[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 121 (Monday, September 25, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10066-S10067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

 NOMINATION OF FRANCISCO AUGUSTO BESOSA, TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT 
                 JUDGE FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the hour of 5:20 
p.m. having arrived, the Senate will proceed to executive session for 
the consideration of Executive Calendar No. 920, which the clerk will 
report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Francisco Augusto 
Besosa, of Puerto Rico, to be a United States District Judge for the 
District of Puerto Rico.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the time until 5:30 
p.m. shall be equally divided between the chairman and ranking member 
of the Judiciary Committee. The chairman is recognized.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to recommend to 
my colleagues the confirmation of Francisco Augusto Besosa to be a 
district court judge for the District of Puerto Rico.
  Mr. Besosa comes before the Senate with an impressive record. He 
received his Bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1971 and his 
law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1979. Prior to 
attending law school, he served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. 
Army and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.
  Mr. Besosa has had a distinguished career as a practicing lawyer in 
Puerto Rico. He has spent 70 percent of his time practicing in the 
Federal courts, with the balance in the State courts. His principal 
occupation has been in the civil field, and he has had considerable 
trial practice. Mr. Besosa is currently a partner in the law firm of 
Absuar Muniz Goyco and Besosa, a firm he joined in 1994. The American 
Bar Association has rated Mr. Besosa ``well qualified.''
  Mr. Besosa was passed out of the Judiciary Committee unanimously. I 
am pleased in my capacity as chairman of the committee to recommend him 
to my colleagues for confirmation.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, as we begin the last week of this 
legislative session, the Senate considers the nomination of Francisco 
Augusto Besosa for a lifetime appointment to the U.S. District Court 
for the District of Puerto Rico. Mr. Besosa's nomination was reported 
unanimously to the Judiciary Committee on Thursday of last week.
  Last week the Judiciary Committee held two business meetings 
dedicated to judicial nominations. I want to thank all Senators for 
working with us to expedite consideration of nominations like that of 
Mr. Besosa. I cooperated last Tuesday with the Chairman's request for a 
Special Executive Business Meeting. I came to the meeting and 
established the quorum. The Chairman had said that the meeting would be 
held to burn holds on two non-controversial circuit court nominees. I 
agreed to try to expedite consideration of the nomination of Kent 
Jordan, a nominee to the Third Circuit. Peter Keisler's nomination to 
the D.C. Circuit is, however, by no means non-controversial. 
Nonetheless, in an effort to work with the Chairman I stayed and the 
Republicans held over the Keisler nomination, as well.
  Then, although we had not discussed either in advance, in order to be 
accommodating, I did not object when, at the request of Senator 
Grassley and Senator DeWine, the nominations of John Alfred Jarvey and 
Sara Elizabeth Lioi were also held over. Those nominations will now be 
reviewed and available for consideration by the Committee later this 
week in accordance with the rules of the Committee.
  Mr. Besosa's nomination was unanimously reported at our regular 
Thursday business meeting. In addition, we reported a number of other 
judicial nominations, including one for a judicial emergency vacancy 
that was given expedited consideration. I thank the Chairman for his 
kind words in which he acknowledged our cooperation.
  The Democratic Senators on the Committee have worked hard to 
accommodating the Chairman's demanding schedule. The Chairman has 
already held three hearings during the last three weeks and has another 
scheduled for this week, in addition to another special business 
meeting. We have held 18 judicial nominations hearings this year, 
including a Supreme Court hearing, as well as two additional executive 
nominations hearings.
  I have been saying for some time that I feared we would sacrifice 
progress on nominations that can be moved for debate on controversial 
nominations. It appears that my fears will be realized this week. This 
Wednesday afternoon and evening, a hearing on the highly controversial 
nomination of Michael Wallace to the Fifth Circuit has been noticed and 
renoticed. As the times have changed, it has become even less likely 
that it will be helpful or productive during this extremely busy time 
of year. Of course, Mr. Wallace is the first appellate court nominee in 
25 years to have been rated unanimously not qualified by the ABA peer 
review committee.
  After today, the Senate will have confirmed 31 judicial nominees this 
year. The Republican Senate confirmed only 17 of President Clinton's 
judicial nominees in the 1996 session. The Senate has confirmed seven 
circuit court nominees, which is seven more than the Republican Senate 
confirmed with a Democratic President during the 1996 session. That 
year, Republicans would not consider or confirm a single appellate 
court nomination for an entire year-long session of the Senate, not 
one.
  This is a far cry from the days when the Republican Congress pocket 
filibustered more than 60 of President Clinton's nominees, refusing 
even to bring them up for a vote in Committee. Of course, during the 17 
months that I was Chairman, we were able to confirm 100 of President 
Bush's nominees. In 20 months of Republican control, with a Republican 
President, even counting Mr. Besosa's confirmation today, that number 
will stand at about half that--just 53.
  We could have accomplished more this year if the White House had sent 
over consensus nominees early in the year. The White House did not. 
Many of the nominees we are now trying to consider now were not even 
nominated until July. Regrettably, the administration concentrated on a 
few highly controversial nominees and delayed until recently sending 
nominations and

[[Page S10067]]

thereby prevented us from having the time to do any meaningful review. 
We are now in the position of trying to rush through too many nominees 
too quickly for us to give them real consideration.
  The White House continues to undermine our process. Instead of 
working with us and focusing on consensus nominees, the President sent 
back to us five highly controversial nominees who had been returned to 
the White House. Sadly, the Senate Republican leadership, which has 
rubberstamped a number of very poor nominations, may force us to spend 
time and energy debating troublesome nominations, rather than reviewing 
and confirming good ones.
  We have been accommodating, and we will continue to be, but the 
Judiciary Committee and the Senate should not be a rubber stamp for the 
President's nominations. We should be taking our constitutional 
responsibility to advise and consent seriously. That means carefully 
reviewing the nominees' records and making sure that these are 
appropriate nominees for lifetime appointments to important Federal 
judgeships.
  A customary practice in the Senate would have been for the leaders, 
the Republican and Democratic leaders, to have sat down with the 
Chairman and the Ranking Member by now and have worked out a process to 
conclude the year with respect to judicial nominations. I would have 
urged that we concentrate on completing our work on those nominations 
most likely to be confirmed and to maximize the number of 
confirmations. Sadly, that meeting has not occurred and apparently will 
not.
  I congratulate Francisco Besosa and his family on his confirmation 
today.
  Mr. President, in the absence of any other Senator seeking 
recognition, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LOTT. 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. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the 
nomination.
  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 Francisco Augusto Besosa, of Puerto Rico, to be United States 
District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico?
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. The following Senators were necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the Senator from Ohio (Mr. 
DeWine), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Hatch), the Senator from Arizona 
(Mr. McCain), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Santorum), and the 
Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka), the 
Senator from Montana (Mr. Baucus), the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Bayh), 
the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. 
Inouye), the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl), and the Senator from 
New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Graham). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 87, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 253 Ex.]

                                YEAS--87

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

                             NOT VOTING--13

     Akaka
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Biden
     Brownback
     DeWine
     Hatch
     Inouye
     Kohl
     McCain
     Menendez
     Santorum
     Vitter
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Martinez). The President will be 
immediately notified of the Senate's action.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move 
to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

                          ____________________