Tester pushes for vote on Col. Falls nominee
By LYNNETTE HINTZE
The Daily Inter Lake
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., this week urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to schedule a vote on Columbia Falls native Anthony Kurta, President Trump’s nominee to be Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
The Senate Armed Services Committee overwhelmingly approved Kurta last November, but his nomination has yet to come before the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
Kurta, son of the late Dr. John and Virginia Kurta of Columbia Falls, graduated from Columbia Falls High School in 1977. He is a 1981 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., with a master’s degree in national security studies. Kurta also is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College in Montgomery, Alabama, and completed a tour as a national security fellow at Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
He joined the Navy in June 1981 and served 32 years as an active duty naval surface warfare officer before retiring with the rank of rear admiral.
Personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various unit commendations.
Kurta became deputy assistant secretary of defense for military personnel policy in 2014, according to a Department of Defense profile. He served as acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness for most of 2017, through Nov. 30, Kurta’s Wikipedia page indicated.
Tester said in a press release that he met personally with Kurta to review his qualifications “and ask him tough questions.”
The deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness is responsible for force readiness and training, personnel and logistics management, family support programs, collaboration between the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs and resiliency programs such as sexual-assault prevention and response and suicide-prevention efforts.
If confirmed, Kurta will be responsible for making sure America’s troops have the support, equipment, and resources needed to keep the nation safe, Tester said. The position also works closely with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to ensure service members have a smooth transition when they leave the military.
Pointing out it’s been 210 days since Trump nominated Kurta, Tester said Kurta’s nomination “continues to languish at a time when the Office of Personnel and Readiness needs proven and permanent senior leadership to more ably carry out the critical mission for which it has been entrusted.
“I urge the Senate to move forward as expeditiously as possible on the Kurta nomination. It is the least we can do for our men and women in uniform, their families, and our nation’s veterans,” Tester said in his letter to McConnell.
Tester is a ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and joined Defense Secretary James Mattis in calling for McConnell to expedite the vote on the nomination.