[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 107 (Thursday, June 26, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6207-S6211]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE SESSION
______
NOMINATION OF WILLIAM T. LAWRENCE TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
______
NOMINATION OF G. MURRAY SNOW TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE
DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
Mr. REID. Madam President, under the authority of the June 24 order
issued by the Chair, I now ask that the Senate proceed to executive
session to consider Calendar Nos. 627 and 628.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the nominations.
The legislative clerk read the nominations of William T. Lawrence, of
Indiana, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District
of Indiana; and G. Murray Snow, of Arizona, to be United States
District Judge for the District of Arizona.
Mr. REID. Madam President, all Senators should be aware that this
vote will occur very quickly and the second vote will occur immediately
after the first one is completed. We appreciate everyone's cooperation.
We are still working through some issues, and we will have some news
for the rest of the Senators by the time, hopefully, the first vote is
announced.
Mr. LEAHY. Will the Senator yield?
Mr. REID. Yes.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I advise the distinguished leader, I will
speak on these judges and judicial matters probably for 10 to 15
minutes at most, and then I would be prepared to go to a rollcall vote
on William Lawrence, which would be the first one. I intend to support
both nominees.
Mr. REID. Madam President, let me say to the distinguished chairman
of the Judiciary Committee, we are glad we are at the point where we
are today. There has been cooperation. We have approved two circuit
court judges. This will be the third district court judge. It is my
understanding there was a markup that went ahead today without any
problem and a couple more judges were reported out at that time.
Mr. LEAHY. I advise the leader, four judges were reported out this
morning, as well as a U.S. attorney and another one of President Bush's
nominees.
Mr. REID. I appreciate the continued good work of my friend, the
distinguished Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, 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. LEAHY. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call
be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, the distinguished leader has put the
Senate in executive session to consider two more judicial nominations.
I would like to speak on these in my capacity both as a Senator from
Vermont and as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. We are going to be
confirming these two nominations which are, of course, for lifetime
appointments to the federal bench, as the distinguished Presiding
Officer, an attorney in her own right and with a distinguished
background as a prosecutor in Minnesota prior to being here, knows. The
two are William Lawrence, nominated to a vacancy in the Southern
District of Indiana, and Murray Snow, nominated to a vacancy in the
District of Arizona.
I have been delighted to work with my friend of 30 years, Senator
Lugar of Indiana. He strongly supports the recommendation of Judge
Lawrence. He came to see me about Judge Lawrence prior to his
nomination coming up here. Senator Bayh of Indiana also came to see me
and supports the nomination. I have been pleased to accommodate Senator
Kyl in scheduling first Committee action and now Senate action on the
nomination of Judge Snow. Both nominations are being expedited for
confirmation in a Presidential election year.
As we approach the Fourth of July recess and celebrate the
independence of our great Nation, we will be confirming our fourth and
fifth judicial nominations of the week.
But when I go back home to Vermont, as I did this past weekend, and
as I will this week, I find that Vermonters--and I suspect this is so
with all Americans--are not really concerned about judicial
nominations. I have not had anybody come up to me--when I am coming out
of church or walking through the grocery store or gassing up my car--
and say: We need more judicial nominations.
But what they are concerned about are gas prices that have
skyrocketed so high they don't know how they are going to be able to
afford to drive to work. I have talked to parents of children in rural
parts of our State where there is no mass transportation--never will
be. They have to bring their children to school. Both the mother and
father are working. They then have to drive to work. These are not
high-paying jobs. They then have to drive back and get their children.
One couple might have to take care of elderly parents, and they are
wondering how they can afford to do it with these gas prices. They are
far more concerned about that than they are with lifetime appointments
to our Federal bench.
They are concerned also about the steepest decline in home values in
two
[[Page S6208]]
decades. Madam President, when I was a child, I remember my parents
always telling me one of the greatest things you can do is to own your
own home. Marcelle and I have been fortunate. We have been able to do
that. We have encouraged our children to do the same. And I encourage
people in my own State of Vermont, especially young people: If you can
own your own home, it is worth borrowing money because that will be
part of your retirement, part of your stability. But now they have seen
the steepest decline in home values in two decades. Many owe more on
their house than their mortgage. Many are wondering as they see jobs
failing, as they see their gasoline prices go up, as they see the value
of their homes go down, if their children will have a brighter future
than they did or their parents did.
More and more Americans are affected by rising unemployment. Last
month brought the greatest 1-month rise in unemployment in 20 years. It
brought the job losses for the first 5 consecutive months of this year
to over 325,000 people. The number of people who lost their jobs are
equal to half the population in my whole State. Americans are worried
about soaring health care costs. They are worried about rising health
insurance costs. They are worried about the rising costs of education.
They are worried about rising food prices--long before they are worried
about the number of Federal judges being confirmed.
Just yesterday, the front page of the Wall Street Journal had this
headline: ``Consumer Confidence Plummets.'' That is a pretty dire
headline: ``Consumer Confidence Plummets.'' The next line read: ``Home
Prices See Sharp Decline.'' With that article they ran a graph titled
``In a Free Fall'' that shows housing prices in April down more than 15
percent from a year ago and consumer confidence at the lowest level in
nearly 20 years. According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of
Americans saying they intend to buy a home in the next 6 months is at a
25-year low and consumers' expectations of the economy over the next 6
months is the lowest it has ever been in the more than 40 years they
have kept track--the lowest it has ever been--ever been--in 40 years.
Unfortunately, the bad economic news for hard-working Americans is
nothing new under the Bush-Cheney administration. During his
administration, President Bush and all Americans have seen unemployment
rise more than 20 percent and trillions of dollars in budget surplus--
which he inherited from President Clinton's administration--turned into
trillions of dollars of debt, with an annual budget deficit of hundreds
of billions of dollars. When President Bush took office, the price of
gas was $1.42 a gallon. Madam President, I remember some people
complaining about $1.42 a gallon gas when the President took office.
Today, it is at an all-time high of over $4 a gallon. The Nation's
trade deficit widened 8 percent in April alone due to the surging gas
prices, and now it is at the highest level in 13 months.
The numbers are staggering: $4 a gallon for gas, $139 a barrel for
oil, more than $1 billion a day--let me repeat that: $1 billion a day--
just to pay the interest on the national debt and the massive costs
generated by the disastrous war in Iraq. These are the numbers
Americans care about, not a few nominees who are getting the honor of a
judicial appointment and lifetime tenure in a respected job that pays
nearly $200,000 a year.
Yet we do not hear about these numbers from the other side of the
aisle. We do not hear about the free-fall in home prices. We do not
hear about the free-fall in the consumer confidence index from the
other side. We do not hear about the Bush deficits, which have brought
the value of a dollar down almost in half. We do not hear about these
numbers, as terrible as they are, and as much as they affect real
people in Minnesota and Vermont and elsewhere. We do not hear from them
about the number of Americans who are losing their homes, nor about the
number of Americans who are losing their jobs, nor about the number of
Americans who cannot afford to bring their children to school, nor
about the number of Americans who cannot afford to put groceries on the
table, nor about the number of Americans who cannot afford to gas up
their car so they can go to work. The only numbers we hear about from
the other side of the aisle are the number of nominees they insist must
be considered by a certain date to reach some mythical average number.
Week after week, even as the Senate--under the leadership of Senator
Reid and the Democrats--continues to make progress on filling judicial
vacancies, we hear a steady stream of grumbling from Republicans. And
it turns out, they are responding to partisan pressures from special
interest groups.
Madam President, the special interest group I listen to are the hard-
working American families in my State of Vermont and the other 49
States. If we are going to listen to a special interest group, listen
to the men and women who have to pay to take their children to school,
put groceries on their table, go to work, try to make ends meet, and
are seeing the value of their home drop 25 percent. If we are going to
listen to any special interest group, at a time when the economy is
tanking, let's talk about the special interest group, the average
American man and woman.
It is ironic that the Senate's Republican minority is so focused on
the number of judges because that is the only number that has actually
improved under President Bush. On July 1, 2000, when a Republican
Senate majority was considering the judicial nominees of a Democratic
President in a Presidential election year, there were 60 judicial
vacancies. Twenty-one were circuit court vacancies. These vacancies
were the result of the actions of Republicans, when there was a
Democrat in the White House, pocket-filibustering over 60 judicial
nominees.
In stark contrast, after the two nominations we confirm today, and
the circuit court judges we confirmed on Tuesday, there are just 40
total judicial vacancies throughout the country. There are only nine
circuit court vacancies. By confirming Judge Helene White and Ray
Kethledge to the last two vacancies on the Sixth Circuit Court of
Appeals, we reduced circuit court vacancies to single digits for the
first time in decades--only nine vacancies on our Nation's 13 circuit
courts.
The history is clear. Democrats have reversed course on judicial
vacancies from the days during which the Republican Senate majority
more than doubled them. We have already lowered the 32 circuit court
vacancies that existed when I became chairman of the Judiciary
Committee in the summer of 2001. We had 32 vacancies. We lowered it to
nine. In fact, this is the first time we have hit single digits in
decades--since the Republican tactics of slowing judicial confirmations
began in earnest in 1996. Why? Because the Democrats did not pocket-
filibuster 60 judges, as the Republicans did to a Democratic President.
We treated President Bush's nominees with more respect than they
treated President Clinton's. But we also treated the whole Federal
judiciary system with a great deal more respect. This is, after all,
the third independent branch of Government. It is the one branch that
should be devoid of politics. It is the one branch that should be able
to be set apart from this. And it is the one branch where you leave
your political affiliations at the doors.
The 100 nominations we confirmed in only 17 months in 2001 and 2002--
I was working with a very uncooperative White House--reduced the
vacancies I inherited by 45 percent by the end of 2002. I became
chairman halfway through that year. The Republicans had been in control
up to that halfway mark. They did not confirm a single judge. In 17
months, we confirmed 100.
So with 40 additional confirmations last year, and another 14 so far
this year, the Senate, under Democratic leadership, has already matched
the confirmation total for the entire last Congress. That was 2 full
years with a Republican Senate majority working to confirm the judicial
nominees of a Republican President. In fact, after these two
confirmations, we will have reached 54 judicial confirmations for this
Congress.
I am sure there are some who prefer partisan fights designed to
energize a political base during an election year. I do not. The
American people do not want Federal judges to be tied to partisan
politics.
Madam President, I felt very honored to be a lawyer. I felt very
honored to
[[Page S6209]]
try cases in Federal courts. I felt very honored to try cases when I
was a prosecutor. And I feel honored to be on the Senate Judiciary
Committee. But I have always said one of the things you should be able
to do if you walk into a court room--whether you are a plaintiff or a
defendant, whether you are the Government or the other side, whether
you are rich or poor, no matter your race, no matter your issue--you
should be able to look at the judge and say: I am going to be treated
fairly. The judge is not going to ask what my political party is, what
my station in life is, whether I am a big corporation, whether I am a
poor defendant or a plaintiff.
So when there are efforts to make a partisan issue over judicial
confirmations, as my friends on the Republican side have done, that is
sorely misplaced. Their obstructionism has done a great deal of damage
to our attempts to address the important needs of Americans.
We have seen Republican obstructionism since the beginning of this
Congress. Republicans used filibuster after filibuster to thwart the
will of the majority of the Senate from doing the business of the
American people. Republican filibusters prevented the Senate majority
from passing a climate change bill. Republican filibusters prevented
the Senate majority from passing the Employee Free Choice Act and the
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Republican filibusters prevented the
Senate majority from passing the DC Voting Rights Act. Republican
filibusters prevented the Senate majority from passing the Renewable
Fuels, Consumer Protection and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007.
Republican filibusters blocked the Renewable Energy and Job Creation
Act of 2008. Republican filibusters blocked the Medicare Improvements
for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. Republican filibusters blocked
the Consumer First Energy Act. These are critical pieces of legislation
to address the priorities not of special interest groups, but of real
Americans--urgent priorities such as the energy crisis, the
environment, voting rights and health care, and fair wages for working
men and women. All of them had the support of the majority of the
Senate. All were blocked by a minority of Republican Senators who
filibustered them.
This long list of priorities unaddressed because of the Republicans
in Congress would be even longer if we were to include the many
important bills President Bush has vetoed since the beginning of this
Congress. That list includes legislation to fund stem cell research, to
fight debilitating and deadly diseases such as Parkinson's, multiple
sclerosis, and diabetes; to extend and expand the successful State
Children's Health Insurance Program that would have provided health
insurance to more of the millions of American children who are without
it in the wealthiest, most powerful Nation on Earth; to set a timetable
for bringing American troops home from the disastrous war in Iraq that
has lasted longer than we were in World War II; and to ban
waterboarding and thus help restore America as the beacon for the rule
of law.
The effort of Republicans to turn attention from the real issues
facing Americans to win partisan political points with judicial
nominations is another in a long line of tactics we have seen that have
prevented us from making progress since the beginning of this Congress.
As I said before, people do not stop me in the grocery store or
coming out of church or walking down the street or getting out of my
car to say please confirm more judges. They say: Please, do something
about the high cost of gasoline. Do something about the fact that I am
going to lose my home in foreclosure because the value has dropped so
much. Do something about the fact that our child does not have health
insurance.
These tactics would be laughable if they were not tragic. I believe
they are an affront to those men and women in this country who are
working hard to make ends meet. I know a lot of these good, honest
Americans. I see them every weekend in my own State of Vermont. They
don't face problems as Republicans or Democrats; they face them as
proud Americans, proud Vermonters. They wonder how they are ever going
to get insurance for their child and they worry every day their child
may become ill. They wonder if they can get to their job, and often
they are holding down two jobs to make ends meet. They wonder if they
can bring their children to school.
I congratulate the nominees and their families on their confirmation
today. These nominees have good reason to be proud. I predict they will
be confirmed unanimously, and I am proud of them, because the Federal
judiciary is the one arm of our Government that should never be
political or politicized regardless of who sits in the White House.
So let us stop using this question of judges as some kind of an issue
in trying to distort the fact that the Democrats have treated President
Bush better than the Republicans treated President Clinton on judges.
Let us stop using the issue of judges to prevent us from addressing the
things Americans care about: their jobs, their homes, their children,
the cost of gas and oil.
I will continue in this Congress, and I will be here in January with
a new President in the next Congress, to work with Senators on both
sides of the aisle to ensure that the Federal judiciary remains
independent and this real jewel of jurisprudence be able to provide
justice for all Americans, as they say in their oath of office, without
fear or favor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania is recognized.
Mr. SPECTER. Madam President, in my capacity as ranking member on the
Judiciary Committee, I did want to make very brief comments on the
nominees who are pending for the district courts.
First, G. Murray Snow for the U.S. District Court for the District of
Arizona, a very well-qualified man: a bachelor's degree from Brigham
Young University in 1984, magna cum laude; a Harry S. Truman scholar
for Nevada, a noted scholarship--parenthetically, one which our older
son Shanin had--Phi Kappa Phi; law degree, magna cum laude--a very
distinguished academic and professional record.
Similarly, William Thomas Lawrence for the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of Indiana has exemplary qualifications
academically and professionally.
I ask unanimous consent to have the resumes printed in the Record at
the conclusion of my remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See exhibit 1.)
Mr. SPECTER. One additional addendum. I thank the chairman of the
committee and the majority leader for moving ahead with three
confirmations earlier this week, and these two confirmations.
Again I renew my request that we be able to move to a situation where
we will avoid blocking judges, where we will proceed on up-and-down
votes and we will not seek to hold vacancies in judicial nomination
situations where there are judicial emergencies--for example, in the
Fourth Circuit with the nomination of Judge Conrad pending from North
Carolina--and that we will move ahead with the nomination of others who
have been waiting for very long periods of time.
Today, the Judiciary Committee took up a report by the Inspector
General, in which he noted that there had been political considerations
in hiring at the Department of Justice. The report singled out Peter
Keisler, who had been acting Attorney General and Assistant Attorney
General in the Civil Division, and commended him for calling the
inappropriate conduct for what it was. I mention Peter Keisler because
he is so well qualified for the DC Circuit vacancy to which he has been
nominated.
It will be my expectation that these two nominations would move
through smoothly. They were accepted on a voice vote in the Judiciary
Committee, and it is my hope that we will use this to move ahead on the
confirmations of Federal judges on a yes-or-no vote.
Exhibit 1
William Thomas Lawrence--United States District Judge for the Southern
District of Indiana
Birth: 1947; Indianapolis, Indiana.
Legal Residence: Indianapolis, Indiana.
Education: Louisiana State University, 1965-1968; no degree
received; B.S., Indiana University, 1970; J.D., Indiana
University School of Law--Indianapolis, 1973.
Primary Employment: Attorney, Poore, Popcheff, Wurster,
Sullivan & Burke, 1973-1976; Attorney, Popcheff, Lawrence &
Page,
[[Page S6210]]
1976-1979; Public Defender (Part-time), Marion County
Superior Court, Criminal Division 4, 1974-1983; Attorney,
Lawrence, Carter, Gresk, Leerkamp & Walsh, 1979-1989;
Attorney, Johnson, Smith, Pence, Densborn, Wright & Heath,
1989-1997; Master Commissioner (Part-time), Marion County
Circuit Court, 1983-1997; Presiding Judge, Marion County
Circuit Court, 1997-2002; Magistrate Judge, U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of Indiana, 2002-Present.
Selected Activities: Indiana Bar, 1973-Present;
Indianapolis Bar Association, 1973-Present--Distinguished
Fellow, 1997, Chairman, Bench Bar Conference, 2002, Chairman,
Judicial Section of the Association, 2004, Chairman,
Continuing Legal Education Commission, 2002, Vice-President,
2005, Board of Managers, 2005, Executive Committee,
Litigation Section, 2004-2005; Seventh Circuit Bar
Association, 2002-Present; Federal Bar Association, 2002-
Present; Indiana Judges Association, 1997-2002, Board of
Managers, 2000-2002; Board of Directors, Judicial Conference
of Indiana, 1997-2002; United States Magistrate Judges
Association, 2002-Present; Board of Directors, Marion County
Justice Agency, 1996-2002; Member, Indiana State Forensic
Science Commission, 1984-1990; Executive Director, Indiana
Merit Selection Commission on Federal Judicial Appointments,
1980-1986.
ABA Rating: Substantial Majority ``Well Qualified,''
Minority ``Qualified.''
____
G. Murray Snow--United States District Judge for the District of
Arizona
Birth: 1959; Boulder City, NV.
Legal Residence: Tempe, AZ.
Education: B.A., magna cum laude, Brigham Young University,
1984--Harry S. Truman Scholar for Nevada, 1982; Member, Phi
Kappa Phi Honor Society.
J.D., magna cum laude, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham
Young University, 1987--Editor-in-Chief, Brigham Young
University Law Review, 1986-1987.
Primary Employment: Law Clerk, Hon. Stephen H. Anderson,
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, 1987-1988;
Meyer, Hendricks, Victor, Osborn & Maledon, P.A.--Associate,
1988-1994, Member, 1994-1995; Member, Osborn Maledon, P.A.,
1995-2002; Judge, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One,
2002-Present.
Selected Activities: Arizona State Bar Association, 1987-
Present--Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct,
1998-2004, Ethical Rules Review Group, 2000-2002; Mesa
[Arizona] Judicial Advisory Board Member, 2003-Present;
Judicial College of Arizona--Board Member, 2003-2004, Dean,
2005-Present; Committee on Judicial Education and Training--
Board Member, 2005-Present, Executive Committee, 2005-
Present; Task Force on Model Code of Judicial Conduct, 2007-
Present--Chair, March 2007-Present; Recipient, Halo Award,
Arizona Association of Providers for People with
Disabilities, 2000; Recipient, Citation for Service on the
Arizona State Bar Committee on the Rules of Professional
Conduct, 1998-2004.
ABA Rating: Unanimous ``well qualified.''
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana is recognized.
Mr. LUGAR. Madam President, I appreciate this opportunity to support
the President's nomination of Judge William Thomas Lawrence to serve as
a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Indiana.
I would first like to thank the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman,
Pat Leahy, ranking member, Arlen Specter, the respective leaders of the
Senate, and especially my colleague, Senator Evan Bayh, for their
important work to facilitate the timely consideration of this
distinguished nominee.
On December 18, 2007, the Senate voted to confirm the nomination of
John Tinder to serve on the Seventh Circuit Court. John was a
distinguished leader on Indiana's Southern District Court, and I knew
his successor would need to possess the same degree of integrity and
intelligence. Given this need for strong leadership, I was pleased to
commend William Lawrence to President Bush for consideration. This
selection was the product of a bipartisan process and reflective of the
importance of finding highly qualified judges to carry forward the
tradition of fair, principled, and collegial leadership.
I have known Bill Lawrence for many years. I have always been
impressed with his high energy, his resolute integrity, and his
remarkable dedication to public service.
William Lawrence attended Indiana University, where he received both
his undergraduate and his law degrees. He immediately entered private
practice but also devoted time to serve as a public defender in Marion
County, IN, courts.
Subsequently, he served part time as a master commissioner of the
Marion County Circuit Court.
In 1996, Judge Lawrence was elected to the Marion County Circuit
Court. In this position, he built a reputation for fairness and
efficiency. The Marion County Circuit Court is one of the busiest in
the State of Indiana. In less than 3 years, Judge Lawrence reduced the
number of pending cases by 20 percent. This impressive performance on
the bench led to his appointment in 2002 to serve as U.S. magistrate
judge.
Throughout Bill's career, his reputation for personal courtesy,
fairness, decency, and integrity was equally well earned and widespread
among colleagues and opposing counsel alike and on both sides of the
political aisle.
I am also pleased that Bill's experience and professionalism are
recognized by the American Bar Association, which bestowed a rating, by
a substantial majority of the committee, of ``well-qualified.''
I would like to thank again Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Specter
for their important work on this nomination. I believe Judge Lawrence
will demonstrate remarkable leadership and will appropriately uphold
and defend our laws under the Constitution.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona is recognized.
Mr. KYL. Madam President, I wanted to note that what Senator Specter
said a moment ago about Arizona judge Murray Snow are my feelings as
well.
He has been nominated to the Federal bench in Arizona. He is
supremely qualified, unanimously ``well-qualified,'' according to the
Bar Association, and a fine appellate court judge already. He will make
a fine addition to the Federal bench.
I will have an additional statement so all of my colleagues will know
about his superb qualifications. We will be voting for him soon. I
assume he will be approved. I appreciate my colleagues' support for his
nomination.
Judge Snow has served on the Arizona Court of Appeals since 2002.
Prior to his judicial service, he was a partner at Osborn Maledon.
Judge Snow received his bachelor's degree magna cum laude from BYU in
1984 and received his law degree magna cum laude from BYU in 1987. He
was Order of the Coif. After law school, Judge Snow clerked on the
Tenth Circuit for Judge Stephen Anderson. Judge Snow was an adjunct
professor of political science at ASU 7 years. He served for 4 years on
the State Bar of Arizona Ethical Rules Review Group and for six years
on the Committee on Rules of Professional Conduct. The ABA unanimously
gave Judge Snow its highest rating of ``well-qualified.''
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I have permission to yield back time on
both sides of the aisle for the judges, so I yield it back.
I ask for the yeas and nays on the pending nomination.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
All time is yielded back.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination
of William T. Lawrence, of Indiana, to be United States District Judge
for the Southern District of Indiana?
The yeas and nays have been ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr.
Kennedy) and the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessarily
absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Arizona, (Mr. McCain).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 159 Ex.]
YEAS--97
Akaka
Alexander
Allard
Barrasso
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Brown
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Byrd
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Clinton
Coburn
Cochran
Coleman
Collins
Conrad
Corker
Cornyn
Craig
Crapo
DeMint
Dodd
Dole
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Feinstein
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Isakson
Johnson
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lugar
Martinez
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Mikulski
Murkowski
[[Page S6211]]
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Roberts
Rockefeller
Salazar
Sanders
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Sununu
Tester
Thune
Vitter
Voinovich
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NOT VOTING--3
Kennedy
McCain
Obama
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 2 minutes of debate equally divided
on the nomination of G. Murray Snow.
The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I yield back the remainder of time on
this side, and I am advised on the other side they yield their time.
There is no need for a rollcall vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Time is yielded back.
Mr. REID. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. REID. For the information of all Members, Senator Leahy and
Senator Specter have agreed that we can have the judge's vote by voice,
and we will do that in a minute. But I wish to inform everyone that the
Republican leader and I, following this judge being approved--we will
go into a quorum call, and we will be in a position, hopefully, in the
next 15 minutes, half hour--you know how time is counted in the Senate.
Jack, who used to work down here--one night I came in here and he gave
me a dog chain. I said: Why did you do that? He said: Because the
Senate goes on dog time.
We will try to do something very quickly. But we will go into a
quorum call following the judge being approved, and Senator McConnell
and I will be back with the next chapter of the saga as quickly as we
can.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Shall the Senate advise and
consent to the nomination of G. Murray Snow, of Arizona, to be United
States District Judge for the District of Arizona?
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motions to reconsider are laid on the
table, en bloc, and the President will be immediately notified of the
Senate's action.
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