[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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