[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.
____________________