Nomination of Hon. Susan E. Rice to Be Un Representative Hearing
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
S. HRG. 111–257 NOMINATION OF HON. SUSAN E. RICE TO BE U.N. REPRESENTATIVE HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JANUARY 15, 2009 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 54–640 PDF WASHINGTON : 2010 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:28 Jan 28, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 H:\DOCS\RICE.TXT MikeBB PsN: MIKEB COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts, Chairman CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin Republican Leader designee BARBARA BOXER, California BOB CORKER, Tennessee ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania JIM DEMINT, South Carolina JIM WEBB, Virginia JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi EDWARD E. KAUFMAN, Delaware KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, New York DAVID MCKean, Staff Director KENNETH A. MYERS, JR., Republican Staff Director (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:28 Jan 28, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 H:\DOCS\RICE.TXT MikeBB PsN: MIKEB CONTENTS Page Kerry, Hon. John F., U.S. Senator From Massachusetts ..................................... 1 Lugar, Hon. Richard G., U.S. Senator From Indiana ........................................... 8 Rice, Hon. Susan E., Nominated to be Representative to the United Nations ... 10 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 16 APPENDIX ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD Responses to additional questions submitted for the record by members of the committee to Dr. Rice .................................................................................... 51 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:28 Jan 28, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 H:\DOCS\RICE.TXT MikeBB PsN: MIKEB VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:28 Jan 28, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 H:\DOCS\RICE.TXT MikeBB PsN: MIKEB NOMINATION OF DR. SUSAN E. RICE TO BE U.N. REPRESENTATIVE Thursday, January 15, 2009 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:34 a.m., in room SH- 216, Hart Senate Office Building, Hon. John F. Kerry, chairman of the committee, presiding. Present: Senators Kerry, Dodd, Feingold, Boxer, Nelson, Menen- dez, Cardin, Casey, Lugar, Corker, Murkowski, DeMint, Isakson, and Barrasso. Also Present: Senator Shaheen. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN F. KERRY, U.S. SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS The CHAIRMAN. This hearing will come to order, please. We have nine. So we are one Senator shy from a quorum, and while we wait for that one Senator to arrive so that we can do the business portion of the meeting, I know that both of our Senators— we are delighted to welcome you, Senator Collins, Senator Bayh. Thanks for taking time to be here. They both have pressing sched- ules. So what we are going to do is let them make their opening introductions of Dr. Rice initially and then as soon as the Senator is here, we will do the business meeting and then proceed to the other openings and testimony. So Senator Collins, thanks so much for taking time. We are glad you are here. STATEMENT OF HON. SUSAN COLLINS, U.S. SENATOR FROM MAINE Senator COLLINS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, it is my privilege today to introduce Dr. Susan Rice, the President-elect’s nominee to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. The people of Maine are proud of what this remarkable woman has accomplished in her distin- guished career of service to our Nation, and we take special pride in her strong ties to our State. In order to fully describe Dr. Rice’s accomplishments, first let me describe those ties, for they are the foundation of her character. Her grandparents emigrated from Jamaica to Portland, Maine in the early years of the 20th century. Like so many who have come to our shores, they came with little in their pockets, but with spir- its overflowing with determination. On modest wages, they raised (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:28 Jan 28, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 H:\DOCS\RICE.TXT MikeBB PsN: MIKEB 2 five children, and they believed that education was the key to the American dream. Their four sons all graduated from Maine’s Bowdoin College. Two became physicians, one an optometrist, and one a college president. Their daughter, Dr. Rice’s mother Lois, who is here today, was valedictorian of Portland High School and president of the student body at Radcliff College. She is a former vice president of the college board and a former advisory council chairwoman at the National Science Foundation. She married Em- mett Rice, Dr. Rice’s father, who is also here today, a retired senior vice president at the National Bank of Washington and a former governor of the Federal Reserve. The determination of Dr. Rice’s grandparents to build a brighter future did not end with their own family. They founded a USO cen- ter for blacks in Portland during World War II and were active in the Portland branch of the NAACP. That determination to succeed and to contribute thrives in their granddaughter. Dr. Rice was valedictorian and a three-sport ath- lete at the National Cathedral High School here in Washington. She graduated from Stanford where she was elected as a junior to Phi Beta Kappa and earned both a masters degree and a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University where she was a Rhodes Scholar. After a stint at the global consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, she joined the Clinton administration as a member of the National Security Council staff. Dr. Rice then became the youngest person ever to serve as a regional Assistant Secretary of State, taking on the African Affairs portfolio at a particularly challenging time. While in that position, Dr. Rice played a key role in addressing conflict resolution in Africa, helping to develop a U.S. response to conflicts in the Sudan and the Horn of Africa and working to se- cure enactment of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. She was also the first American official ever to address the Organiza- tion of African Unity summit. After her Government service, Dr. Rice became a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and served as the senior foreign policy advisor to the President-elect during his campaign. Although, of course, I knew of Dr. Rice when she worked at the NSC, I first met her when we were both participants in a series of seminars sponsored by the Aspen Strategy Group. I was so im- pressed with her brilliance and nuanced insight as I listened to her discuss various foreign policy challenges. I knew at that time that she was a real star. Dr. Rice would bring to this position experience, expertise, and enthusiasm that are especially crucial during these difficult times. She has special expertise in the challenges posed by weak and failed states, poverty, and global security threats, particularly in Africa. She is known for being direct, yet always diplomatic. She is not driven by rigid ideology, but rather by firm principles. She has the reputation as a keen, critical thinker who is always learn- ing. Her intellect, experience, and character will serve our Nation well. Mr. Chairman, one of Dr. Rice’s most recent visits to the State of Maine was exactly a year ago when she came to Portland to ad- dress the annual Martin Luther King breakfast. In her eloquent re- VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:28 Jan 28, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 H:\DOCS\RICE.TXT MikeBB PsN: MIKEB 3 marks, she made clear that human rights are not defined by race, ethnicity, or national borders, but rather, are the universal birth right of all mankind. To secure that birth right, she said— and I quote—‘‘we can and we must overcome the divisions of past cen- turies as well as the traumas of the recent past.’’ Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Lugar, I can think of no better message to convey to the United Nations and no better messenger than Dr. Susan Rice. I am honored to present her to this distin- guished committee, and I enthusiastically endorse her nomination. Thank you. Thanks to all the members of the committee. The CHAIRMAN. Well, thank you very much, Senator Collins. What a wonderful introduction. Remind me that if I am ever in need of an introduction, I want to put in my reservation right now. [Laughter.] The CHAIRMAN. It does not get better than that. And really, you have given great, important background to the committee, and so we really appreciate that. Senator Bayh, I think we will go with yours, just to keep the con- tinuity, and then we will interrupt for the business meeting and start again. Thank you. STATEMENT OF HON. EVAN BAYH, U.S. SENATOR FROM INDIANA Senator BAYH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Lugar. Let me just say that in these difficult times for our Nation, we can be reassured that you are providing foreign policy leader- ship to our country. Members of the committee, it is an honor to be before you today. I too have known Dr. Rice for many years and can attest from personal experience that she has the keen intellect, the strong work ethic, and the collegiality to be an outstanding Ambassador to the United Nations.