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Floor Speech

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Mr. KAINE. Madam President, I was scheduled to come to the floor today to offer live UCs to bring up two Biden nominees--very important nominees--to assume diplomatic posts in the Western Hemisphere.

Senator Scott of Florida was scheduled to be here to oppose my UCs and have a dialogue. The hurricane in Florida has pulled him away, and so he is unable to be here. I am left with the case where there is an objection, but the objector can't come for a reason that I understand. Senator Scott's team has indicated that he will likely be here tomorrow, and we might be able to repeat this tomorrow.

What I thought I would do, having the floor, is say a little bit about these two countries and these two nominees because I hope Senator Scott might watch this or his staff might give him the transcript because I think, if he does, he will see that they are both highly qualified individuals. I want to talk about both, but I will not make the motion at the end of my comments with respect to unanimous consent.

I would say that both Michelle Kwan, who was nominated by President Biden to be our Ambassador to Belize, and Mari Carmen Aponte, who was nominated to be our Ambassador to Panama, are both highly qualified individuals, as I will describe.

But the countries are really important. Belize has not had an ambassador confirmed for more than 5 years. Panama has not had a confirmed ambassador for more than 4 years. And, sort of, the theme for both of these is, Why punish good behavior? These are great allies of the United States, both Belize and Panama. They are both doing some really important work with us right now, and they deserve to have confirmed ambassadors.

If we won't confirm an ambassador for more than 4 years or more than 5 years, it has a way of sending a message to these countries like: Wow, we say you are great allies, but we clearly don't value you enough to have a confirmed ambassador.

Let me talk about Michelle Kwan, the nominee to be our Ambassador in Belize.

Belize is a critical partner in the Caribbean and Central America. This is a region of significant distress and instability. But Belize has been a bright spot in both relative stability and also closeness to the United States. As I mentioned, no U.S. ambassador has been confirmed there for more than 5 years. It is a stable democracy in a region facing significant threats from organized crime, irregular migration, human trafficking, as well as democratic backsliding in the region.

We worked hard to deepen our relationship with Prime Minister Briceno, and bilateral cooperation between the nations are increasing. Our ability to engage with Belize at this most senior level is crucial right now.

In particular with Belize, there is something fairly unique about this country. In this hemisphere that is very important to the United States, it is also of growing importance to China. We see Beijing active all over the Americas, often outstripping our efforts to pay attention to these countries.

Belize has been willing to be a stalwart partner of Taiwan. There are only 11 nations in the world that recognize Taiwan, and China is going after each one of them, putting pressure on them to strip away their recognition of Taiwan.

The United States is encouraging nations that have recognized Taiwan to continue to do so, but very few are able to hold out against the Chinese onslaught. Belize has been willing to do this. This is good behavior. We asked them to do it, and they have.

By leaving this position vacant, even as Beijing aggressively builds more and more momentum in the region, it is nothing less than diplomatic malpractice. Having a sitting U.S. ambassador there is of utmost importance.

Now, how about Michelle Kwan?

Exceptionally qualified to take on this challenge. She has had an incredibly distinguished career in public service and diplomacy and especially sports.

She is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, having won 43 championships, including 5 world championships, 9 national titles, and 2 Olympic medals.

Michelle became the first-ever U.S. Public Diplomacy Envoy in 2006, 16 years ago. For the following decade and a half, under Presidents and Secretaries of State of both parties, she has traveled extensively on behalf of the State Department all around the world to engage youth and especially young girls on social and educational issues.

She would be an extraordinary champion for the United States with this close neighbor, and her global profile will say to Belize: Hey, we value you because we are sending an accomplished and well-known athlete, inspiration, and diplomat to be our representative there.

And so I was going to ask today that she be confirmed by unanimous consent, and I will return, hopefully, to successfully see her advanced by the Senate into this position.

Now let me talk about Mari Carmen Aponte, who is President Biden's nominee to be Ambassador to Panama.

First on Panama, Panama is one of our strongest partners in the Americas. It is a critical ally on a wide range of U.S. priorities.

And, Madam President, you and I remember when we had major problems with Panama--major problems. It has been a success story of turning an adversary into a great ally and even partner, and yet Panama has now been without a U.S. ambassador for more than 4 years.

My friends across the aisle frequently cite migration as a top foreign policy concern. They have a point.

The Venezuelan refugee crisis is now the second largest displacement in the world. The size and scope of this crisis and the humanitarian impact on the region and the Venezuelan people is worsening by the day. I agree. This issue needs much more attention.

Panama is on the frontline of this crisis. Their border with Colombia--the Darien Gap on that border is the primary route by which people migrate from South America, especially Venezuela, north. They have a crucial role to play in any cohesive regional response.

Panama is also critical to narcotics interdiction efforts and in promoting democratic values that are increasingly under threat in the region.

They are also the subject of intense Chinese investment in the Panama Canal. China has a new Embassy built right on the canal.

We are not competing in a vacuum here. We are competing in a highly competitive world, where China is making more investments than we are, and yet Panama still desires to have a very close relationship with the United States.

And there is more.

Recently, Panama, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador noticed democratic backsliding in the Americas and announced the formation of something called the Alliance for Democracy and Development. They want to band together, four democratic nations, and be proudly pro-democracy in a region where we see too much backsliding. They can punch above their weight. They can do work not only within their own nations but be an influence throughout the region--indeed, throughout the world. This is something that the United States has celebrated and recognized.

So, again, why punish bad behavior? If they are doing these things to help us with migration, if they are stepping forward to be pro- democracy in a region that is backsliding, why wouldn't we want a confirmed U.S. ambassador?

Let me tell you about Mari Carmen Aponte. She is a Puerto Rican native. She previously served with distinction as an ambassador to El Salvador during the Obama administration. She was confirmed in this body with bipartisan support. She has been the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere.

It is hard to imagine a more qualified nominee. She will have impact from the moment she hits the ground. She was nominated for this role in October of 2021. Her Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing was in May, and she has been pending consideration by the entire Senate since June.

Let's get a proven ambassador in the field and put her to work in a nation that is critical to the United States in the region.

Finally, I will just note, Panama is the home of the Panama Canal. It is the world's second largest free-trade zone. It has a sophisticated logistics and financial operations hub. It attracts billions in direct foreign investment, and we need to be there, again, to counter the significant Chinese interest in this country.

So, again, I had planned to make a motion on behalf of Mari Carmen Aponte. In deference to my colleague from Florida and the challenge there, I will not, but his team has committed to me that they will pay attention to my description of both the importance of these nations and the qualifications of these nominees.

I will return in the hopes that we may soon be able to act as the Senate and forward these highly qualified nominees to the field where they can do their work as representatives of the United States.

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