Chairman Risch Opening Remarks at Nominations Hearing on September 30

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today gave the following opening remarks at a full committee nomination hearing. Witnesses included Justin Bytheway to be ambassador to the Kingdom of Tonga, William Flens to be ambassador to the Republic of Chad, Douglas Holder to be ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, Marc Dillard to be ambassador to the Republic of Madagascar and the Union of Comoros, and Jessica Long to be ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

Chairman Risch gave the following remarks:

"Thank you all for coming today. We have five nominees we want to hear from in important positions. We welcome them. We welcome their families. We welcome everyone who is at this hearing.

"Today we will consider the nomination of Justin Bytheway to be U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Tonga, William Flens to be U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Chad, Douglas Holder to be U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, Marc Dillard to be U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Madagascar concurrently with the Union of Comoros, and Jessica Long to be U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Mauritania.

"Congratulations to all of you on your nominations, and thank you for your willingness to serve-and, just as important, to your families for letting you do that. That's an important thing. We know the sacrifice it is, not only to you but to the families also.

"We'll start with Mr. Bytheway. If confirmed, you will be only the second ambassador to serve in Tonga, one of our newest embassies in the Pacific.

"Our relations with Tonga are historic and deepening across domains, including maritime security, countering transnational crime, and growing digital connectivity and energy resilience.

"But Tonga faces significant challenges, including a growing energy crisis and some of the highest debt exposure to China in the region.

"If confirmed, I'm curious to hear your priorities for developing U.S. ties with Tonga, and how you plan to work with countries like Australia and New Zealand to ensure that our partners in the Pacific help us drive U.S. priorities forward in the region.

"Mr. Holder, Bulgaria's government has entered a more stable period after years of political turmoil, but there are still challenges ahead.

"If confirmed as ambassador, you will need to work with the government to help Bulgaria combat corruption, crime, and Chinese and Russian influence that undermines our relationship; all the while, working to advance U.S. interests in energy security, trade, and European investment into NATO's defense.

"Mr. Dillard, as U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros, you would not only work to advance U.S. interests in these African island countries, but you would serve on the front lines of countering China in the Indian Ocean. Pervasive poverty and political instability make Madagascar and Comoros more vulnerable to this influence, and we saw the troubling implications of this when Madagascar revoked overflight permits for the Taiwanese President's aircraft.

"Your extensive experience in the region, including in Kenya and most recently South Africa, will serve you well as U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros. I look forward to hearing from you today.

"Ms. Long, as you know, the terror threat emanating from the Sahel is a national security issue that the United States must treat as a priority. The role of Mauritania as a key partner in addressing this terror threat can't be overlooked.

"I look forward to hearing from you today on how you will approach counter-terrorism partnership, and other bilateral issues with Mauritania, if confirmed as our next ambassador.

"And finally, Mr. Flens, as you know, Chad faces its own serious challenges with instability and insecurity. It is also in a challenging neighborhood, surrounded on all sides by conflict, terrorist insurgency, and humanitarian crises in Sudan, Libya, Niger, and others.

"This is troubling as Chad is an important security partner for the United States, currently deploying troops to the Gang Suppression Force in Haiti. Chad is also a longstanding contributor to regional counter-terrorism missions and UN peacekeeping missions.

"You will have a tough, but important, job to do if confirmed as U.S. ambassador to Chad.

"Thank you again to all of you for your willingness to serve. We look forward to hearing from you

"With that, I'll now turn it over to our ranking member, Senator Shaheen."

These remarks have been lightly edited for clarity. Witness testimony is available on foreign.senate.gov.

www.foreign.senate.gov

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