by the administration to Obama in the last election, and as part of President Theodore Roosevelt, ‘‘The spoils various ambassadorial positions around of the California delegation to the 2012 or patronage theory is that public office is the world. I also understand there are Democratic convention, she bundled primarily designed for partisan plunder.’’ numbers of political supporters, finan- more than $2.1 million for President Sadly it has persisted, even after President cial supporters, and that this is char- Nixon’s acknowledged rewarding of ambassa- Obama’s reelection effort. dorial nominations to major campaign do- acteristic of Republican and Demo- I want to repeat again that I under- nors was exposed. Recognizing that the prac- cratic administrations alike. It has stand there are awards for political tice was inconsistent with democratic prin- never disturbed me when I have ob- support and it has grown with ‘‘bun- ciples, the U.S. Congress in the Foreign served nominees to a Caribbean coun- dling.’’ But when we send a person who Service Act of 1980 set the following guide- try or maybe to London or Paris or doesn’t know the language—has never lines: Berlin being rewarded for support both been to the country, has no familiarity SEC. 304. APPOINTMENT OF CHIEFS OF MISSION.— financial and otherwise. But now we in foreign policy or national security— (a)(1)An individual appointed or assigned are at a point where, according to the to a nation of this importance, then, to be a chief of mission should possess clear- Washington Post, modern Presidents my friends, we are making a serious ly demonstrated competence to perform the have generally followed a 70–30 rule on mistake. duties of a chief of mission, including, to the ambassadorial appointments—where 70 maximum extent practicable, a useful The Hungarian Prime Minister is knowledge of the principal language or dia- percent are career foreign service and distancing himself from the values lect of the country in which the individual is 30 percent are political appointees. shared by most European Union na- to serve, and knowledge and understanding President Obama has defied this his- tions. Orban said civil society orga- of the history, the culture, the economic and toric bipartisan political practice, and nizers receiving funding from abroad political institutions, and the interests of in his second term a shocking 53 per- needed to be ‘‘monitored,’’ as he con- that country and its people. cent of ambassadorial nominees have sidered those to be agents of foreign (2) Given the qualifications specified in been political. This brings his 2-term paragraph (1), positions as chief of mission powers. We are talking about the Inter- should normally be accorded to career mem- average to 37—far more than any ad- national Republican Institute, the Na- bers of the Service, though circumstances ministration in the past. What is very tional Democratic Institute, Freedom will warrant appointments from time to interesting is that some of these nomi- House, and others. time of qualified individuals who are not ca- nees are in very sensitive positions He said: reer members of the Service. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Dec 03, 2014 Jkt 049060 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G02DE6.003 S02DEPT1 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with SENATE December 2, 2014 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6241 (3) Contributions to political campaigns I yield the floor, and I suggest the ab- BELL NOMINATION should not be a factor in the appointment of sence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is an individual as a chief of mission. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The now 2 minutes of debate equally di- (4) The President shall provide the Com- mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, clerk will call the roll. vided prior to the vote on the Bell with each nomination for an appointment as The legislative clerk proceeded to nomination. a chief of mission, a report on the dem- call the roll. Who yields time? onstrated competence of that nominee to Mr. MCCAIN. I ask unanimous con- The Senator from Arizona. perform the duties of the position in which sent that the order for the quorum call Mr. MCCAIN. We are about to vote on he or she is to serve. a totally unqualified individual to be (b)( 1) In order to assist the President in be rescinded. selecting qualified candidates for appoint- The PRESIDING OFFICER.