[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 152 (Monday, October 27, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13251-S13253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NOMINATION OF DALE S. FISCHER TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR 
                   THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the pending judicial 
nomination.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Dale S. Fischer, of 
California, to be United States District Judge for the Central District 
of California.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of the 
nomination of Dale Susan Fischer for the U.S. District Court for the 
Central District of California.
  Judge Fischer is a Harvard Law graduate. She was a practicing 
attorney for 17 years before her appointment to the Municipal Court of 
California, Los Angeles Judicial District, in 1997. Three years later, 
she became a judge of the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles 
County, where she currently sits.
  Judge Fischer has more than 20 years of legal experience. She will be 
a fine addition to the Federal bench.
  We are proud to support her nomination. I recommend that my 
colleagues vote in her favor.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, with the judicial confirmation today, in 
less than 3 years' time, President George W. Bush has exceeded the 
number of judicial nominees confirmed for President Reagan in all 4 
years of his first term in office. Senate Democrats have cooperated so 
that this President has now exceeded that record. Republicans 
acknowledge to be the ``all-time champ'' at appointing Federal judges. 
Since July 2001, despite the fact that the Senate majority has shifted 
twice, a total of 167 judicial nominations have been confirmed, 
including 29 circuit court appointments. One hundred judges were 
confirmed in the 17 months of the Democratic Senate majority and now 67 
have been confirmed during the comparative time of the Republican 
majority.
  One would think that the White House and the Republicans in the 
Senate would be heralding this landmark. One would think they would be 
congratulating themselves for putting more lifetime appointed judges on 
the Federal bench than President Reagan did in his entire first term 
and doing it in three-quarters of the time. But Republicans have a 
different partisan

[[Page S13252]]

message and this truth is not consistent with their efforts to mislead 
the American people into thinking that Democrats have obstructed 
judicial nominations.
  Not only has President Bush been accorded more confirmations than 
President Reagan achieved during his entire first term, but he has also 
achieved more confirmations this year than in any of the 6 years that 
Republicans controlled the Senate when President Clinton was in office. 
Not once was President Clinton allowed 67 confirmations in a year when 
Republicans controlled the pace of confirmations. Despite the high 
numbers of vacancies and availability of highly qualified nominees, 
Republicans never cooperated with President Clinton to the extent 
Senate Democrats have. President Bush has appointed more lifetime 
circuit and district court judges in 10 months this year than President 
Clinton was allowed in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, or 2000.
  Last year, the Democratic majority in the Senate proceeded to confirm 
72 of President Bush's judicial nominees and was savagely attacked 
nonetheless. Likewise, in 1992, the last previous full year in which a 
Democratic Senate majority considered the nominees of a Republican 
President, 66 circuit and district court judges were confirmed. 
Historically, in the last year of an administration, consideration of 
nominations slows, the ``Thurmond rule'' is invoked and vacancies are 
left to the winner of the Presidential election. In 1992, Democrats 
proceeded to confirm 66 of President Bush's judicial nominees even 
though it was a Presidential election year. By contrast, in 1996, when 
Republicans controlled the pace for consideration of President 
Clinton's judicial nominees, only 17 judges were confirmed and not a 
single one of them was to a circuit court.
  In fact, President Bush has now already appointed more judges in his 
third year in office than in the third year of the last five 
Presidential terms, including the most recent term when Republicans 
controlled the Senate and President Clinton was leading the country to 
historic economic achievements. That year, in 1999, Republicans allowed 
only 34 judicial nominees of President Clinton to be confirmed all 
year, including only 7 circuit court nominees. Those are close to the 
average totals for the 6 years 1995-2000 when a Republican Senate 
majority was determining how quickly to consider the judicial nominees 
of a Democratic President. By contrast, with today's confirmation, the 
Senate this year will have confirmed 67 judicial nominees, including 12 
circuit court nominees, almost double the totals for 1999.
  These facts stand in stark contrast to the false partisan rhetoric 
that demonize the Senate for having blocked all of this President's 
judicial nominations. The reality is that the Senate is proceeding at a 
record pace and achieving record numbers. We have worked hard to 
balance the need to fill judicial vacancies with the imperative that 
Federal judges need to be fair. In so doing, we have reduced the number 
of judicial vacancies to 41. More than 95 percent of the Federal 
judgeships are filled. After inheriting 110 vacancies when the Senate 
Judiciary Committee reorganized under Democratic control in 2001, I 
helped move through and confirm 100 of the President's judicial 
nominees in just 17 months. With the additional 67 confirmations this 
year, we have reached the lowest number of vacancies in 13 years. There 
are more Federal judges on the bench today than at any time in American 
history.
  The nominee we vote on today is particularly suited to being the 
167th judicial nominee confirmed, for Judge Dale Fischer was nominated 
after recommendation from a bipartisan selection commission in 
California. When we can work together on consensus nominations, they 
move quickly and successfully to confirmation. The nominee has the 
support of both home-State Senators, both Democrats, and has earned the 
unanimous support of all 19 Senators who are members of the Judiciary 
Committee, both Republicans and Democrats. She has significant judicial 
experience and received the highest peer review rating available. I am 
happy to support this nomination and congratulate the nominee and her 
family on her confirmation. I also comment Senator Feinstein and 
Senator Boxer on maintaining a bipartisan selection process.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am pleased to offer my support for the 
nominee for the Central District Court of California--Judge Dale Susan 
Fischer. Judge Fischer is well regarded by those who know her work.
  I want to emphasize the excellent process that we have in place to 
select District Court nominees in California.
  In a truly bipartisan fashion, the White House Counsel, Senator 
Feinstein, and I worked together to create four judicial advisory 
committees for the State of California, one in each Federal judicial 
district in the State.
  Each committee has a membership of six individuals--three appointed 
by the White House and three appointed jointly by Senator Feinstein and 
me. Each member's vote counts equally, and a majority is necessary for 
recommendation of a candidate.
  This nominee was reviewed by the Central District Committee and 
strongly recommended for this position. I continue to support this 
bipartisan selection process and the high quality nominees it has 
produced.
  Judge Fischer has an impressive background and has served the people 
of California with distinction for several years. She is a graduate of 
Harvard Law School and the University of South Florida. She had 
extensive civil experience as a private attorney before she was 
appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1997. She currently 
sits on the Los Angeles Superior Court where she is well regarded for 
her knowledge of bail issues. She also serves as Chair of the Los 
Angeles Superior Court's Temporary Judge Committee, training and 
monitoring approximately 1000 temporary judges in Los Angeles County.
  The Central District will benefit greatly from the exemplary service 
of Judge Fischer, and I fully support confirmation of this nominee.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the 
nomination.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is, Shall the Senate advise and consent to the 
nomination of Dale S. Fischer, of California, to be United States 
District Judge for the Central District of California?
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Allen), 
the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Bunning), the Senator from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Santorum), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Specter), and the 
Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Thomas) are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that if present and voting the Senator from 
Kentucky (Mr. Bunning) would vote ``yea.''
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), the 
Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Corzine), the Senator from North Carolina 
(Mr. Edwards), the Senator from Hawaii (Mr.  Inouye), the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr.  Kerry), the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr.  Kohl), the 
Senator from New Jersey (Mr.  Lautenberg), the Senator from Connecticut 
(Mr.  Lieberman), and the Senator from Maryland (Ms.  Mikulski), are 
necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. 
Lautenberg) would each vote ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Chambliss). Are there any other Senators 
in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 86, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 411 Ex.]

                                YEAS--86

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (FL)
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Miller

[[Page S13253]]


     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--14

     Allen
     Biden
     Bunning
     Corzine
     Edwards
     Inouye
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Lautenberg
     Lieberman
     Mikulski
     Santorum
     Specter
     Thomas
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the President will 
be notified of the Senate's action.

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