MR. PRESIDENT, on June 24, I announced that I had placed a hold on the nomination of Mr. Richard Holbrooke to be the new U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. At that time, I had indicated that it was not a personal dispute with Mr. Holbrooke, but that it was a signal to the State Department. The Department had been mistreating a whistleblower, Ms. Linda Shenwick. She had made protected financial mismanagement disclosures to Congress. Her disclosures led to the creation of an Inspector General at the U.N., as well as other management reforms and statutory requirements.
My interest in this matter is simple. Congress cannot function as an institution if government employees cannot communicate with Congress about wrongdoing. And the executive branch should not be allowed to shoot the messenger with impunity. I am simply trying to get the two parties to return to the negotiating table, where they had been up to as recently as two months ago, and arrive at a mutually agreed-upon new job for Ms. Shenwick.
Accordingly, I have placed a hold on three new nominees from the State Department. They are the following: A. Peter Burleigh as Ambassador to the Philippines; Carl Spielvogel as Ambassador to the Slovak Republic; and, J. Richard Fredericks as Ambassador to Switzerland.
In addition to these new holds, I have taken additional steps which I choose not to disclose at this time. They are designed to increase my and other interested colleagues' ability to insist that Ms. Shenwick be treated fairly. Several of my colleagues have indicated a desire to assist me on my further endeavors. My interest, as I said, was not with Mr. Holbrooke. I intend to vote for him. My interest is, and has been from the beginning, in making sure the process for Ms. Shenwick remains fair. It became evident to me that the Secretary of State was not out of sorts with the hold-up of the Holbrooke nomination. Yet the hold accomplished some progress.
In the first place, the Department had long ignored a letter signed by nine United States Senators in October of last year, raising our concerns about its mistreatment of Ms. Shenwick. The Department did not even respond until June 30 of this year -- eight months later. Since then, we have corresponded again, and I met with State Department attorneys through the good offices of my friend from Virginia, Senator Warner.
I also met with Administration officials and have engaged in useful dialogue. It has resulted in a more highly sensitized Administration as to the need for effective communications with the State Department to ensure fair treatment for Ms. Shenwick. These communications have produced one small yet positive step toward ensuring the fairest possible process. In the meantime, I have chosen to increase my leverage by putting the holds on these three nominees. At the same time, I will release my hold on Mr. Holbrooke, satisfied that I have greater leverage, and the Administration's heightened awareness and assurances of a fair process. Thank you, Mr. President.