[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 3 (Friday, January 25, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S115-S117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE SESSION
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NOMINATIONS OF MARCIA S. KRIEGER, OF COLORADO, TO BE UNITED STATES
DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO AND JAMES C. MAHAN, OF
NEVADA, TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEVADA
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, upon the
disposition of the Smith amendment No. 2705, the Senate will now go
into executive session and proceed with the consideration of Executive
Calendar Nos. 644 and 645.
The nominations will be stated.
The assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Marcia S.
Krieger, of Colorado, to be United States District Judge for the
District of Colorado, and James C. Mahan, of Nevada, to be United
States District Judge for the District of Nevada.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, there will now
be 10 minutes for debate to be equally divided between the chairman and
ranking members of the Judiciary Committee, and 10 minutes for debate
under the control of the Senator from Iowa, Mr. Harkin.
The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be
recognized after these two votes for such time as I may need to speak
about the nominations. I know a number of Senators have schedules they
want to keep.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, reserving the right to object--I will not
object--I would like to be given time immediately following the
distinguished Senator from Vermont.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Iowa is recognized.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I say to my colleagues here in the Chamber
today that I announced last year before we adjourned for the holiday
recess that because of the failure of the Senate to provide for cloture
on the farm bill so that we could have a reasonable amount of time for
debate and come to closure on it, the Senator from Iowa, this Senator,
was not going to agree to any unanimous consent on any judges or
anything else that came before the Senate until we completed the farm
bill.
I was approached the other day and was asked if we would let a couple
of these judges go. It was my intention at that time to say no. I am
not interested in anything passing here until we got a farm bill
finished and sent to conference. But it has come to my attention that
there seems to be some movement towards reaching some agreement to have
either a defined list of amendments and/or a time limit so that we
could bring this farm bill to some closure.
So in the spirit of trying to work on a bipartisan basis and trying
to reach some agreement, I withdrew my objection so we could go ahead
and permit these two judges to go through. I asked for this 10 minutes
of time only to hope that in the ensuing few days--I know that next
week we are not going to be here much more than 1 day, and I think we
are out Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for the party conferences. That
means we will have a short day Monday, a day Tuesday, and that is it.
Then we are in the week after that. I am hopeful that sometime before
we adjourn next week for our party conferences the leadership on the
Republican side and on the Democratic side can reach an agreement on a
defined list of amendments on the farm bill and/or some time limit so
we can reach closure on it. Hopefully we will do that the week after
next.
This is becoming even more important because the Department of
Agriculture just came out last week with their economic forecast for
agriculture this year. I will read from the AP report on their
forecast.
With crop prices mired near record lows, the government says farm
income will drop nearly 20 percent this year unless Congress enacts a
new farm program quickly, or approve more emergency payments.
There you have it.
There are three things we can do: Sit back, do nothing, and let farm
income drop 20 percent, we can come up with more emergency payments, or
we can enact a new farm bill, go to conference with the House, and have
a more reasonable approach.
I hope we can do the latter; that is, pass the farm bill, go to
conference, come back, and let the House and the Senate work its will.
We have had a lengthy debate on the farm bill already. We have been
here 12 days; 1 more day on the farm bill means we will have broken all
records for length of time for the farm bill to be considered in this
Chamber. Just 1 more day and we will have that. It looks as if we are
going to break the record.
We had three substitutes for this farm bill. It was well debated. We
had the Lugar substitute, we had the Roberts-Cochran substitute, and we
had the Hutchison substitute, which is basically the House bill. None
of them got over 40 votes. One got 30, one got 38, one got 40. So it
looks as if the bipartisan bill that we came out of committee with is
the bill that has the most votes.
I know there are things in the bill not everyone likes. There are
some things in the bill I personally as chairman of the committee do
not like. But
[[Page S116]]
I recognize there are other reasons for things and for different parts
of the country. There is agriculture all over America. Maybe what is
good in one place is not good in other places. That is why there are
varying interests. I believe the bill we have on the floor does a good
job of balancing those interests.
We have a good bipartisan bill. That doesn't mean we can't have more
amendments considered. Of course we can. There are payment limitation
amendments. There are other amendments that will come up. That is just
fine. I have never taken the position we should not have amendments.
Let us have a reasonable time limit, get the amendments up, have a
reasonable debate, and then move on.
Again, I hope my friends on the other side of the aisle will permit
us to move ahead week after next on this farm bill, either with a
defined list of amendments or at least a time agreement or vote cloture
on the bill so we can move ahead on it expeditiously.
Again, I do not intend to hold up these judges in the spirit of
comity and working together. But I say to my friends on the other side
of the aisle, if we cannot get some reasonable agreement to have this
bill up and passed the week after next, then this Senator from Iowa
will again say nothing else is going to pass here until we get that
farm bill passed.
So I have removed my objection to these judges because of what I have
heard. And I have talked with some people and have heard that there may
be some movement to get this farm bill debated and passed. If that is
the case, that is fine. I hope we can do that. But we cannot afford to
tarry any longer. We have to get this bill passed, get to conference
with the House, and, hopefully, get it to the President.
We have farmers getting ready to go into the fields in the South
already. I think the wheat harvest in Texas is probably going to start
next month. We have farmers up in the northern parts of the country--
where I am from--who do not know whether they can go out and buy a new
combine or a new tractor or something similar because they do not know
what they are going to get this year. The bankers are uncertain.
The President was just out at John Deere a couple weeks ago. I was
with him at a John Deere plant in Illinois. The CEO of John Deere said
that we have to get a farm bill passed because no one is buying the
implements because they do not know what the bill is going to be. There
is that uncertainty out there.
So I know we are talking about a stimulus package, my friends, but
stimulus in rural America is the farm bill. If we get that farm bill
passed, it will stimulate economic activity in rural America. It will
let bankers know how much they can lend. Farmers would then be able to
say: OK, now I can buy that tractor or that combine or that new piece
of equipment. But until we do that, all that uncertainty and that cloud
is hanging over them.
So, again, I took this time only to say that I will not object to
these judges in that spirit of comity, but I hope by next Wednesday we
will have an agreement worked out so when we come back the week after
next, after the party conferences and the party issues conferences, we
can bring up the farm bill, have a reasonable time for debate, and then
have final passage on the bill.
With that, Mr. President, I yield back the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. All time has expired.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, is there any time to respond to the
statement made by the Senator from Iowa?
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the unanimous consent order, there
is none.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be
recognized for 5 minutes. And I daresay I would not use that much time.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. How much time?
Mr. BURNS. Five minutes.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I say to my
friend from Montana, the chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary
Committee agreed to speak after the votes. We have people here who have
schedules to meet. If my friend really wants to speak now, I will not
object.
Mr. BURNS. No.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I would ask unanimous consent the Senator
from Montana be allowed to speak after the chairman and ranking member
are allowed to speak.
Mr. BURNS. I will agree to that. I thank my friend.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Montana withdraws his
request?
Mr. BURNS. That is correct.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is, Will the Senate advise
and consent to the nomination of Marcia S. Krieger, of Colorado, to be
United States District Judge for the District of Colorado? The yeas and
nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka), the
Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr.
Dodd), the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Dorgan), the Senator from
Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy), the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Miller), and
the Senator from Florida (Mr. Nelson) are necessarily absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from
North Dakota (Mr. Dorgan) would vote ``aye.''
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr.
Domenici), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe), the Senator from
Arizona (Mr. Kyl), the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Murkowski), the Senator
from Kansas (Mr. Roberts), the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions), the
Senator from Alabama (Mr. Shelby), the Senator from Ohio (Mr.
Voinovich), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), and the Senator from
Tennessee (Mr. Thompson) are necessarily absent.
I further announce that if present and voting the Senator from
Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kyl) would each
vote ``aye.''
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the
Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 83, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 4 Ex.]
YEAS--83
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Cantwell
Carnahan
Carper
Chafee
Cleland
Clinton
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Corzine
Craig
Crapo
Daschle
Dayton
DeWine
Durbin
Edwards
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Feinstein
Fitzgerald
Frist
Graham
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Helms
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McConnell
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Santorum
Sarbanes
Schumer
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Thomas
Thurmond
Torricelli
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
NOT VOTING--17
Akaka
Boxer
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Inhofe
Kennedy
Kyl
McCain
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (FL)
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Thompson
Voinovich
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is, Will the Senate advise
and consent to the nomination of James C. Mahan, of Nevada, to be
United States District Judge for the District of Nevada?
The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this be a 10-
minute vote.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Will the Senator repeat his request?
Mr. LEAHY. I ask unanimous consent this be a 10-minute rollcall vote.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
Hearing no objection, this will be a 10-minute rollcall vote. The
yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka), the
Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer), the Senator from Missouri (Mrs.
Carnahan), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Dodd), the Senator from
North Dakota (Mr. Dorgan), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr.
Kennedy), the Senator from Georgia (Mr.
[[Page S117]]
Miller), and the Senator from Florida (Mr. Nelson) are necessarily
absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from
North Dakota (Mr. Dorgan) would vote ``aye.''
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr.
Domenici), the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe), the Senator from
Arizona (Mr. Kyl), the Senator from Alaska (Mr. Murkowski), the Senator
from Kansas (Mr. Roberts), the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions), the
Senator from Alabama (Mr. Shelby), the Senator from Ohio (Mr.
Voinovich), the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson), the Senator
from Arizona (Mr. McCain), and the Senator from Tennessee (Mr.
Thompson) are necessarily absent.
I further announce that if present and voting the Senator from
Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe) and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kyl) would each
vote ``aye.''
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the
Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 81, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 5 Ex]
YEAS--81
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Cantwell
Carper
Chafee
Cleland
Clinton
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Corzine
Craig
Crapo
Daschle
Dayton
DeWine
Durbin
Edwards
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Feinstein
Fitzgerald
Frist
Graham
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Helms
Hollings
Hutchison
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kerry
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McConnell
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Santorum
Sarbanes
Schumer
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Thomas
Thurmond
Torricelli
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
NOT VOTING--19
Akaka
Boxer
Carnahan
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Hutchinson
Inhofe
Kennedy
Kyl
McCain
Miller
Murkowski
Nelson (FL)
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Thompson
Voinovich
The nomination was confirmed.
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