[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 25, 2005)] [Senate] [Page S374] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] NOMINATION OF CONDOLEEZZA RICE Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, over the course of today, we will be considering the nomination of Condoleezza Rice to be Secretary of State. I want to be the first on this floor and on this day to honor Condoleezza Rice with our expression of strong support. She is an outstanding choice, and the American people are fortunate to have a public servant of her talent and her intellect. During her tenure as National Security Adviser, Dr. Rice has been a steady and trusted adviser, a confidante of the President of the United States. In a role of crafting policy and helping guide decisionmaking, she has demonstrated extraordinary skill. But this should come as no surprise. Dr. Rice is a woman of remarkable accomplishments. Throughout her life, she has applied her razor-sharp mind and her steely determination to reach the highest peaks of achievement. And it started early. Dr. Rice was born in Birmingham in 1954. By the age of 3, she was already a piano prodigy, playing hymnals for her family. By age 5, she was playing right alongside her mother on the church organ bench. At 19, Condoleezza Rice earned her bachelor degree in political science cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Denver, and just a year later her master's from Notre Dame. At the young age of 26, having earned her Ph.D., Dr. Rice became an assistant professor at Stanford University. A decade later, Dr. Rice was elevated to the post of provost, which at Stanford and most universities is the equivalent of the chief operating officer of the university. From 1989 to 1991, Dr. Rice served the first Bush administration as Director and then as Senior Director of Soviet and East European Affairs at the National Security Council. During this time, Dr. Rice brought her considerable expertise in Eastern European affairs to the administration's handling of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Germany's reunification, and the transition of the Soviet Union to the Russian Federation. This, combined with her years of foreign policy experience, particularly in the post-9/11 context, makes her distinctly qualified to lead the Department of State. We are a nation at war. As Secretary of State, Dr. Rice will be a key player in winning this war. She will have the responsibility of advancing democracy and freedom across the globe, not only to protect us from attack but to fulfill America's unique moral purpose. Outlaw regimes must be confronted. Dangerous weapons of proliferation must be stopped. Terrorist organizations must be destroyed. Dr. Rice has both the ability and the experience, from fighting the Cold War through fighting this war on terror, to meet these daunting challenges. Dr. Rice possesses a rare combination of management and administrative experience, of public policy expertise, of high academic achievement and, not least importantly, a graciousness that will serve America's interests well in these difficult and challenging times. America needs a leader of her caliber. Dr. Rice has said that while growing up, her dad John and her mother Angelena taught her that in a country where racial segregation and Jim Crow were an ugly fact of life, she had to be twice as good to get ahead. I think it is fair to say she has surpassed this high charge. Dr. Rice is an author, a classically trained pianist, an ice skater, and tennis player. She speaks Russian fluently and is an avid fan of football. In fact, we are grateful she has set aside at least for the moment her ambition to become commissioner of the National Football League. A woman of deep faith in God, liberty, and freedom, Condoleezza Rice will protect and serve our national interests. I should also note Dr. Rice would be the first African-American woman to serve as Secretary of State. I urge the Senate to give Dr. Rice their strong support. I hope and expect to see her confirmed swiftly so she can begin addressing the urgent threats and challenges that face our Nation. I yield the floor. ____________________