[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 18 (Monday, February 7, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S596-S600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE SESSION
______
NOMINATION OF DIANA SALDANA TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
______
NOMINATION OF PAUL KINLOCH HOLMES III TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT
JUDGE FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
______
NOMINATION OF MARCO A. HERNANDEZ TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR
THE DISTRICT OF OREGON
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations,
which the clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read the nominations of Diana Saldana, of
Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of
Texas, Paul Kinloch Holmes III, of Arkansas, to be United States
District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas, and Marco A.
Hernandez, of Oregon, to be United States District Judge for the
District of Oregon.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 1 hour
of debate equally divided in the usual form.
The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, the Senate will consider, and I
anticipate confirm, 3 of President Obama's nominations to fill judicial
vacancies on Federal district courts in Arkansas, Oregon, and Texas.
All 3 of the nominations--P.K. Holmes to the Western District of
Arkansas, Judge Diana Saldana to the Southern District of Texas, and
Judge Marco Hernandez to the District of Oregon--will fill judicial
emergency vacancies. Given the serious need on those courts, and the
qualifications of these nominees, there is no reason they could not
have been confirmed when they were nominated and reported unanimously
by the Judiciary Committee last Congress. There is every reason for the
Senate to act promptly now that President Obama has renominated them,
the Judiciary Committee has reconsidered them, and they have again been
reported to the Senate unanimously.
I am hopeful that our actions today signal a return to regular order
in the consideration of nominations without unexplained and damaging
delays. I am hopeful that this signals a return to cooperation to
confront a judicial vacancies crisis that has put at serious risk the
ability of all Americans to find equal access to a fair hearing in
court. Chief Justice Roberts commented on this in his most recent
statement on the judiciary. The White House counsel recently spoke to
the crisis. The President wrote us last year urging action. The real
costs of these unnecessary partisan delays fall on Americans who depend
on the courts. Last September, President Obama wrote that these delays
in Senate consideration of judicial nominees are ``undermining the
ability of our courts to deliver justice to those in need . . . from
working mothers seeking timely compensation for their employment
discrimination claims to communities hoping for swift punishment for
perpetrators of crimes to small business owners seeking protection from
unfair and anticompetitive practices.'' The President was, and still
is, right.
The Attorney General warned us last year that ``the system on which
we all depend for a prompt and fair hearing of our cases when we need
to call on the law--is stressed to the breaking point.'' The National
Association of Assistant United States Attorneys, a group of career
Federal prosecutors likewise wrote to us, stating that, ``Our federal
courts cannot function effectively when judicial vacancies restrain the
ability to render swift and sure justice.''
As we consider these nominations today, there are still more than 100
vacancies in the Federal judiciary. Unlike the progress we made during
President Bush's first 2 years in office when the Senate confirmed 100
judges and sharply reduced judicial vacancies, during the first 2 years
of President Obama's term, we were only allowed to consider 60 judicial
nominations. Despite vacancies for nearly 1 out of every 8 Federal
judgeships, last year the Senate adjourned without voting on 19
judicial nominations favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee. The
3 judges we will confirm today were among those 19. They could and
should have been confirmed last year.
The Senate must do better. We can consider and confirm this
President's
[[Page S597]]
nominations to the Federal bench in a timely manner. This President has
reached across the aisle to work with home State Republican Senators.
His nominees, like the nominees from Texas and Arkansas before us
today, are supported by their home State Republican Senators. They are
not controversial. They tend to be superbly qualified nominees with a
strong commitment to the rule of law and a demonstrated faithfulness to
the Constitution. The 3 nominees before us today, the 11 judicial
nominees voted out of the Judiciary Committee unanimously last week,
and the 4 other judicial nominations that will be considered on
February 17 are all nominees who were nominated last Congress and
considered and approved by the Judiciary Committee with strong
bipartisan support.
With judicial vacancies now at 104, nearly half of them judicial
emergency vacancies, the Nation cannot afford further delays by the
Senate in taking action on the nominations pending before it. Judicial
vacancies on courts throughout the country hinder the Federal
judiciary's ability to fulfill its constitutional role. They create a
backlog of cases that prevents people from having their day in court.
This is unacceptable. In order for the Senate to ensure that the courts
are functioning at full capacity, we must restore regular order.
A return to regular order would mean that nominations sent by the
Judiciary Committee to the Senate should be considered expeditiously,
not stalled interminably. Noncontroversial nominations should be taken
up and approved on a regular basis. They should not be stalled for
weeks and months for no good reason. We must return to the Senate's
longstanding practice of quickly considering well-qualified consensus
judicial nominations reported by the Judiciary Committee. Senators
should not stall noncontroversial nominees. We should not have months
and months of damaging delays for no good reason on virtually every
judicial nomination.
If Senators want to debate a nomination, we should have one. But then
we should vote. Nominations that do have opposition should be taken up
on a regular basis for debate, with cloture votes if necessary, so that
all nominations can be acted upon in a reasonable amount of time. The
Senate must move beyond the petty partisanship that has resulted in
this vacancy crisis.
I thank Senator Grassley, the Judiciary Committee's new ranking
member, for his cooperation in helping us to report 11 of the
previously reported judicial nominations last week, and for working
with me to schedule our first confirmation hearing of the new Congress.
I look forward to continuing to work with him, with Majority Leader
Reid and with Republican Leader McConnell to schedule votes on the many
other nominees reported favorably by the Judiciary Committee so that we
can ensure that the Federal judiciary has the judges and resources it
needs to provide justice to Americans in courts throughout the country.
When I was chairman of the Judiciary Committee during 17 months of
President Bush's first 2 years in office with a Democratic majority, we
favorably reported 100 of his Federal circuit and district court
nominees. All 100 were confirmed. I continued to work hard to make
progress considering President Bush's circuit and district court
nominations as ranking member during the President Bush's 3rd and 4th
years in office when Senator Hatch was the committee chairman, and the
Senate confirmed another 105. That should be our benchmark. By the end
of this Congress, we should consider and confirm 205 Federal judges,
just as we did during President Bush's first term. That is how we can
reduce vacancies from the historically high levels at which they have
remained throughout these first 2 years of the Obama administration to
the historically low level we reached toward the end of the Bush
administration. With the three confirmations today our total will stand
at 63.
Overall, judicial vacancies were reduced during the Bush
administration from more than 10 percent to less than 4 percent. During
the Bush administration, the Federal court vacancies were reduced from
110 to 34 and Federal circuit court vacancies were reduced from a high
of 32 down to single digits. Regrettably, this progress has not
continued with a Democratic President in office. Instead, the minority
has allowed votes on only 60 of President Obama's Federal circuit and
district court nominees, judicial vacancies have skyrocketed and remain
over 100 and over 10 percent.
Today the Senate considers 3 of President Obama's qualified nominees.
President Obama nominated Paul K. Holmes, III, last April to fill an
emergency vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Western District
of Arkansas. Mr. Holmes is currently Of Counsel at the Fort Smith, AR,
law firm where he formerly worked for more than two decades as an
associate and a partner. Previously, he was the U.S. attorney for the
Western District of Arkansas. As U.S. Attorney, Holmes served for 2
years on the Attorney General's Advisory Committee. Mr. Holmes earned
the highest possible rating--unanimously well qualified--from the
American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary,
and his nomination has now garnered the support of 3 Arkansas Senators,
Senators Pryor and Lincoln last Congress, and also Senator Boozman. I
thank the Senators from Arkansas for working with us. I am pleased that
Mr. Holmes will be confirmed without further delay.
President Obama nominated Diana Saldana last July to fill an
emergency vacancy in the Southern District of Texas, the district she
has served as a magistrate judge since 2006. Before taking the bench,
Judge Saldana served the Southern District for 5 years as a Federal
prosecutor, and she previously was a lawyer in private practice and a
trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of
Justice. The child of migrant farmworkers, Judge Saldana began working
alongside her family in the sugar beet fields at age 10, and she
continued to do so for more than a decade. After graduating from law
school, she served as a law clerk to then-Chief Judge George P. Kazen.
If confirmed, Judge Saldana will fill the vacancy created by Judge
Kazen's retirement. Judge Saldana earned the highest possible rating--
unanimously well qualified--from the ABA's Standing Committee on the
Federal Judiciary. She has the support of her two Republican home State
Senators. Senator Cornyn called her ``one of the toughest law enforcers
in South Texas,'' and Senator Hutchison added that Judge Saldana ``has
some of the finest qualities we expect in our judges.'' Her nomination
has twice been reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee. I am
pleased she will be confirmed without further delay.
Marco A. Hernandez was nominated last July to fill an emergency
vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. He has
served as a State judge in Oregon for the last 15 years, first on the
district court and now as a circuit court judge. Previously, Judge
Hernandez was a deputy district attorney in Washington County, OR, and
a lawyer for Oregon Legal Services. Judge Hernandez has the support of
his two home State Senators, and he has now been nominated to this
position by Presidents of both parties. If confirmed, he will become
the first Latino to serve as a Federal judge in Oregon. His nomination
was reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee last Congress and
again this Congress. It was ironic that after Senator Sessions made
quite a fuss that Judge Hernandez had not been considered and confirmed
when nominated at the very end of the Bush administration, the Senator
then proceeded to delay committee consideration of his nomination last
year and then Republican objections prevented Senate action last year.
I thank Senator Wyden and Senator Merkley for their consistent support
for Judge Hernandez's nomination and am pleased that he will be
confirmed without further delay.
I have often said that the 100 of us in the Senate stand in the shoes
of over 300 million Americans. We owe it to them to do our
constitutional duty of voting on the President's nominations to be
Federal judges. We owe it to them to make sure that hard-working
Americans are able to have their cases heard in our Federal courts.
All three branches of the Federal Government come together when the
Senate considers a President's nomination to a lifetime appointment on
the
[[Page S598]]
Federal bench. The Senate has a constitutional duty to act responsibly
to consider the President's nominees and to confirm members of the
Judiciary. Most importantly, the Senate has a responsibility to the
American people to help ensure that Federal judges are there to protect
their rights and administer justice.
I mentioned that one of the nominees is Judge Diana Saldana to the
Southern District of Texas. I see my good friends, both the Senators
from Texas, are here, one of whom I have the privilege to serve with on
the Senate Judiciary Committee and one of whom I have the privilege to
serve with in the Senate.
I yield the floor and reserve the remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished chairman of
the Judiciary Committee. I rise today to speak in support of the Diana
Saldana confirmation to serve as a Federal judge for the Southern
District of Texas in Laredo.
Judge Saldana's career has given her a breadth of experience that I
believe will serve her well on the Federal bench. She received her B.A.
in history and government from the University of Texas and then went on
to receive a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.
She was born in Carrizo Springs, TX, only a stone's throw from where
she is currently serving as a U.S. magistrate judge in Laredo, TX.
Prior to that, Judge Saldana served 4 years as an assistant U.S.
attorney. She handled as many as 350 active Federal criminal cases a
year, ranging from immigration to narcotics to health care. It was in
this capacity that she was selected coordinator for Chief Judge George
Kazen. Before her work in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Judge Saldana
spent time as a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Civil
Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the General
Counsel's Office. She also served as a law clerk to Judge Kazen in the
Southern District of Texas.
Judge Saldana has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Southern
District of Texas Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme
Court. Judge Saldana has good professional experience, and she is well
respected in the South Texas community. The American Bar Association
gave her a unanimous ``well qualified'' rating, and I believe she will
be an effective Federal judge in South Texas.
In September, I introduced Judge Saldana before the Judiciary
Committee, and today I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support her
nomination and confirm her as a Federal judge for the Southern District
in Laredo, TX.
Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I wish to join my colleague, Senator
Hutchison, in commending to our colleagues the nomination of Judge
Diana Saldana of Laredo, TX, who has been nominated, as we have heard,
to be a U.S. district judge in the Southern District of Texas. This is
a busy docket, as one can imagine, being right on the U.S.-Mexico
border, with the unfortunate drug-trafficking and immigration-related
cases and the like. So this is a very important nomination. I hope my
colleagues will join us in confirming her nomination.
Senator Hutchison and I, as do many Senators, have a bipartisan
committee of lawyers in the State--people who are very respected in the
legal community who screen the people who apply for these positions,
recognizing the importance of them and that they are lifetime
appointments. We do our very best to make this a depoliticized process,
believing that whether one is a good judge doesn't depend on whether
one is a Republican or an Independent or Democrat as long as one is
always willing to enforce the law and not impose one's own personal
beliefs or any other type of agenda.
Diana Saldana really represents the manifestation of the American
dream. I had the opportunity to introduce her at the hearing she had
before the Judiciary Committee, along with her wonderful family.
Throughout the process, the more I learned about Diana's personal
story, the more I grew to admire not only all she has accomplished but
what she stands for in terms of our national guarantee that if you come
to America, if you work hard, if you make the most of your God-given
gifts, you can achieve anything. Judge Saldana represents that dream.
At the age of 10, she began traveling with her parents and siblings
from her home in Carrizo Springs to Minnesota and North Dakota to work
as migrant farmers in the soybean, sugar beet, and potato fields.
Because of the seasonal nature of migrant farm work, Diana and her
siblings would often leave South Texas before the school year ended and
return after the next school year had begun. Of course, one can imagine
how tough that is on a young student. She traveled 1,500 miles north
and worked with her family in the fields every summer through high
school and college, and she even worked in the fields during her first
year of law school as well.
Despite these challenges, Diana rose to the occasion, and she
succeeded in becoming the first person in her family to get a college
degree. She recalls that while working as a migrant farmer, her mother
told her that an education was the only way out of doing manual labor,
and indeed she learned that lesson very well.
She was once asked what person had the greatest impact on her, and
she said, as many of us might answer, her mother. She said:
My mother has a third grade education, but she was able to
raise six children by working hard and having a deep faith in
God . . . I remember her working up to three jobs at a time,
taking naps in the family car, when our finances were
especially tight, to make ends meet . . . My mother instilled
in us a strong work ethic and encouraged us to dream for a
better life.
Today, Judge Saldana doesn't just receive the gifts she has gotten as
being the child of a hard-working and dedicated and sacrificing mother,
she has turned it around and become a mentor to young people herself,
using her own story as an inspiration to others and saying: If I worked
hard and I was successful, you can, too, even as improbable as that may
seem at the time.
I could go on and on about Judge Saldana because her life story is
truly remarkable and quite an inspiration, but I will conclude with
this: Diana Saldana has been nominated to fill the vacancy left by her
own mentor, Judge George Kazen, who is taking senior status. Judge
Kazen knows Diana better than just about anybody, other than her
family. She served as his law clerk, appeared before him as a Federal
prosecutor, and presided over many cases as a Federal magistrate judge.
Judge Kazen described Diana as ``one of the finest law clerks'' he ever
had and a ``tough, no-nonsense prosecutor.'' He called her the
``quintessential judge--intelligent, hard-working, fair, honest, and
decisive.'' Finally, Judge Kazen told us it would be his ``personal
honor'' if Judge Saldana was confirmed as his successor. I can't think
of any higher praise.
In just a few minutes, the Senate will confirm Diana Saldana as a
U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Texas. I know I speak
for many Texans when I say we could not be more proud.
Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, on the floor tonight we have three very
distinguished individuals whom President Obama has nominated to be
Federal judges. I commend the committee for bringing them forward and
Senator Leahy for his tremendous ongoing leadership on the Judiciary
Committee. I know, as my colleagues from Texas have indicated, these
are extremely competent individuals. All three of them were reported
out of the Judiciary Committee with unanimous approval. In light of the
current judicial emergencies, I urge my colleagues to confirm them this
evening.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time used during the
quorum call be charged equally to both sides.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. STABENOW. 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. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
[[Page S599]]
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in addition to my support for Judge
Saldana and Mr. Holmes, I rise in support of Marco A. Hernandez to be
U.S. district judge for the District of Oregon.
I am pleased the Senate is finally turning to this nomination. This
is the third Congress to consider Mr. Hernandez's nomination. President
Bush nominated Judge Hernandez to this seat in the 110th Congress.
Unfortunately, his nomination stalled in the Judiciary Committee,
although he had the full support of every Republican on the committee.
After pending for over 5 months with no action, his nomination, at that
time, was returned to the President.
This vacancy has been designated a judicial emergency. Therefore, I
would have expected his nomination to have been made very early in the
111th Congress. However, it was not sent to the Senate until July of
last year. Because of that delayed nomination, the Senate was unable to
complete action on the nomination in that Congress. At the close of the
111th Congress, the nomination was again returned to the President.
Mr. Hernandez has been rated ``qualified'' by the American Bar
Association. He received his B.A. from Western Oregon State College and
his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.
After graduating from law school, he served as an attorney for Oregon
Legal Services, where he represented migrant farmworkers. He later
joined the Washington County district attorney's office as a deputy
district attorney.
Mr. Hernandez is a fine nominee under President Bush's standards but
also a fine nominee under President Obama's standards. I am pleased
this nomination is finally before the Senate. I am, however,
disappointed that we have a vacancy that could have been filled over 2
years ago. With our vote today, the President can fill this judicial
emergency seat with a qualified nominee.
Mr. President, I also support the nomination of Diana Saldana to be a
U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Texas. She has the
support of both home State Senators who spoke very highly of her at her
September 29, 2010, nomination hearing.
Judge Saldana received a BA in history and in government from the
University of Texas. She received her JD from the University of Texas
School of Law. Upon graduation, she clerked for the Honorable George
Kazen.
She has had a very successful career. Judge Saldana has been a staff
attorney in the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, a trial attorney with the Department of Justice, and
served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Texas.
She was appointed to be a U.S. magistrate judge in 2006.
Judge Saldana was nominated by the President on July 14, 2010. She
was rated unanimously well qualified by the American Bar Association.
I am pleased to support Judge Saldana's nomination to this very
important seat. Not only has it been deemed to be a judicial emergency
but it is also the seat to which her mentor, Judge Kazen, previously
occupied.
Mr. President, I also support Paul Kinloch Holmes III, a nominee to
be a U.S. district judge for the Western District of Arkansas. A
graduate of Westminster College and the University of Arkansas School
of Law, Mr. Holmes has been rated unanimously well qualified by the
American Bar Association.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Holmes became an associate at
the law firm of Warner & Smith, a firm that focused on general civil
practice. On August 6, 1993, President Clinton nominated him to be the
U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. The Senate
confirmed his nomination shortly after, and he served his role with
distinction until 2001. Since then, Mr. Holmes has been in private
practice handling both criminal and civil litigation.
Again, I am pleased to support the nomination of Mr. Holmes to this
seat that has been deemed a judicial emergency.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I rise to also support the nomination of
Judge Marco Hernandez of Oregon to the U.S. district court. Judge
Hernandez is unquestionably qualified to serve on this court. He has
built his career through hard work and determination.
As a young man, he attended night classes at a local community
college before enrolling at Western Oregon State College. He then
proceeded to get a law degree at the University of Washington School of
Law.
As a young man, he picked crops. After he graduated from law school
at the University of Washington, he returned to Oregon to join Legal
Aid Services and represent farm workers. He went on to serve as deputy
district attorney in Washington County and was later appointed to be a
State court judge, a position he has held since 1995.
As a State court judge, he established an innovative domestic
violence program designed to aggressively pursue offenders. He also
established a new program to assist mentally ill defendants, a program
he continues to oversee.
Judge Hernandez was first nominated to the district court by
President Bush in 2008. Although Congress did not act on his
nomination, he has again been nominated by President Obama and has the
support of Republicans, Democrats, and organizations representing the
spectrum of the legal community.
He also has strong support from the Hispanic National Bar Association
and, if confirmed, will be the first Hispanic article III judge in the
State of Oregon.
I urge my colleagues to support Judge Hernandez's confirmation. I
look forward to his contributions, based on the depth and breadth of
his life experience, to the U.S. district court.
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. ROCKEFELLER. 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. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time
be yielded back so we can proceed to our votes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Under the previous order, all time having been yielded back, the
nomination of Marco A. Hernandez is confirmed.
The Senate will proceed to vote on the nomination of Diana Saldana to
be U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Texas.
Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
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 Diana Saldana, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the
Southern District of Texas?
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr.
Kerry), the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl), the Senator from New
Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman),
and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) are necessarily absent.
I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from New
Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg) would vote ``yea.''
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander).
Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr.
Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 94, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 12 Ex.]
YEAS--94
Akaka
Ayotte
Barrasso
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Burr
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
[[Page S600]]
Crapo
DeMint
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagan
Harkin
Hatch
Hoeven
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (SD)
Johnson (WI)
Kirk
Klobuchar
Kyl
Landrieu
Leahy
Lee
Levin
Lugar
Manchin
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Merkley
Mikulski
Moran
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Paul
Portman
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Rockefeller
Rubio
Sanders
Schumer
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Thune
Toomey
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Vitter
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NOT VOTING--6
Alexander
Kerry
Kohl
Lautenberg
Lieberman
Menendez
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, we are going to have one more vote tonight.
Senator McConnell and I have spoken earlier today. We will have one or
two votes in the morning. We will terminate before 11 o'clock, so we
will have a vote around 10 o'clock, 10:15 in the morning--maybe two--on
the FAA bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, is there time for the Senator form Arkansas
if he wants it? I request 2 minutes equally divided on the Arkansas
nomination, and I yield my time to the senior Senator from Arkansas.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I rise today to support the nomination of
Paul K. Holmes--in Arkansas we call him P.K. Holmes--for the district
court judgeship in western Arkansas. A lot of times when you stand here
at this moment in a nomination, it is like making a closing argument.
But in this particular case there is no argument; everybody is for him.
The American Bar Association, Democrats, Republicans, plaintiffs,
defendants, everybody in Arkansas is for him.
He has been an Arkansas Lawyer of the Year. He has been the Western
District U.S. Attorney. He is a partner in Warner, Smith and Harris. P.
K. Holmes has an outstanding record and outstanding reputation. He
likes to talk about the fact that he has a small town general practice,
and that is true. He has handled a little bit of everything, but he has
always done it with integrity. He has an outstanding reputation in
Arkansas as a lawyer and a great member of the community.
I would hope all of my colleagues support this nomination.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin). All time is yielded back.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination
of Paul Kinloch Holmes III, of Arkansas, to be U.S. district judge for
the Western District of Arkansas?
Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr.
Kerry), the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl), the Senator from
Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman), and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr.
Menendez) are necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander).
Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr.
Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 95, nays 0, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 13 Ex.]
YEAS--95
Akaka
Ayotte
Barrasso
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Burr
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagan
Harkin
Hatch
Hoeven
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (SD)
Johnson (WI)
Kirk
Klobuchar
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Lee
Levin
Lugar
Manchin
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Merkley
Mikulski
Moran
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Paul
Portman
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Rockefeller
Rubio
Sanders
Schumer
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Thune
Toomey
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Vitter
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NOT VOTING--5
Alexander
Kerry
Kohl
Lieberman
Menendez
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motions to
reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table. The President
shall be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
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