[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 83 (Wednesday, June 16, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6860-S6861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NOMINATION OF LAWRENCE F. STENGEL TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 
                FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the clerk will 
report the next nomination.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Lawrence F. Stengel, of 
Pennsylvania, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be a period of 2 minutes of 
debate, equally divided.
  The Senator from Pennsylvania is recognized.
  Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, I have sought recognition to speak in 
support of the nomination of Lawrence F. Stengel for the U.S. District 
Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
  Lawrence Stengel, who is currently a State common pleas judge in 
Lancaster County, PA, comes to this nomination with an outstanding 
background. He has a bachelor's degree from St. Joseph College in 1974 
and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1980. He has an 
outstanding record in the practice of law, having maintained a practice 
as a sole practitioner for some 5 years, which is something in this day 
and age.
  For the past 14 years, he has been a State court judge and has 
established an enviable reputation in Lancaster County. In addition to 
his judicial duties, he serves as an adjunct professor at Franklin and 
Marshall, and also as an adjunct professor at Millersville University, 
demonstrating his versatility and capability.
  I have every reason to expect a strong vote.
  I yield back the remainder of my time.
  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I rise today to voice my strong support 
for the nomination of Judge Lawrence F. Stengel for the United States 
District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Judge Stengel 
has an impeccable record as both a jurist and practitioner, and this 
body would be wise to confirm him to the Federal bench.
  Judge Stengel comes to the floor with not only my strong support, but 
also the unanimous support of my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee. 
Before consideration in the committee, Judge Stengel received a ``well 
qualified'' rating from the ABA--the oft quoted ``gold standard'' for 
judicial nominees. An alumnus of my alma mater, University of 
Pittsburgh Law School, Judge Stengel has served with distinction for 
nearly fourteen years as a Court of Common Pleas Judge in Lancaster, 
PA. His service on the Court was preceded by 10 years of legal 
practice, where he focused primarily on civil litigation matters.
  Judge Stengel exemplifies excellence in judicial decision making, yet 
his commitment to enhancing the legal profession does not merely begin 
and end at the courthouse door. He has had an incredibly positive 
impact on the legal community outside of the courtroom as well. As 
president of the Lancaster Bar Association, Judge Stengel formed a 
diversity task force to investigate ways to increase the number of 
minority attorneys practicing in Lancaster County. Additionally, Judge 
Stengel appointed a committee for the creation of the Lancaster Bar 
Association Foundation--a foundation whose

[[Page S6861]]

primary purpose is to raise funds for enhancing the delivery of 
services to underprivileged clients.
  I applaud the President for nominating Judge Stengel and am confident 
he has the requisite judicial temperament, integrity, compassion, and 
legal expertise to serve with distinction on the Federal bench. I urge 
my colleagues to support his nomination.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont is recognized.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, today, I vote to support Lawrence Stengel 
to be a United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of 
Pennsylvania. Judge Stengel has served for more than 13 years as a 
Judge on the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas, where he has 
presided over hundreds of civil and criminal cases. In light of his 
significant judicial experience, it is not surprising that a 
substantial majority of the American Bar Association found him ``Well-
Qualified'' for a lifetime position on the Federal court.
  A look at the Federal judiciary in Pennsylvania demonstrates yet 
again that President Bush's nominees have been treated far better than 
President Clinton's and shows dramatically how Democrats have worked in 
a bipartisan way to fill vacancies, despite the fact that Republicans 
blocked more than 60 of President Clinton's judicial nominees. With 
today's confirmation, 18 of President Bush's nominees to the Federal 
courts in Pennsylvania will have been confirmed, more than for any 
other State.
  With this confirmation, President Bush's nominees will make up 18 of 
the 43 active Federal circuit and district court judges for 
Pennsylvania--that is more than 40 percent of the Pennsylvania Federal 
bench. On the Pennsylvania district courts alone, President Bush's 
influence is even stronger, as his nominees will hold 15 of the 34 
active seats--or more than 44 percent of the current active seats. With 
the additional Pennsylvania district court nominees pending on the 
floor and likely to be confirmed soon, nearly half of the district 
court seats in Pennsylvania will be held by President Bush's 
appointees. Republican appointees will outnumber Democratic appointees 
by nearly two to one.
  This is in sharp contrast to the way vacancies in Pennsylvania were 
left unfilled during Republican control of the Senate when President 
Clinton was in the White House. Although Republicans now decry 
Democratic filibusters of a mere handful of the most extreme nominees, 
Republicans denied votes to 10 judicial nominees, 9 district and 1 
circuit court nominees of President Clinton in Pennsylvania alone. 
Despite the efforts and diligence of the senior Senator from 
Pennsylvania, Senator Specter, to secure the confirmation of all of the 
judicial nominees from every part of his home State, there were 10 
nominees by President Clinton to Pennsylvania vacancies who never got a 
vote. Despite how well-qualified these nominees were, many of their 
nominations sat pending before the Senate for more than a year without 
being considered. Such obstruction provided President Bush with a 
significant opportunity to reshape the Federal bench and the law.
  News articles in Pennsylvania have highlighted the way that President 
Bush has been able to reshape the Federal bench in Pennsylvania. For 
example, The Philadelphia Inquirer noted that the significant number of 
vacancies on the Pennsylvania courts ``present Republicans with an 
opportunity to shape the judicial makeup of the court for years to 
come.'' Despite this, I do hope Judge Stengel will be fair to all who 
come before him.
  Madam President, I yield back my time and ask for the yeas and nays.
  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 Lawrence F. Stengel, of Pennsylvania, to be United States 
District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Lugar) 
is necessarily absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. 
Edwards) and the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) are necessarily 
absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Alexander). Are there any other Senators 
in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 122 Ex.]

                                YEAS--97

     Akaka
     Alexander
     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
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (FL)
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     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--3

     Edwards
     Kerry
     Lugar
  The nomination was confirmed.

                          ____________________