[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 29, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5439-S5440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today the Senate will resume consideration 
of the nomination of Jeffrey Sutton to be a circuit judge for the Sixth 
Circuit. Under the previous consent agreement reached, a vote will 
occur on the confirmation of that nomination at 12 noon.
  The Senate will recess for the weekly party lunches from 12:30 until 
2:15 p.m.
  Following the confirmation of Jeffrey Sutton, it is my intention to 
resume consideration of the nomination of Priscilla Owen to be a 
circuit judge for the Fifth Circuit. It will be my hope that we can 
reach a time agreement for the vote on this judicial nomination.
  In addition, there are a number of other legislative items that will 
be scheduled for action during the remainder of this week, including 
the bioshield bill, the digital and wireless technology legislation, 
State Department authorization, and other legislative or executive 
items that can be cleared over the coming days.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, if the distinguished majority leader will 
allow me to direct a couple of questions to him. First, we have asked 
before. Do you think there is any way we can have the vote on the 
Sutton nomination after the caucus? We have a lot of people who want to 
be able to discuss it in our caucus. I don't think it would in any way 
hurt the schedule or hold up getting to the Owen nomination by 20 
minutes or half an hour, but there would be a number of Senators--
especially Senator Harkin--who would deeply appreciate it if we could 
have a vote at 2:15. We would even be willing to shorten our caucus to 
expedite the time on this and vote at 2 rather than 2:15.

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I have been made aware of the request. I 
talked to our caucus and our leadership and really would much prefer to 
go ahead with the vote as scheduled. A number of people made plans to 
come back from out of town specifically for this vote recognizing that 
we had made it clear the vote would be at 12 noon today. Out of 
consistency, when I set a time for a vote, people alter their plans 
very specifically to make sure they are here. Some simply can't be 
back, and I understand that as well. But we will go ahead and have that 
vote at noon today.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we have been advised by the leader's 
competent floor staff that this afternoon, during the debate of 
Priscilla Owen, it will not be necessary for somebody to be here all 
day. I will be happy to be here, as the distinguished leaders know, but 
we would hope there would not be a vote unless the majority leader 
gives us some notice.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, for today, that is absolutely fine. We will 
work in good faith. The objective with all of these nominees is to have 
good discussion as we go forward. We want to make sure that occurs. I 
expect today that we will not have a vote this afternoon, and we will 
notify leadership in advance.
  Mr. REID. One final note: We have worked during the recess. I think 
the

[[Page S5440]]

position of the minority is the same as it was prior to the break. We 
don't think there will be any time that would be agreeable on the Owen 
nomination. That being the case, is it the expectation of the majority 
leader that he would file cloture on the Priscilla Owen nomination 
sometime today or tomorrow?
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, let me get back with the leadership on the 
other side of the aisle. We, of course, would very much like an up-or-
down vote on Priscilla Owen. If not and it is necessary for us to file 
cloture, it will be done either sometime this week or next week. The 
final decision has not been made. We would like to discuss this with 
you, and we will let you know once that decision is made.
  Mr. REID. Finally, Mr. President, we are willing to work with the 
majority on judges. We have a number of circuit judges on which we 
think we can move very quickly. The leadership should know that.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, in response, I recognize that. We are 
making slow but consistent and steady progress. We have the vote today. 
We have made reasonable progress up until today. I think as judges are 
put forward, we will continue to consider them in an orderly way in the 
Senate. That being said, I am very hopeful that we can ultimately have 
an up-or-down vote on Miguel Estrada, someone whom we believe is the 
embodiment of the American dream. We will work in that regard. I hope 
we will be able to have an up-or-down vote on Priscilla Owen as well.

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