Dick Lugar: “I will yield shortly to distinguished colleagues who have sought an opportunity to speak for the first time on the…”

“I will yield shortly to distinguished colleagues who have sought an opportunity to speak for the first time on the nomination of John Bolton. I had the privilege of addressing the Senate yesterday for over 50 minutes in which I attempted to outline all of the best reasons for John Bolton's confirmation, which I hope will occur today. I believe he will be an outstanding representative of our country, a very able diplomat to the United Nations. During the course of my comments--now reflected, because they were delivered yesterday, in the Congressional Record today--we attempted to go through each of the case histories of interviews completed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in response to the questions or allegations made about the nominee. Affirmatively, I have tried to point out the tens of very able Americans who have endorsed John Bolton, including a large number of former Secretaries of State, Defense, National Security Directors, and, most importantly, people who have worked with him at the United Nations, at USAID. I ask Members to reference the specifics of my speech yesterday, if there are questions with regard to the work done by the able staff on both sides of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to make certain that each of the arguments that has been presented has been met and fairly argued. During the entirety of the debate yesterday, the arguments that were made were not new ones.…”