[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 45 (Monday, April 24, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3428-S3429]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO FEDERAL JUDGE EDWARD R. BECKER

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to speak about 
the extraordinary career of Federal Judge Edward R. Becker who was 
appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of Pennsylvania in 1970, was elevated to the Court of Appeals for the 
Third Circuit in 1982, was Chief Judge of the Circuit Court from 
February 1998 until May 2003, and continues to serve as a Senior Judge.
  In addition to his 35-plus years on the Federal bench, he also has 
the distinction of being the 101st United States Senator. Some, who 
have laid claim to the position of 101st Senator, have enhanced their 
status. To identify Judge Becker as the 101st Senator is to enhance the 
status of the United States Senate.
  Judge Becker became a member of the Senate's family by his 
negotiating, cajoling, and writing most of Senate Bill 852 dealing with 
asbestos reform. At my request, he convened the so-called 
stakeholders--that is, the manufacturers, labor--AFL-CIO, insurers and 
trial lawyers--in his Philadelphia chambers for 2 days in August 2003 
to preside over discussions leading to the structuring of the asbestos 
reform bill.
  Thereafter, on about 50 occasions, frequently with my being present, 
he continued to preside over negotiations with stakeholders in meetings 
attended by 20 to 50 interested parties. Beyond that, he met with 
numerous individual Senators, representatives of the stakeholders on 
dozens of occasions, and continuously counseled Judiciary Committee 
staff for almost 3 years. When the legislation was in committee and on 
the Senate floor, Judge Becker was at my side continuously counseling 
on the next steps to be taken to promote the bill's passage.
  He undertook this arduous extra assignment in addition to his 
judicial duties notwithstanding the fact that he was undergoing 
treatment for prostate cancer.
  When told of Judge Becker's contribution to this important 
legislation, President George Bush inscribed a tribute to Judge Becker 
on the face of Senate Bill 852 designating it as the ``Becker Bill''.
  I first met Ed Becker in the fall of 1950 when we rode the Frankford 
elevated train, public transportation, together for about an hour each 
morning from Northeast Philadelphia to the University of Pennsylvania. 
He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Penn in 1954 and, again with academic 
distinction, from the Yale Law School in 1957, which we again attended 
together. We were colleagues in a celebrated debate against the Norfolk 
Massachusetts State Prison team in 1952 before approximately 800 
inmates, truly a captive audience. The prison team took the affirmative 
on the subject: Resolved that the Communist Party should be outlawed. 
Editors from the then-five Boston newspapers voted 4 to 1 that the 
prisoners won the debate.
  Following graduation from law school, he had a distinguished law 
practice in the partnership of Becker, Becker and Fryman, his father 
and brother-in-law. He was active in politics, becoming a Republican 
committeeman, as his father was before him. He worked the rowhouses in 
Northeast Philadelphia going door to door seeking new registrations and 
support for his Party. He undertook kamikaze candidacies for State 
Senate and City Council on the Republican ticket in Philadelphia, a 
city totally dominated by Democrats. He represented the Republican 
Party as counsel in complex court proceedings.
  He was a lawyer's lawyer, just as he later became a judge's judge. I 
turned to him for counseling and representation when the Supreme Court 
of Pennsylvania on three occasions in 1967 ruled on my status a to be a 
candidate for mayor while continuing to serve as district attorney. The 
Philadelphia Home Rule Charter prohibited any city officer from being a 
candidate for any other office. With his assistance, we won all three 
cases. If I had followed his political advice as well as his legal 
advice, I probably would have been elected mayor; but who knows what 
would have happened after that.
  When appointed to the Federal Bench in 1970 at the age of 37, he 
merited the position both in terms of exceptional competency and 
extraordinary contribution to his party. No one in my experience has 
merited the appointment to the Federal bench more than Judge Becker on 
both counts.
  Judge Becker and I have been good friends, really best friends, in 
the intervening years. Our wives were school-girl classmates. Joan 
Levy, now Specter, sat next to Flora Liman, now Becker in alphabetical 
order in Olney High School.
  As Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, he 
brought many innovations. In 2002, he was the recipient of the coveted 
Edward J. Devitt Distinguished Service to Justice Award with his 
selection as the most distinguished Article III Judge out of 862 then 
sitting ``whose career has been exemplary, measured by their 
significant contributions to the administration of justice, the 
advancement of the rule of law, and the improvement of society as a 
whole.''
  He brought to the bench a prodigious work ethic. He is never without 
a stack of briefs which he reads whenever he has a moment to spare. At 
Philadelphia Eagles' football games, he would read those briefs during 
halftime preferring them to the dancing cheerleaders. He would even 
sneak a peak--I mean a peak at the briefs--during the incessant 
timeouts for the endless commercials.

  Among his landmark decisions are three opinions adopted by the 
Supreme Court on cutting-edge issues. He pioneered new law on the 
reliability of scientific evidence which formed the basis for Justice 
Blackmun's decision in 1993 in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals. 
Similarly, he originated the rationale on class action certification 
adopted by Judge Ginsburg in 1995 in Georgine v. Amchem Products. When 
he disagreed with seven other Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Supreme 
Court followed his judgment on ERISA Standards of Review in Firestone 
Tire & Rubber Co. v. Bruch. He was consistently recognized by the 
University of Chicago Law Review as being among the three Circuit 
Judges most often cited by the Supreme Court.
  His 2,000 judicial opinions, filling many volumes on law library 
shelves, are legendary--long, thorough, analytical with many footnotes. 
His masterful handling of Japanese electronics case produced four 
opinions exceeding 2,000 pages having ruled three times on complex 
evidentiary issues before granting summary judgment in a highly unusual 
case. His versatility was demonstrated when he once wrote an

[[Page S3429]]

opinion in rhyme. When he is not up to going to the courthouse these 
days, he participates by telephone on the oral arguments and the 
conferences where the three judge panel discuss the cases.
  Among his many accomplishments is his talent to play by ear any song 
known in the American repertoire. The Supreme Court of the United 
States has chosen him as the Court's pianist for their periodic sing-
alongs. Rivaling his attributes as a jurist, Justice David Souter wrote 
in May 2001 in a University of Pennsylvania Law Review ``Tribute to the 
Honorable Edward R. Becker'': ``I've never heard anyone call for a tune 
the Judge didn't know; never have I seen him read a sheet of music.'' 
Edward R. Becker is truly the personification of the Renaissance man.
  Recently, he undertook a new challenge by testifying and organizing a 
panel of judges to appear before the Judiciary Committee in support of 
the nomination of Third Circuit Judge Samuel Alito for the Supreme 
Court. He did so out of conviction that Judge Alito was being unfairly 
criticized. Based on working with him for over 15 years, he advised the 
Judiciary Committee that after oral arguments, when the three panel 
judges would retire to deliberate, Judge Alito had an open mind, no 
agenda and was a superb jurist. That panel of current and former Third 
Circuit judges, led by Judge Becker, provided important testimony for 
the Judiciary Committee, leading to Judge Alito's confirmation.
  For a man with such achievements, Judge Becker remains the model of 
modesty and humility. He continues to live in an unpretentious house in 
a working-class neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia where he moved 
with his parents when he was 3. Even as the Chief Judge of the Circuit, 
he continued to ride public transportation to the Federal Courthouse, 
surprising fellow riders to see a man of his prominence sitting among 
them. He is the quintessential family man, with an accomplished wife, 
three professional children and four adorable grandchildren.
  When his friends enjoy a variety of cocktails, his favorite drink 
continues to be ``Schuylkill punch,'' which translates into 
Philadelphia tap water.
  When I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's last year, I followed his advice 
on how to cope. He was an inspiration and model to me.
  Watching close friends suffer and die from cancer, and from my own 
experience with Hodgkin's, all of that has reinforced my determination 
to work to secure sufficient funding for the National Institutes of 
Health to conquer cancer and other maladies.
  In 1970, President Nixon declared war against cancer. If the United 
States had approached that war with the same intensity we do other 
wars, the cure for cancer would have been found long ago.
  Two years ago I saw my chief of staff, Carey Lackman, a beautiful 
young woman of 48, die from breast cancer. A few months later, I saw 
the same fate for Paula Kline, the wife of my son's law partner.
  Visiting Judge Becker at his home last Saturday, I saw a large stack 
of briefs on his desk and observed him carrying on his judicial duties 
from his living room with determination and gusto, notwithstanding his 
prostate cancer. From my own experience with Hodgkin's, I know cancer 
can be beaten. From watching Judge Becker, I have seen him beat cancer 
for more than 3 years.
  My statement today has the dual purpose, No. 1, of recognizing and 
acknowledging the public service and contributions of a truly great 
American, and, No. 2, urging my Senate colleagues who have come to 
know, admire, and respect Judge Becker to support adequate funding to 
win the war against cancer.
  I thank the Chair. In the absence of any Senator seeking recognition, 
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If the Senator will withhold, the Senator from 
Oklahoma is recognized.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, may I express my regret that I don't have 
eyes in the back of my head.
  Mr. INHOFE. I always thought you did.
  Mr. SPECTER. The distinguished Senator from Oklahoma, Senator Inhofe, 
is standing right behind me. I should have felt the radiation of his 
powerful personality. I yield to my distinguished colleague.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma is recognized.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I thank the senior Senator from 
Pennsylvania. Before he leaves the Chamber, I want to applaud the work 
Senator Specter has done in getting these judges confirmed. It has been 
heavy lifting. We all know that. We also know probably from looking 
back, when we look back 10 years or 20 years from now on 
accomplishments, that perhaps getting these judges confirmed will be 
the major accomplishment of this legislative session.

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