[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 136 (Tuesday, September 30, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12146-S12148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NOMINATION OF RONALD A. WHITE, OF OKLAHOMA, TO BE UNITED STATES
DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Smith). Under the previous order, the
clerk will report the next nomination.
[[Page S12147]]
The assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Ronald A.
White, of Oklahoma, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern
District of Oklahoma.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there are now 2
minutes for debate equally divided.
The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I am happy to recommend, along with
Senator Inhofe, the nomination of Ron White to be United States
District Judge for the Eastern District of the State of Oklahoma.
Ron White has been a partner in a prestigious law firm in Tulsa, OK,
for 17 years. He is eminently qualified.
He has considerable experience in major corporate litigation in Tulsa
with sixty percent of his court appearances taking place in Federal
court. He is a man of outstanding individual character, and the
President could not have picked a more qualified person for this job.
A native of Sapulpa, Ron is a 1983 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the
University of Oklahoma. He earned his Juris Doctorate (Cum Laude) from
the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1986, where he was a
member of the Order of the Coif Honor Society.
Ron is also very active in his community as a member of both the
Philbrook Museum of Art Masters Society and the Tulsa Ballet Founders
Society. In addition, he is on the Board of Directors of the Margaret
Hudson Program, an organization that helps pregnant teens and young
mothers finish high school.
Ron has been admitted to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the U.S.
District Court for Northern, Western, and Eastern Districts of
Oklahoma, and the U.S. Court of Appeals. Furthermore, he has been rated
``unanimously qualified'' by the American Bar Association.
Ron is exceptionally qualified to serve as Eastern District Judge for
the State of Oklahoma. The judicial system and our nation as a whole
will benefit from his service. Senator Inhofe and I are pleased to
recommend confirmation of Ronald A. White to the Senate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I don't think there is any doubt but
Ronald White is one of the most qualified nominees that we have been
able to act on and confirm.
In addition to that, he comes from my hometown of Tulsa. I know him
well and I know what he does. This is a generous person. He is famous
for taking indigent cases and not charging fees.
The Margaret Hudson Program is a program to give alternatives to
pregnant teens, and he gives his free legal counsel to that.
He is the type of person certainly deserving from his own personal
lifestyle as well as his professional qualifications.
I heartily endorse him.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to express my unqualified
support for the nomination of Ronald White to the Eastern District of
Oklahoma and to urge my colleagues to confirm this fine nominee.
Mr. White is a distinguished litigator. After graduating from the
University of Oklahoma law school in 1986, Mr. White joined the law
firm of Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson in Tulsa. His
practice has focused on litigation in the areas of tort and insurance
defense, medical malpractice, corporate litigation, ERISA, and
telecommunications. Mr. White is a well respected legal practitioner in
his home State and he will make a fine addition to the Federal bench.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, with our votes on two more judicial
nominees today, the Senate will have confirmed 60 judges in the 15
months that Republicans have controlled the Senate majority. In 17
months, when the Democrats were in the majority, we confirmed 100
judges. So that means between those confirmed under Republican
leadership--60--and the 100 under Democratic leadership, we now have
confirmed 160 in less than 3 years.
Incidentally, it approaches the 4-year total of President Reagan's
first term.
I have expedited confirmation of another Oklahoma nominee, as I
accommodated Senator Nickles with four nominees when I was chairman,
and I am happy to accommodate him now.
I hope the leadership will look to the two much needed nominees for
the Southern District of California. That is the most overworked
district in the entire Nation. For some reason, the leadership has not
brought them up.
I wish they would. They should be considered on an expedited basis.
Last night, the Senate unanimously confirmed Judge Carlos Bea of
California to a lifetime position on the United States Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit. He is the 29th circuit court nominee of
President George W. Bush to be confirmed. With this number of
confirmations, we have reduced the number of vacancies we inherited in
the summer of 2001 in 8 of the 13 circuit courts and the number of
vacancies in the other 5 courts has not increased, despite more than a
dozen additional vacancies that have arisen since then. In contrast,
during the Clinton administration, Republicans allowed the number of
circuit court vacancies to more than double, increasing the number of
vacancies on 9 of the 13 circuit courts.
As I mentioned last night, the Senate has confirmed 12 circuit court
nominees of President Bush in this year alone, which is more circuit
court confirmations than Republicans allowed in 5 of the 6 full years
they controlled the Senate during the Clinton administration. Last
night, the Senate confirmed the 58th judicial nominee of President Bush
this year, which is the same number as Republicans allowed in all of
1995. With the two confirmations we expect this morning, we will have
confirmed more judicial nominees of this President this year than in 5
of the 6 years of Republican control of the Senate.
At the conclusion of the confirmation votes today, a total of 60
judicial nominees of President Bush will be confirmed this year, in
addition to the 100 confirmations during 17 months of the Democratic
majority in the Senate. This number of confirmations, 160, is
significantly higher than Republicans allowed by the third year of
President Clinton's second term, the most recent Presidential term,
when they allowed 135 judicial nominees of that President to be
appointed from 1997 through the end of 1999. That year, because the
Republican chairman insisted that President Clinton nominate Utahan Ted
Stewart to the district court, no nomination hearings were even held
until the summer. In all, during the prior 6 years of Republican
control of the Senate, 248 of President Clinton's district and circuit
court nominees were confirmed but more than 60 were blocked form
getting confirmation votes.
Despite this recent history, Democrats have supported the
confirmation of 160 of President Bush's judicial nominees. As Senator
Frist observed on the floor of the Senate last week when six additional
judicial nominees were confirmed: ``Again, steady progress has been
made with respect to these judicial nominations.'' The number of
confirmations in the two home States of the nominees being voted on
today supports that observation of the majority leader.
We have already confirmed 13 district court judges to the State of
Texas and today we vote on the 14th judge appointed to the Federal
trial courts in Texas, Magistrate Judge Marcia Crone. Despite her 11
years of service in the Southern District of Texas, Magistrate Judge
Crone earned a partial ``Not qualified'' rating from the American Bar
Association, ABA. In all, 23 of President George W. Bush's judicial
nominees have received minority or majority ratings of ``Not
qualified'' from the ABA, which is cause for concern. Sometimes we are
able to deduce the basis of those ratings, but sometimes we cannot. It
is too bad that the ABA will not provide us with the facts and factors
behind such ratings. Without that information and based on the record
we have before us, Magistrate Judge Crone garnered the bipartisan
support of the Judiciary Committee.
Magistrate Judge Crone is nominated to 1 of the 15 new seats
Democrats created to address increased caseloads around the country,
and once she is sworn in there will be no vacancies in the district
courts in Texas, a situation that Republicans would not allow when a
Democrat was in the White House. In fact, had Democrats not created 15
new seats on the Federal courts when we
[[Page S12148]]
were in the majority last year, there would be fewer than 30 vacancies
in the Federal courts today. As it stands, with the confirmations
today, there will be 44 vacancies on the Federal bench, the lowest
level reached for this President and indeed the lowest number of
vacancies since 1990.
Similarly, with the confirmation of Ronald White to the district
court in Oklahoma, Democrats will have supported the confirmation of a
judge to a vacancy that arose last Thursday. Senator Nickles has been
eager to fill this vacancy, which occurred just four business days ago
and we are accommodating him. When I chaired the committee we similarly
worked hard to confirm four judicial nominees to vacancies in Oklahoma.
I must express concern, however, that the Republican leadership has
chosen to move Mr. White's nomination to such a short-lived vacancy
ahead of the nominees to the Southern District of California, seats
that have been greatly needed for years. During the last period of
Republican control of the Senate, they refused to create seats in
California to address the growing crisis to that border court. As a
consequence, this Federal court in San Diego has the highest caseload
per judge in the Nation, by a significant margin; senior judges have
been called into continued service handling a large number of cases;
and one retired judge even passed away in the midst of the stressful
and pressing caseload of that court. Republican neglect was part of
their efforts to deny a Democratic President and any opportunity to
fill those much-needed judgeships. I hope that the Republican
leadership will turn to the southern California nominees it has now
skipped without more delay.
Finally, I note that Mr. White is receiving far more favorable
bipartisan consideration than the last Ronald White to be nominated to
the U.S. District Court. Mr. White of Oklahoma is being confirmed
within 4 months of his nomination, while Missouri Supreme Court Justice
Ronnie White waited 28 months for a confirmation vote. Justice White,
who now serves with distinction as the Chief Justice of the Missouri
Supreme Court, was nominated by President Clinton to the Federal
district court in June of 1997. The White House consulted at length
with the home-state Senators and other officials in Missouri to find a
consensus nominee and chose Justice White who was the first African
American to serve on the highest court in Missouri. Senator Bond
supported Justice White's confirmation and then-Senator Ashcroft
advised that he would not hold his nomination.
However, the Republican chairman did not schedule a hearing for this
district court nominee for almost a year. Then, after Justice White's
nomination was reported favorably by the Judiciary Committee, which
occurred almost a year after his nomination, the Republican leader
refused to schedule a vote on the nomination. Justice White's
nomination languished on the floor from May 1998 until the end of that
year. He was renominated by President Clinton in January 1999, and the
Republican chairman refused to place his name on the calendar for a
vote for 6 months. Once his nomination was reported out favorably a
second time the Republican leader again delayed a vote on his
nomination for about 3 months.
Then, in a surprise move following a Republican caucus meeting in
October 1999, Justice White nomination was defeated with every
Republican voting in lock-step against his confirmation, without
warning and even though some of these Senators had previously voted to
report his nomination favorably to the Senate. Senator Ashcroft
maligned Justice White as ``pro-criminal,'' even though Justice White's
record in criminal and death penalty cases on the Missouri Supreme
Court was better than some of Senator Ashcroft's appointees to that
court when he was governor. When President Bush nominated John Ashcroft
to be Attorney General the outrageousness of the attack on Justice
White was one of the issues we explored. Senator Specter apologized to
Justice White for the way he was treated by the Senate.
Of course, more than 60 of President Clinton's other judicial
nominees were never allowed a confirmation vote of any kind. Those 63
other nominations were scuttled by Republicans in the dark of night,
through secret or anonymous objections. This was their preferred modus
operandi. Republicans perfected the art of delay by defeat for
President Clinton's circuit and district court nominees, blocked 63
while confirming 248 in the 6\1/2\ years of Senate control.
I think if is time that fair-minded Republicans acknowledge those
Clinton nominees who were blocked from getting votes, nominations that
constituted 20 percent of all judicial nominees in those 6 years. That
record stands in stark contrast to ours, with 160 of President Bush's
judicial nominees confirmed in less than 3 years, with only three
blocked so far. The Senate's record on President Bush's judicial
nominations is now 160 to 3. The Republican record on President
Clinton's judicial nominees is 248 to 63. The facts demonstrate how
effectively Republicans prevented confirmation votes on judicial
nominees, behind closed doors and in secret. Democrats have voted and
continue to vote on President Bush's judicial nominees in the light of
day, with full discussion of the serious concerns that surround the
extreme nominees of this President.
With a Republican making nominations, the Senate votes today to
confirm Mr. White of Oklahoma to a seat that has been vacant for less
than a week. With the delay and attack on President Clinton's nominee
Justice White, Republicans were content to allow the Missouri District
Court to remain vacant for 5\1/2\ years, like many other judicial
vacancies that arose when a Democrat was in the White House and
Republicans last controlled the confirmation process.
I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination
of Ronald A. White, of Oklahoma, to be United States District Judge for
the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Tennessee (Mr.
Alexander) and the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Domenici) are
necessarily absent.
Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr.
Edwards), the Senator from Florida (Mr. Graham), the Senator from
Vermont (Mr. Jeffords), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), and
the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) are necessarily absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``yea.''
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 93, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 370 Ex.]
YEAS--93
Akaka
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Breaux
Brownback
Bunning
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Cantwell
Carper
Chafee
Chambliss
Clinton
Cochran
Coleman
Collins
Conrad
Cornyn
Corzine
Craig
Crapo
Daschle
Dayton
DeWine
Dodd
Dole
Dorgan
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Feinstein
Fitzgerald
Frist
Graham (SC)
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hollings
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Johnson
Kennedy
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Miller
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Roberts
Rockefeller
Santorum
Sarbanes
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Sununu
Talent
Thomas
Voinovich
Warner
Wyden
NOT VOTING--7
Alexander
Domenici
Edwards
Graham (FL)
Jeffords
Kerry
Lieberman
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the President will
be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
____________________