[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 132 (Thursday, September 17, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S9541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

NOMINATION OF GERARD E. LYNCH TO BE UNITED STATES CIRCUIT JUDGE FOR THE 
                       SECOND CIRCUIT--Continued

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to vote on the nomination of Gerard E. 
Lynch, of New York, to be U.S. circuit judge for the Second Circuit.
  There is 2 minutes of debate equally divided.
  The Senator from Vermont is recognized.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, it is Constitution Day. Two hundred 
twenty-two years ago today, the Constitutional Convention finished its 
work and proposed our fundamental charter.
  With this vote, the Senate will finally begin fulfilling one of its 
most important constitutional duties by granting consent to the 
President's lifetime appointment to the Federal judiciary. This is the 
first Federal circuit court judge the Senate has confirmed all year. 
The Senate has yet to confirm a single district court judge. Judicial 
vacancies have spiked and could approach 120 soon.
  We all know Judge Lynch is an outstanding judge and will make an 
excellent circuit judge. His nomination has been on the calendar 
awaiting Senate action for more than 3 months. I am glad his wait is 
finally over. The President made a good nomination, and the Senate 
should grant consent so that Judge Lynch's appointment may finally 
proceed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Madam President, this nominee is a brilliant lawyer and 
an excellent, hard-working judge. He has made a number of speeches in 
the past which evidenced an activist philosophy. I voted against him in 
1997 when he came up. And absent one or two opinions since then, it 
seems he has done an excellent job on the bench.
  I remain concerned that we are seeing a pattern of nominees who 
believe they have the power to amend the Constitution. One--not this 
one--has said he can make footnotes to the Constitution. But this 
nominee is a man of good integrity, a proven record on the bench, and I 
will support the nomination.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of Gerard E. Lynch, of New York to be U.S. 
Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit?
  Mr. SESSIONS. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to 
be.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu) 
is necessarily absent.
  Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Wyoming (Mr. Enzi).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 94, nays 3, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 288 Ex.]

                                YEAS--94

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Brownback
     Burr
     Burris
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson
     Kaufman
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Lautenberg
     LeMieux
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--3

     Bunning
     Coburn
     Inhofe

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Enzi
     Landrieu
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid on the table. The President will 
be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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