Sen. John Kerry Holds a Hearing On the Nomination of Susan Rice to Be the U.S. Representative to the United Nations

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Sen. John Kerry Holds a Hearing On the Nomination of Susan Rice to Be the U.S. Representative to the United Nations

SENATE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS HOLDS A HEARING ON THE NOMINATION OF SUSAN RICE TO BE THE U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS

JANUARY 15, 2009

SPEAKERS: SEN. JOHN KERRY, D-MASS. CHAIRMAN SEN. CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, D-CONN. SEN. JOHN KERRY, D-MASS. SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD, D-WIS. SEN. BARBARA BOXER, D-CALIF. SEN. BILL NELSON, D-FLA. SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ, D-N.J. SEN. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, D-MD. SEN. BOB CASEY, D-PA. SEN. JIM WEBB, D-VA.

SEN. RICHARD G. LUGAR, R-IND. RANKING MEMBER SEN. BOB CORKER, R-TENN. SEN. GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, R-OHIO SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI, R-ALASKA SEN. JIM DEMINT, R-S.C. SEN. JOHNNY ISAKSON, R-GA. SEN. DAVID VITTER, R-LA. SEN. JOHN BARRASSO, R-WYO.

WITNESSES: SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, R-MAINE

SEN. EVAN BAYH, D-IND.

SUSAN RICE, NOMINATED TO BE U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.

[*] KERRY: This hearing will come to order, please.

We have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. So we're one senator shy from quorum.

And while we wait for that one senator to arrive so we can do the business portion of the meeting, I know that both of our senators -- we're delighted to welcome you, Senator Collins, Senator Bayh, thanks for taking the time to be here -- they both have pressing schedules, so what we're going to do is let them make their opening introductions of Dr. Rice, initially. And then as soon as the senator's here, we'll do the business meeting and then proceed to the other openings and testimony.

So, Senator Collins, thanks so much for taking time. We're glad you're here.

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 States.

The people of Maine are proud of what this remarkable woman has accomplished in her distinguished career of service to our nation. And we take special pride to 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 spirits overflowing with determination.

On modest wages, they raised 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 student body at Radcliff College. She is a former vice president of the College Board and a former advisory council chairwoman of the National Science Foundation. She's married to Emmett 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 center 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 athlete at the National Cathedral High School here in Washington. She graduated from Stamford, 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, MacKenzie and 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 secure enactment of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. She was also the first American official ever to address the Organization 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 adviser 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 sp...

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