Dick Lugar: “the Senate meets today to debate the nomination of John Bolton to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. In this…”

“the Senate meets today to debate the nomination of John Bolton to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. In this capacity, he would play an important role in securing greater international support for the national security and foreign policy objectives of the United States. It is my judgment that Secretary Bolton should be confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. In recent years, the Foreign Relations Committee has made a special effort to work in a bipartisan manner. For 3 straight years, we have reported out foreign affairs authorization bills by unanimous votes. During the last Congress, we met 247 times, which was 50 percent more frequently than any other committee in the Senate. In almost every case, the subject of the meeting and the selection of witnesses enjoyed bipartisan support. We have undertaken the cooperative path, not because we always agree, but because we know the stakes are high for our country in the international arena. We face severe threats capable of undermining our national security and our economic well-being. We believe we should strive to approach these questions with as much unity as possible. On the John Bolton nomination, our committee could not develop a consensus position. From the start, members had widely divergent views of Secretary Bolton and his suitability for the U.N. ambassadorship.…”