[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 27 (Monday, March 6, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1776-S1778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the hour of 5 p.m. 
having arrived, the Senate will proceed to executive session for 
consideration en bloc of Executive Calendar Nos. 517, 518, and 519, 
which the clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read the nominations of Timothy C. Batten, Sr., of 
Georgia, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District 
of Georgia; Thomas E. Johnston, of West Virginia, to be United States 
District Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia; and Aida M. 
Delgado-Colon, of Puerto Rico, to be United States District Judge for 
the District of Puerto Rico.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I rise in support of the nomination of 
Timothy C. Batten, the President's nominee to be U.S. district court 
judge for the Northern District of Georgia. The Committee on the 
Judiciary wisely recommended that we consent to his nomination, and I 
join the committee in urging a favorable vote by all of my colleagues 
in this body.
  Mr. Batten was nominated by President Bush on September 29, 2005, 
after Senator Isakson and I conveyed Mr. Batten's name for appropriate 
consideration. Mr. Batten is a native of Georgia and a resident of 
Atlanta. He graduated with honors from the Georgia Institute of 
Technology and cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law. 
Since his graduation from law school, he has been with the Atlanta law 
firm of Schreeder, Wheeler & Flint. He specializes in commercial 
litigation representing both plaintiffs and defendants and has 
substantial trial experience.
  Mr. Batten has distinguished himself among Atlanta lawyers and is 
held in high regard by judges before whom he has appeared, as well his 
colleagues at the bar, including opposing counsel.
  Tim Batten is a devoted husband and father and brings to the Federal 
bench not only a wealth of legal experience but a dedication and 
commitment to the rule of law which is an essential qualification for 
any person who would serve in the Federal judiciary.
  I know Tim personally. I am as excited as I can be about Tim being 
nominated by the President, and I look forward to his confirmation. I 
urge my colleagues to support his nomination. I look forward to his 
service on the Federal bench in the Northern District of Georgia.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I rise in favor of the confirmation of 
the nomination of Mr. Timothy Batten, the U.S. district court for the 
Northern District of Georgia.
  In doing so, I give sincere thanks to our selection committee and 
review committee in Georgia which interviewed all the potential 
candidates for this judgeship. My three appointees: Jimmy Franklin, Dr. 
Ron Carlson, and Mr. Ingram, have done a wonderful job in donating 
countless thousands of hours to see to it that the very best nominees 
were sent forward to the White House. I extend my thanks to them.
  I extend my thanks to all those who submitted their names, and, in 
particular, Mr. Tim Batten, who has been selected by the President of 
the United States for this judgeship.
  Over the last few years in terms of the judiciary confirmation 
process, offering oneself for a Federal judgeship in this country is 
not a walk in the park.

[[Page S1777]]

  It is not a picnic. We are very fortunate in this country to have men 
and women of the caliber and the standing of Tim Batten who are willing 
to make the sacrifices for public service and offer themselves to serve 
this country.
  Tim and his beautiful wife Elizabeth and their six children are truly 
an American success story. With his confirmation and the vote by this 
Senate tonight, we will be adding to the U.S. district court a 
competent, dedicated individual, dedicated to the rule of law, the 
principles of this country, and the Constitution of the United States 
of America.
  As the junior Senator from the State of Georgia, I am happy and 
honored to commend to the entire Senate Mr. Timothy Batten as the next 
district judge in Georgia.
  Mr. Batten was born in Atlanta, GA, received his undergraduate degree 
at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1981, and his juris doctorate 
degree at the University of Georgia in 1984. He has practiced law in 
Georgia his entire professional career at the firm of Schreeder, 
Wheeler & Flint, and he and his wife Elizabeth have six children.
  I know Mr. Batten is very well qualified and keenly aware of the 
responsibilities he is about to undertake. I know that as the Members 
of this Chamber have considered his nomination they have learned that 
that he will be a jurist who understands the value and the strength and 
the power of the Constitution of the United States of America, and a 
jurist who will rule based on the law, not legislate based on the 
position. Mr. Batten has exceptional qualifications, and I have every 
confidence that Mr. Batten is equal to the position he has been 
nominated for.
  I ask unanimous consent that personal information on Mr. Batten be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                         Timothy C. Batten, Sr.

       Birth: May 23, 1960, Atlanta, Georgia.
       Legal Residence: Georgia.
       Marital Status: Married, Elizabeth Parkman Batten, six 
     children.
       Education: 1977-1981, Georgia Institute of Technology, B.S. 
     degree; 1981-1984, University of Georgia, J.D. degree.
       Bar: 1984, Georgia.
       Experience: 1984-present, Schreeder, Wheeler & Flint, LLP--
     Associate, 1984-1993; Partner, 1993-present.
       Office: Schreeder, Wheeler & Flint, LLP, 1600 Candler 
     Building, 127 Peachtree Street, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-
     1845, 404-681-3450.
       To be United States District Judge for the Northern 
     District of Georgia.

  Mr. ISAKSON. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, very briefly, we are about to proceed to 
a vote on three judicial nominees. In my judgment, they are all well-
qualified. There is no contest. One of the nominees, Thomas Edward 
Johnston, currently serves as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern 
District of West Virginia. He has been nominated for the District Court 
for the Southern District of West Virginia and has an excellent 
academic and professional background.
  Timothy C. Batten has been nominated to be a judge for the District 
Court for the Northern District of Georgia. He has been an active 
practitioner with the Schreeder, Wheeler & Flint law firm for the past 
22 years. Again, I believe this nomination is not controversial.
  Aida M. Delgado-Colon has been nominated to be a judge on the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. She has been a 
magistrate judge since 1993 and has served with the Department of Labor 
in Puerto Rico, the Office of the Federal Public Defender for Puerto 
Rico, and as an adjunct professor at Pontifical Catholic University.
  That is a very brief statement of these three nominees.
  I yield to my distinguished ranking member, Senator Leahy.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished senior Senator 
from Pennsylvania. I note that two of the nominees, one from West 
Virginia and another from Georgia, are represented in the Senate for 
West Virginia with two Democratic Senators, both of whom support the 
nominee. Georgia has two Republican Senators, both of whom support the 
nominee. They have been moved very quickly.
  I mention this because the nominees are the 229th, 230th, and 231st 
of the judges nominated by President Bush to be confirmed. It shows 
when the White House works with Members of both parties how quickly 
they get filled. It is an indication when the White House takes time to 
work with Members of both parties to fill the judgeships, they move 
rather quickly.
  This evening we will see three more of President Bush's nominees for 
lifetime appointments to the Federal courts confirmed. With these 
confirmations, the total number of the President's judicial appointees 
rises to 231, including the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices 
Roberts and Alito. This is an impressive number, considering the time 
that was needed to devote to the Supreme Court vacancies over the last 
year--President Bush made a series of three nominations for the 
successor to Justice O'Connor--and the administration's slow pace of 
nominations for much of this year.
  Tonight's nominees come from West Virginia, Georgia and Puerto Rico. 
Thomas Johnston of West Virginia has the support of his two home-State 
Democratic Senators. Thomas Batten of Georgia has the support of his 
two home-State Republican Senators. The nominee from Puerto Rico was 
not opposed in the Judiciary Committee. These nominees, the 229th, 
230th and 231st judges nominated by this President to be confirmed, 
show once again that when the White House works with Senators from both 
parties, vacancies on the Federal bench can quickly be filled. It is 
when the White House refuses to consult with the Senate, or having 
mentioned nominees' names, ignores the advice of the Senate, or chooses 
to pick a fight for partisan purposes, that we have trouble.
  Considering how hard the Judiciary Committee has worked to uphold its 
part in the process of confirming judges, it is unfortunate that the 
President is not fulfilling the commitments he made to be a uniter and 
to complete his work in advance of vacancies. Even after these three 
nominees are confirmed, there will still be more than 50 vacancies in 
the Federal circuit and district courts. Despite the fanfare with which 
the President announced that he would be sending nominations for 
upcoming vacancies in advance and in no event later than 180 days after 
a vacancy, there are at least 24 current vacancies, nearly half, for 
which there is no nominee at all. Some of those 24 vacancies have been 
sitting empty more than a year. Over and over the White House has 
missed the deadline the President established for himself, and today, 
of the 24 vacancies waiting for nominees, 10 are already more than 180 
days old.
  If the White House would eliminate its partisan political and 
ideological litmus tests from the judicial nominations process, and 
focus only on qualifications and consensus, the job of selecting 
nominees and our job of considering them for confirmation would be much 
easier. As tonight's confirmations demonstrate, Democrats in the Senate 
have been cooperative.
  I congratulate these nominees and their families on their 
confirmations.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I believe we are scheduled to vote at 
5:30. My watch says 5:30.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the hour of 5:30 
having arrived, the Senate will proceed to the vote on the nominations.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Timothy C. Batten, Sr., of Georgia, to be United States District 
Judge for the Northern District of Georgia? The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. The following Senators were necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Texas (Mrs. Hutchison), the

[[Page S1778]]

Senator from Florida (Mr. Martinez), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. 
McCain), the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), and the Senator from 
Virginia (Mr. Warner).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. 
Jeffords), the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), the Senator 
from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. 
Lautenberg), and the Senator from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow) are 
necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Michigan (Ms. Stabenow) would vote ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 88, nays 0, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 31 Ex.]

                                YEAS--88

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Dayton
     DeMint
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--12

     Biden
     Clinton
     Hutchison
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Martinez
     McCain
     Murkowski
     Stabenow
     Warner
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to a vote on the confirmation of Thomas E. Johnston, of West 
Virginia, to be United States District Court Judge for the Southern 
District of West Virginia.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a 
sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of Thomas E. Johnston, of West Virginia, to 
be United States District Judge for the Southern District of West 
Virginia?
  On this question, the yeas and nays have been ordered and the clerk 
will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. The following Senators were necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Texas (Mrs. Hutchison), the Senator from Florida (Mr. 
Martinez), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), the Senator from 
Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), 
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. 
Jeffords), the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu), the Senator from 
New Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), and the Senator from Michigan (Ms. 
Stabenow), are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Michigan (Ms. Stabenow), would vote ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 89, nays 0, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 32 Ex.]

                                YEAS--89

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Dayton
     DeMint
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--11

     Biden
     Clinton
     Hutchison
     Jeffords
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Martinez
     McCain
     Murkowski
     Stabenow
     Warner
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will vote 
on the confirmation of Aida M. Delgado-Colon, of Puerto Rico, to be 
United States District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the 
nomination?
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The President will be immediately notified of 
the Senate's action.

                          ____________________