Observing that the world today suffers from no shortage of challenges, Indian American Richard Verma has told lawmakers that he is truly optimistic about America’s ability to lead on the global stage.
These remarks were made by 54-year-old Verma on Thursday to the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing for Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.
If confirmed, Verma would be the highest-ranking Indian American in the State Department. The Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources is often referred to as the Chief Operating Officer of the State Department.
“Today’s world suffers from no shortage of challenges. From the war in Ukraine, to renewed great power competition, to evolving transnational threats. One could easily become discouraged. But there is a reason for hope. I am truly optimistic about America’s ability to lead on the global stage and meet this critical moment in time,” Verma told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing.
Verma told the Senators that he would be steadfast in the management and oversight of taxpayer dollars.
“I will advance a strategic vision that aligns our resources with our national security priorities, and that will be delivered operationally through our workforce, through updated information technology, and modern facilities, as well as through impactful foreign assistance programmes at the Department and USAID,” he said.
Introducing Verma before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing, Senator Ben Cardin said that Verma’s story, and really his family’s story, is worth highlighting.
“Rich’s father, Professor Kamal Verma, who joins us here today, provides us with a classic American immigrant success story. He arrived in the United States in 1963 with USD 14 dollars and a bus ticket. And nothing else. No family. No support system. Yet he went on to become a professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown where he taught for 43 years as a scholar in English and South Asian literature,” Cardin said.
Verma is a veteran of the US Air Force, he worked here in the Senate for many years as Senator Harry Reid’s National Security Advisor, is a former Assistant Secretary of State, a distinguished US Ambassador to India, and now he is the General Counsel of one of America’s most well-known and reputable companies, Mastercard, Cardin said.
“I can’t think of a more qualified nominee to take over the Deputy Secretary position for management and resources,” Senator Cardin said.
Testifying before the committee, Verma said that his parents fought for Indian independence, helped build a post-Colonial India, and bravely set out for the United States 60 years ago, seeking a better life for their children, arriving here with virtually nothing.
“Their story is the story of the American dream – and my appearance before you today is a testament to the profound promise and power of that dream,” he said.
Present during the confirmation hearing, Ronak D. Desai, a leading India practitioner at Paul Hastings LLP, and expert at the Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute at Harvard University said that the hearing demonstrated why he is eminently qualified to serve as Deputy Secretary of State.
“His deep expertise and experience were on sharp display,” he said.
“Verma is one of the country’s most respected and effective public servants, respected profoundly by members of both parties. His hearing underscored why he should be confirmed swiftly and on a bipartisan basis. His years of working across both sides of the aisle is a rare achievement in a polarised Washington, and will render him an even more effective leader and diplomat around the world on behalf of the United States,” Desai said.
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