{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/otherstatements?ContentRecord_id=368c5f09-db32-4881-874a-084f58cc10c1", "Chairman Carper Urges his Senate Colleagues to Support Critical DHS Leadership Nominations", "2014-12-15", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Thomas Carper", "C000174", "www.carper.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, spoke on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to support two critical nominations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Russ Deyo to be Under Secretary for Management at the Department and Sarah Salda\u00f1a to be Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).\r\nChairman Carper\u2019s statement, as prepared for delivery, follows:\r\n\u201cMr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support two critical nominations for the Department of Homeland Security: Russ Deyo to be Under Secretary for Management at the Department and Sarah Salda\u00f1a to be Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe Committee which I am privileged to chair \u2013 the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee \u2013is responsible for working with the Administration and others to help protect our nation\u2019s security at home and abroad.\u00a0 At the same time, we strive to make sure that federal agencies work better and more efficiently with the resources we entrust to them.\r\n\u201cDuring my years of public service, I\u2019ve learned that the most important ingredient in helping organizations to work is leadership.\u00a0 \u00a0That is the case both in government and the private sector, and in organizations large and small.\u00a0 Part of our responsibility here in the Senate is to ensure that we have effective leaders in place across our federal government. While Congress will soon wrap up the 2014 session, the Senate has the opportunity and obligation to fill two key leadership posts in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Under Secretary for Management and Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.\r\n\u201cThis Department, as we all know, plays a critical role in protecting our nation from a number of threats, including terrorism, cyber-attacks, and natural disasters to name a few. Given the Department\u2019s significant role in the security of our country, it is critical that Secretary Johnson has a full leadership team in place. That includes Russ Deyo as his Under Secretary for Management, the third-highest position in the Department. I\u2019d like to take some time to explain why Mr. Deyo\u2019s nomination is so important.\r\n\u201cAs of this week, more than ten months will have passed since the last Senate-confirmed Under Secretary for Management, Rafael Borras stepped down from his post. Again, it\u2019s been nearly a year since the Department\u2019s third-highest position has had permanent leadership. Under-Secretary Borras was widely respected by members of my Committee and others for his leadership, management expertise, and candor.\u00a0 He helped the Department make strides in many areas and led the Department to its first clean financial audit \u2013 something the Department was able to achieve again this year. I think it\u2019s safe to say that the Department needs somebody with this same kind of commitment and leadership. I believe Russ Deyo is that person.\u00a0\r\n\u201cMr. Deyo had an impressive 27-year career with Johnson & Johnson, where he served in several top positions, including General Counsel and Vice President for Administration. He also spent the last 15 years serving on the \u201cExecutive Committee\u201d at Johnson and Johnson, which is the principal management group responsible for the Company\u2019s global operations.\u00a0 He was also a partner at a major U.S. law firm. Russ Deyo is also no stranger to public service and working with law enforcement organizations. He was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Jersey for eight years, including a period as chief of the public corruption unit. His perspective from the private and public sectors will be an invaluable asset to Secretary Johnson. Particularly, as the Secretary implements his \u201cUnity of Effort\u201d initiatives at the Department, which strives to help the Department operate in a more unified and cohesive manner across all components.\u00a0\r\n\u201cIf confirmed, Mr. Deyo will have a number other challenges on his plate. For example, our friends at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) continue to remind us that the acquisition and budgeting systems at DHS are not fully mature. In fact, the overall management of the Department remains on GAO\u2019s \u201cHigh Risk\u201d list of government operations that need urgent attention. And, of course, if confirmed, Mr. Deyo will inherit the challenge of improving the morale across the Department.\r\n\u201cThese are tough challenges and some have been around since the creation of the Department. But I believe Mr. Deyo has the leadership experience and skills necessary to tackle these challenges and really make a difference. And I\u2019m not the only one. Mr. Deyo has received glowing accolades from a number of our colleagues who have worked closely with him. In fact, here\u2019s what former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff had to say when he introduced Mr. Deyo at his confirmation hearing before my Committee: \u2018Russ brings to the position he has been nominated for a broad range of experience with one of the best enterprises in the world . . . You will find him to be a smart, experienced, and devoted public servant who will actually bring a unique set of skills to this job which are very critical. I could not give a stronger endorsement to Mr. Deyo for this position.\u2019\r\n\u201cRuss Deyo also received a strong endorsement from the three former Under Secretaries for Management at DHS \u2013 Paul Schneider, Elaine Duke, and Rafael Borras. Here\u2019s what they had to say: \u2018Russ Deyo is an outstanding choice by the President to be the Under Secretary for Management. An impressive leader, he brings the requisite skills, experience, and leadership to this important position. He is recognized as a professional, unflappable statesman who can meet the challenges that this position faces head on and get results.\u2019\r\n\u201cEverything I have learned about Mr. Deyo over the past several months has led me to conclude that he is an exceptional candidate to be the next Under Secretary for Management at DHS. I urge all of my colleagues to support the nomination of Russ Deyo.\r\n\u201cI\u2019d now like to discuss the nomination of Sarah Salda\u00f1a to be Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or \u201cICE\u201d is a vital law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security and has been without a presidentially appointed leader for more than 16 months. That is far too long \u2013 particularly considering all the issues we face along our borders and the more than 400 laws ICE enforces.\r\n\u201cSome of my colleagues may not be familiar with what ICE does, and why it is so critical for the agency to have Senate-confirmed leadership in place. ICE is one of the nation's largest law enforcement agencies, with more than 19,000 employees in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 48 foreign countries. What do all these people do? Well, in 2013, ICE special agents initiated 126,425 new investigations, made over 40,000 criminal arrests, seized $1.3 billion in currency and assets, and took 1.6 million pounds of narcotics and other dangerous drugs off our streets. And on any given day, ICE arrests 370 criminal aliens in the interior of the country, has 34,000 people in detention, and removes nearly 500 criminal aliens from our country.\r\n\u201cManaging such a large agency, with one of the most complex missions in the federal government, is a tall order. Thankfully, Ms. Salda\u00f1a has agreed to step up to the challenge. Ms. Salda\u00f1a is a true American success story. She rose from humble beginnings in South Texas as the youngest of seven children to become an accomplished partner at a major law firm.\u00a0 She is now one of the nation\u2019s top law enforcement officers.\u00a0 Ms. Salda\u00f1a was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2011 to her current position as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. She has a distinguished record, representing the U.S. government as the senior law enforcement officer in one of the largest districts in the nation, spanning some 100 counties. In this role, she deals as closely and extensively as anyone else with the threats this country faces every day from transnational criminal networks. This experience will serve her well at ICE.\r\n\u201cBut don\u2019t take my word for it. One of my good friends here in the Senate, Senator Cornyn, felt strongly enough about her qualifications that he introduced Ms. Salda\u00f1a at her confirmation hearing before the Committee I chair, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Here\u2019s what Senator Cornyn had to say: \u2018In her role as U.S. Attorney and prosecutor over the past decade, Ms. Salda\u00f1a has served our State with honor, fighting corrupt public officials, organized crime, sex traffickers, and other dangerous criminals.\u2019\r\n\u201cThat certainly sounds like a highly qualified candidate to me.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not all Senator Cornyn had to say about Ms. Salda\u00f1a.\u00a0 He went on to say: \u2018If respect for the rule of law is our standard, and I think it should be, we would be hard pressed to find a person more qualified to enforce the law than Ms. Salda\u00f1a.\u2019\r\n\u201cThat is high praise indeed\u2014and I couldn\u2019t agree more. Now, some are arguing that we should not confirm Ms. Salda\u00f1a because of the President\u2019s recent executive action on immigration. This decision will provide relief from deportation for as many as 5 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows today, law-abiding people who are productive members of our communities. Still, some argue that the President\u2019s actions should preclude the Senate from confirming even a highly qualified candidate like Sarah Salda\u00f1a to this critical position.\r\n\u201cI think that is absurd. We have before the Senate a highly qualified candidate who, according to her neighbor and senior Senator from Texas, is fiercely independent, has served with honor in her current role, and respects the rule of law. It does not punish the President to leave this position unfilled; it punishes our citizens. It makes it harder for ICE to accomplish its mission. And it hurts the men and women at ICE, who deserve a leader to ensure this important agency runs as effectively as possible. I believe that the President acted within the bounds of the law in announcing his executive actions. Whether you agree with me or not, opposing Ms. Salda\u00f1a\u2019s nomination will do nothing to change what the President has done.\u00a0\r\n\u201cSo I hope that Ms. Salda\u00f1a\u2014the first Hispanic person and second woman to be nominated to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement\u2014does not fall victim to politics as usual in the Senate.\u00a0She is by all accounts exactly what this critical agency needs: a proven leader and respected member of the law enforcement community. Ms. Salda\u00f1a will have a tough job ahead of her if she is confirmed this week, but I believe that she is up to the task. I urge all of my colleagues to support her, as I do.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.carper.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/otherstatements?ContentRecord_id=368c5f09-db32-4881-874a-084f58cc10c1"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7233039252460003, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}