Brown Chairs Nomination Hearing for Key Treasury and Mint Nominees

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, delivered the following opening statement at today's nomination hearing for Ms. Ventris C. Gibson, nominee to be Director of the Mint, and Mr. Paul M. Rosen, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security.

Sen. Brown's remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:

The Committee meets today to consider the nominations of:

Ms. Ventris C. Gibson to be Director of the Mint; and

Mr. Paul M. Rosen to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security.

We thank the nominees for appearing, and extend a warm welcome to their families and friends in attendance and watching from home.

To the nominees, thank you for your willingness to serve our country.

Ventris Gibson is the President's nominee to serve as the Director of the Mint. The agency to which Ms. Gibson has been nominated is the world's largest coin manufacturer.

In fiscal year 2021 alone, the Mint shipped 14.7 billion circulating coins. The Mint operates six facilities and employs more than 1,600 people.
It was also the only major world mint to maintain continuous production throughout the pandemic. All of this is a testament to its dedicated workers who design, produce, and protect our national assets.

For more than two centuries, the Mint has played an essential role in providing the American people and businesses with secure, privacy-respecting currency. It's the sole producer of circulating coins.
If confirmed, Ms. Gibson would be the first African American to the lead the Mint. She represents yet another historic nomination by this administration.

Ms. Gibson has devoted more than 40 years to public service, including decades in top leadership positions throughout government. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, she currently serves as the Acting Director of the Mint. Previously, Ms. Gibson served as the Director of Human Resources for the District of Columbia.

Prior to her time with the D.C. government, Ms. Gibson served in high level leadership positions at the Departments of Health and Human Services, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs.

I am glad you can be here with us today, Ms. Gibson. And thank you for your many years of service to our country.

Paul Rosen is the President's nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security. This is an important national security position we created in 2018 through the passage of this Committee's work on the bipartisan Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, or FIRRMA.

If confirmed, Mr. Rosen would lead an office responsible for implementing the Department's responsibilities as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS--an interagency Committee that reviews certain foreign investments in U.S. businesses.

Mr. Rosen previously held several senior leadership roles at the Department of Homeland Security, including serving as Chief of Staff to then-Secretary Jeh Johnson.

Prior to joining DHS, Mr. Rosen served as a federal prosecutor at the Department of Justice, counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Staff Director to the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control.

Mr. Rosen is well respected by the national security community.

On Monday, a bipartisan group of 85 national security and law enforcement professionals -- spanning Republican and Democratic administrations -- sent a letter urging swift consideration and confirmation of Mr. Rosen. They wrote that "Paul is the right person with the right skills to safeguard U.S. national security when it comes to foreign investment in the United States."

The Fraternal Order of Police wrote to Ranking Member Toomey and myself expressing its "strong support" of Mr. Rosen's nomination. I ask that these two letters be entered into the record.

Thank you, Mr. Rosen, for your prior service to our country and your willingness to serve once again.

Thanks again to the nominees for appearing here today. I look forward to your testimony.

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