Schatz Statement On Foreign Relations Committee Advancing 21 Nominees For Key Diplomatic Posts

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement after the committee voted to advance 21 well-qualified nominees for key diplomatic posts to the Senate floor for confirmation.

“These nominees represent the very best of U.S. diplomacy, and am confident they will continue to help strengthen relationships with our allies and partners around the world,” said Senator Schatz.

The committee also advanced S.3235, S.1829, S.2626, S.2336, which all included an amendment authored by Senator Schatz. Schatz’s amendment requires the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury to provide a report to Congress detailing the national security, economic, political, humanitarian, and social impacts of U.S. sanctions on Iran. Sanctions are an important tool to hold the Iranian government accountable for its actions, including its recent attack on Israel, widespread human rights violations, and other destabilizing and troubling behavior in the region. Detailed reporting will provide more insight into whether U.S. sanctions are working and how they may be impacting the Iranian people, civil society, and the working and middle class in Iran.

The nominees advanced to the Senate floor today include:

• The Honorable Stephanie Sanders Sullivan, of Maryland, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Representative of the United States of America to the African Union, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
• Ms. Pamela M. Tremont, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Zimbabwe
• Ms. Elizabeth Rood, of Pennsylvania, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Turkmenistan
• Mr. Richard H. Riley IV, of California, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Federal Republic of Somalia
• Mr. David J. Kostelancik, of Illinois, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Albania
• The Honorable Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir, of Connecticut, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Indonesia
• Mr. Stephan A. Lang, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, with the rank of Ambassador
• Dr. Jennifer M. Adams, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Cabo Verde
• Ms. Courtney Diesel O'Donnell, of California, to be United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, with the rank of Ambassador
• The Honorable Dorothy Camille Shea, of North Carolina, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, during her tenure of service as Deputy Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations
• The Honorable Dorothy Camille Shea, of North Carolina, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be the Deputy Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and the Deputy Representative of the United States of America in the Security Council of the United Nations
• Dr. Dafna Hochman Rand, of Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
• Mr. Andrew William Plitt, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (Bureau for Middle Eastern Affairs)
• Mr. Richard L.A. Weiner, of the District of Columbia, to be United States Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• Ms. Elizabeth Shortino, of the District of Columbia, to be United States Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund for a term of two years
• Mr. Arthur W. Brown, of Pennsylvania, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Ecuador
• The Honorable Richard Mills, Jr., of Georgia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Federal Republic of Nigeria
• Mr. Mark Toner, of Pennsylvania, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Liberia
• Ms. Laura Stone, of Utah, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of the Marshall Islands
• The Honorable Lisa Peterson, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Burundi
• Ms. Donna Ann Welton, of New York, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

###