[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12677-S12678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
Mr. LOTT. I ask unanimous consent the Senate go into executive
session and immediately proceed en bloc to the following nominations on
the Executive Calendar: No. 327, No. 350, No. 386 and No. 465. I
further ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed en bloc to the
consideration of two nominations reported by the Armed Services
Committee today.
I ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed en bloc,
the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and any statements
appear in the Record, the President be immediately notified of the
Senate's action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The nominations considered and confirmed en bloc are as follows:
department of justice
Raymond C. Fisher, of California, to be Associate Attorney
General.
executive office of the president
Rita D. Hayes, of South Carolina, to be Deputy United
States Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador.
department of housing and urban development
Gail W. Laster, of New York, to be General Counsel of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
the judiciary
Lynn S. Adelman, of Wisconsin, to be United States District
Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
[[Page S12678]]
department of defense
William J. Lynn, III, of the District of Columbia, to be
Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller).
navy
The following named officer for appointment in the United
States Navy to the grade indicated under title 10, U.S.C.,
section 624:
To be rear admiral (lower half)
Capt. Henry G. Ulrich, III
statement on the nomination of lynn adelman to u.s. district court
Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, let me take this opportunity to tell you why
Lynn Adelman, the President's nominee for the U.S. District Court for
the Eastern District of Wisconsin, is such a fine choice to fill the
vacancy created when Judge Curran took senior status.
First, Lynn Adelman has a record of unquestioned skill and unequaled
experience in his 30 years of practice. His dedication, hard work and
intelligence has been displayed in both civil and criminal cases,
before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and before the Supreme Court of the
United States.
Second, Lynn Adelman has spent a life devoted to public service. He
has dedicated a great deal of his professional time to disadvantaged
clients. And, rather than pursue his private practice full-time, he has
simultaneously served in public office. As a State senator for 20
years, much of the time serving as chairman of the Judiciary Committee,
he has championed the causes of families, crime victims and government
accountability.
Based on this outstanding record, Lynn Adelman received high marks
from the nonpartisan commission that Senator Feingold and I established
with the State Bar. And his nomination has bipartisan support,
including the endorsement of Wisconsin's Republican Governor, Tommy
Thompson. Although they have not always seen eye to eye, Governor
Thompson wrote that Lynn is ``thoughtful, fair and open-minded'' as
well as someone who ``is sensitive to and has respect for the principle
of the separation of powers.''
Finally, let me conclude on a personal note. My family has known the
Adelman family for over 30 years, and I have known Lynn personally for
more than 20. I know that he has the compassion, integrity and skill
that will make him a valuable addition to the bench.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am pleased that the U.S. Senate took
action today to confirm Lynn Adelman to the Federal District Court.
Lynn's entire career, both in the State legislature and his private
legal practice, has been marked by his dedication to serving the people
of our State and makes him particularly well suited for a position on
the federal bench. I have no doubt that he will continue his career of
public service in this new capacity and will be an excellent jurist for
the people of Wisconsin.
President Clinton choose Lynn Adelman's name from the three forwarded
to him by the nominations committee that Senator Kohl and I established
to review potential nominees for Wisconsin's federal bench. I am
pleased that the full Senate, having had an opportunity to review Lynn
Adelman's record and to hear from him directly when he testified before
the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, has reached the same conclusion
that Senator Kohl, President Clinton, Governor Thompson, people all
across Wisconsin and I have reached. That being that Lynn Adelman will
be an exemplary federal judge.
Lynn Adelman was born in Milwaukee and is a graduate of Princeton
University and Columbia Law School. He graduated cum laude from both of
these excellent institutions. After a brief period working in New York,
Lynn returned his native Wisconsin and began what to this day has been
a career of dedicated public service to the people of our State. Lynn
worked in private practice in Wisconsin beginning in 1972 and continues
to do so today.
In 1977, Lynn was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate for the 28th
District. In the twenty years that he has represented the 28th
District, he has been a leading voice in the Wisconsin Legislature. I
had the distinct honor of serving with Lynn for ten years while I was a
Wisconsin State Senator and worked with him on the Judiciary Committee,
which he has chaired on two occasions.
Lynn Adelman's legislative record and commitment to the people of his
district and the State of Wisconsin has earned him bi-partisan praise.
In fact, Republican Governor Tommy Thompson, writing in support of this
nominee, characterized Lynn Adelman as ``. . .thoughtful, fair and
open-minded. . .'' The Governor has also noted how he and Lynn have
worked hand in hand to ensure the passage of important legislation
ranging from anti-crime and anti-drug legislation to welfare reform.
This bi-partisan praise is a significant statement about the character
and ability of Lynn Adelman.
At the same time he has served in the Wisconsin Legislature, Lynn
Adelman has continued his practice as a successfully attorney. He has
appeared in both criminal and civil cases, before both State and
Federal courts. Lynn's considerable legal skills also resulted in him
arguing before the United States Supreme Court in 1993.
There can be little doubt that Lynn Adelman's career makes him well
suited to serve on the federal judiciary. His knowledge of the law is
undeniable. He has a unique perspective on our legal system, born of
his service in the legislature and as a practicing attorney, He
understands the fundamental principle of separation of powers and has
the temperament necessary to treat everyone who comes before him with
the respect and dignity they deserve. In short, he has all the tools
necessary to serve the people of Wisconsin with distinction. I am
pleased the Senate has chosen to confirm him today.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I note--while I don't have the exact numbers
here before me, I will insert in the Record later the numbers that are
involved--during the first session of the 105th Congress we have now
confirmed over 3,500 civilian nominations, both judicial and other
executive branch nominations. That does not include military
nominations. The total number, I think, comes to over 20,000
nominations that we have confirmed during the first year of the 105th
session of Congress.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, if I could just comment on that, as well.
I want to thank the majority leader for his virtually tireless
effort, over the last couple of days in particular, to clear the
Executive Calendar. We had at one point well over 100 nominations
pending on the calendar and we have it down now to just a handful. That
would not have happened without his effort. None of these are easy.
Some are easier than others. I wish we could have done them all. In
some cases it is a responsibility of those on this side for not having
been able to address some of these nominations.
I appreciate very much the effort made by the majority leader in the
last couple of days to successfully complete the work of Executive
Calendar. I think, by and large because of his efforts, we have done
so.
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