[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 52 (Thursday, May 4, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4035-S4036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   NOMINATION OF THOMAS M. GOLDEN TO BE U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE 
                    EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the next nomination.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Thomas M. Golden, of 
Pennsylvania, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to recommend to 
my colleagues the confirmation of Thomas M. Golden to the U.S. District 
Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
  Mr. Golden graduated from Penn State University in 1969, and received 
a law degree from Dickinson School of Law in 1972. Thereafter, he has 
been in the practice of law with Stevens & Lee, first as an associate 
and then as a partner. And from 1979 to the present, he has owned his 
own firm, Golden Masano Bradley and serves as managing partner in that 
capacity.
  Mr. Golden enjoys an excellent reputation for academic achievement, 
for lawyerly skills, for integrity, and for community service. Alvernia 
College awarded Mr. Golden a doctorate of human letters for service to 
the community and legal profession in 2003. He is past president of the 
Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Berks County Bar Association.
  Holding those positions is demonstrative of active community service, 
taking on responsibilities to promote the public welfare beyond his 
work as a private practicing attorney.

[[Page S4036]]

  The American Bar Association gave Mr. Golden a unanimous ``well-
qualified'' rating. In my years on the Judiciary Committee and now as 
chairman of the committee, I have seen many nominees, and I believe Tom 
Golden has outstanding potential for the Federal district court. I urge 
my colleagues to support him.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, it is a pleasure for me to come to the 
floor of the Senate to give good words of encouragement to my 
colleagues to support Tom Golden for the Eastern District of 
Pennsylvania judgeship. This is a vacancy that the Office of 
Administration at the U.S. Courts has determined is a judicial 
emergency, so it is high time that we get this vacancy filled. Tom 
Golden has proven to be just the right medicine for us to be able to 
move this process very quickly in the Senate.
  On April 27 he was moved out of committee by a voice vote, so I 
guess, from all reports at least, unanimously. Certainly there were no 
vocal objections. He now comes to the floor for confirmation. I 
congratulate him in anticipation of a strong positive vote today on his 
successfully negotiated, what can be tough shoals in the Senate when it 
comes to judicial nomination.
  The record speaks for itself. This is a man of great legal ability, 
as well as someone who is a fine member of his community and citizen of 
this country. He started out with great potential. He graduated from 
Penn State University, which happens to be my alma mater, and also 
graduated from the Dickinson School of Law, which happens to be my alma 
mater. He has a fine background and education, and he has come forward 
from that education to work at a law firm in Reading, PA. He is from 
Berks County. Berks County is one of the larger counties in our State. 
It has not had a judge there for some time, even though there is a 
courthouse in Reading. We are quite excited. Folks in the Eastern 
District are rather exited about the opportunity of having their cases 
heard and their filings be filed before judges and motions be heard in 
Reading as opposed to having to travel all the way to Philadelphia to 
have their cases proceed.
  This is not just a good moment for Tom Golden, but it is a good 
moment for all of the litigants in the western part of the Eastern 
District, to be able to have their cases heard in a much more 
convenient fashion.
  Aside from a variety of involvements in charitable organizations and 
specific organizations, I want to mention the fact that Tom was very 
active in the bar association. In fact, not only is he in the House of 
Delegates at the ABA, and has been since 2002, he was the president of 
the Pennsylvania Bar Association from 2003 to 2004 and served, as you 
can imagine, often as chair leading up to his election to the 
presidency in 2006. He has been active in the Berks County Bar 
Association and a whole lot of other legal areas.
  He was rated ``well-qualified,'' not surprisingly, by the bar 
association. He is coming here with the highest recommendations from 
the legal community, as well as the community at large in Berks County.
  It is a pleasure to come here with a noncontroversial nomination, 
someone who has the highest character, as well as great legal ability, 
and someone who, I am confident, will do a fine new job as judge on the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
  Mr. BIDEN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Thomas M. Golden, of Pennsylvania, to be U.S. District Judge for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. On this question, the yeas and nays 
have been ordered, and the clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. The following Senators were necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Bunning) and the Senator from Utah (Mr. 
Hatch).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. 
Bunning) would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer) 
and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) are necessarily 
absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 96, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 114 Ex.]

                                YEAS--96

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Brownback
     Burns
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     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
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Salazar
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Boxer
     Bunning
     Hatch
     Rockefeller
  The nomination was confirmed.
  Mr. DeMINT. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. LEAHY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the President shall 
be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

                          ____________________