Cornyn Calls on Obama to Withdraw Hagel Nomination Feb 21 2013

DALLAS— Today in a new letter, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and 14 U.S. Senators are calling on the President to withdraw Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be Secretary of Defense:

“While we respect Senator Hagel's honorable military service, in the interest of national security, we respectfully request that you withdraw his nomination. It would be unprecedented for a Secretary of Defense to take office without the broad base of bipartisan support and confidence needed to serve effectively in this critical position.

“Senator Hagel’s performance at his confirmation hearing was deeply concerning, leading to serious doubts about his basic competence to meet the substantial demands of the office. While Senator Hagel's erratic record and myriad conversions on key national security issues are troubling enough, his statements regarding Iran were disconcerting.”

The letter is signed by Sens. Cornyn, Inhofe (R-OK), Graham (R-SC), Wicker (R-MS), Vitter (R-LA), Cruz (R-TX), Lee (R-UT), Toomey (R-PA), Rubio (R-FL), Coats (R-IN), R. Johnson (R - WI), Risch (R-ID), Barrasso (R-WY), Coburn (R-OK), Scott (R-SC). The full text is attached and provided below.

February 21, 2013

President Barack H. Obama

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

Last Thursday, the Senate voted to continue its consideration of your nomination of former Senator Chuck Hagel to serve as our nation's next Secretary of Defense. While we respect Senator Hagel's honorable military service, in the interest of national security, we respectfully request that you withdraw his nomination.

It would be unprecedented for a Secretary of Defense to take office without the broad base of bipartisan support and confidence needed to serve effectively in this critical position. Over the last half-century, no Secretary of Defense has been confirmed and taken office with more than three Senators voting against him. Further, in the history of this position, none has ever been confirmed with more than 11 opposing votes. The occupant of this critical office should be someone whose candidacy is neither controversial nor divisive.

In contrast, in 2011, you nominated Leon Panetta, who was confirmed by the Senate with unanimous support. His Pentagon tenure has been a huge success, due in part to the high degree of trust and confidence that Senators on both sides of the aisle have placed in him. The next Secretary of Defense should have a similar level of broad-based bipartisan support and confidence in order to succeed at a time when the Department of Defense faces monumental challenges, including Iran’s relentless drive to obtain nuclear weapons, a heightened threat of nuclear attack from North Korea, potentially deep budget cuts, a strategic pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, military operations in Afghanistan, the ongoing Global War on Terror, the continued slaughter of Syrian civilians at the hands of their own government, and other aftermath of the Arab Spring.

Likewise, Senator Hagel’s performance at his confirmation hearing was deeply concerning, leading to serious doubts about his basic competence to meet the substantial demands of the office. While Senator Hagel's erratic record and myriad conversions on key national security issues are troubling enough, his statements regarding Iran were disconcerting. More than once during the hearing, he proclaimed the legitimacy of the current regime in Tehran, which has violently repressed its own citizens, rigged recent elections, provided material support for terrorism, and denied the Holocaust.

Regarding U.S. policy on Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, Senator Hagel displayed a seeming ambivalence about whether containment or prevention is the best approach, which gives us great concern. Any sound strategy on Iran must be underpinned by the highly credible threat of U.S. military force, and there is broad bipartisan agreement on that point. If Senator Hagel becomes Secretary of Defense, the military option will have near zero credibility. This sends a dangerous message to the regime in Tehran, as it seeks to obtain the means necessary to harm both the United States and Israel.

We have concluded that Senator Hagel is not the right candidate to hold the office of Secretary of Defense, and we respectfully request that you withdraw his nomination. Thank you for your consideration.

/s/

• Letter to President Obama on Hagel Nomination - Letter to President Obama on Hagel Nomination.PDF (162.3 KBs)

Weekly Republican Address Martha Roby on Replacing President Obama’s Sequester FULL VIDEO PODCAST TEXT TRANSCRIPT 02/16/13

Weekly Republican Address Martha Roby on Replacing President Obama’s Sequester FULL VIDEO PODCAST TEXT TRANSCRIPT 02/16/13

Download Weekly Republican Address MP3 for PODCAST

Delivering the Weekly Republican Address, Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) calls on President Obama and Senate Democrats to join House-led efforts to replace his harmful sequester – not with more tax increases, but with better, responsible spending cuts that put our budget on a path to balance in 10 years. Rep. Roby, now in her second term representing Alabama’s Second Congressional District, serves on the House Armed Services Committee.

NOTE: The Weekly Republican Address is embargoed until 6:00 a.m. ET, Saturday, February 16, 2013. The audio is accessible now, and video of the address will be available to view and download once the embargo is lifted. A full transcript follows.

“Hello, I’m Martha Roby. It is my honor to represent Alabama’s Second Congressional District.

“As you may know, a series of deep, across-the-board military spending cuts known as ‘the sequester’ will go into effect in less than two weeks. In his State of the Union address, President Obama himself admitted that these cuts were a 'really bad idea.' What the President failed to mention was that the sequester was his idea, proposed by his administration during the debt limit negotiations in 2011. And now we in the House, on behalf of our constituents, are calling on the president to join us in replacing his sequester with better, more responsible spending cuts.

“Just this week, top military commanders testified on Capitol Hill and confirmed what I had feared from the beginning about how the president’s sequester will hurt military installations in Alabama and around the country.

“My district is home to Fort Rucker, the primary flight training base for Army Aviation. If the president’s sequester takes effect, Fort Rucker would lose 500 students training to be combat aviators and roughly 37,000 hours of aviation training. These numbers are astounding. And remember, this is just one set of cuts at one base.

“There is a smarter way to reduce the size of government than to slash defense spending, threaten national security and hurt military families. In fact, the Republican-led House has already voted twice to replace the president’s sequester with targeted spending cuts based on real budget priorities.

“Unfortunately, the Democratic-run Senate never acted on either bill. And, as the clock is ticking towards his devastating sequester, the President has failed to put forward a plan to prevent it. Why? Because President Obama and Senate Democrats see his sequester as an opportunity to push through another tax increase. If you’re feeling a sense of déjà vu, you’re not alone. After all, the ink has barely dried on the tax hikes the president pushed through in January.

“No one in Washington should be talking about raising your taxes when the federal government is still spending billions of dollars on things like giving people free cell phones. And it is a shame that our Commander-in-Chief is using the military he leads as leverage in an ideological crusade for higher taxes. These games have got to stop.

“Our goal every day in Washington should be coming together on issues like creating jobs for hardworking American families, reining in our out-of-control debt, and ensuring America maintains a strong national defense. To meet these goals, we can come together now to replace the president’s sequester – not with more tax increases, but with better, more responsible spending cuts that put our budget on a path to balance in 10 years.

“Thank you for your time. May God bless the men and women of our Armed Forces and may God continue to bless the United States of America.”

Posted by Speaker Boehner Press OfficeFebruary 15, 2013 H-232 The Capitol Washington D.C. 20515 P: (202) 225-0600 F: (202) 225-5117