[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 193 (Thursday, December 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8625-S8628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         Defense Authorization

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, again, with the indulgence of my 
colleagues, if I might, just for a moment, call to the attention of my 
colleagues the several provisions of the Defense authorization bill we 
are going to consider for final passage today. These provisions will 
have a major impact on our defense structure and performance in the 
years to come. These reforms were previously included in a bill I 
introduced with Senator Lindsey Graham in May, S. 1025, which Senator 
Graham and I nicknamed ``Guard Empowerment II.''
  As cochair with Senator Graham of the Senate National Guard Caucus, I 
am pleased to report that the most important of these Guard empowerment 
reforms are included in the final version of the Defense authorization 
bill. They include a provision that will make the Chief of the National 
Guard Bureau a statutory member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Joint 
Chiefs--our highest military policy council--has not added a member 
since 1978--and I remember that because I voted for it--when the 
Commandant of the Marine Corps was finally added as a full participant.
  This is truly a historic day for the National Guard and for all the 
Guard does for our Nation. One might ask: Why now? Why is this change 
so important? Our Guard has been bravely serving in near constant 
rotation with Active-Duty Forces overseas for the last decade. Each of 
us has gone to Afghanistan or Iraq and seen our Guard serving. At the 
same time, these Guard troops have been the military's first responders 
at home. The Pentagon hasn't caught up with the institutional changes 
that have to accompany this. It is a whole different world for the 
National Guard today than what it was 20 years ago.
  In fact, after all the National Guard has done over the past 10 
years, we are hearing rumors the Air Force is already planning serious 
cuts to its Guard and Reserve components. General Schwartz, Air Force 
Chief of Staff, announced:

       We're going to get smaller. Active duty, Guard, and 
     Reserve--we're going to get smaller together.

  I question the logic of an across-the-board cut. I hope most of us 
would. That is why we have to have a Guard Chief on the Joint Chiefs of 
Staff to provide a vital voice, perhaps a dissenting voice, when it is 
needed most.
  When I look at the Vermont Guard, it demonstrates why these kinds of 
cuts don't make sense. The Vermont Guard deployed nearly 1,500 troops 
to Afghanistan last year. Before that, the Vermont Guard deployed to 
Iraq during one of its most violent periods and made unspeakable 
sacrifices for this country. I know because I went to the funerals of 
Vermont Guard members and because we are such a small State, many times 
everybody knew the person who had died.
  The Vermont Air Guard flew more than 100 consecutive days of air 
missions over New York City and Washington after the attacks of 
September 11 around the clock. If we properly man, train, and equip our 
State Guards, our military leaders will find them the peer of any 
Active-Duty unit. In fact, the Vermont Air Guard is one of the first 
three units to be considered to receive the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. 
And not only will the service Chiefs find their reserve components 
ready to serve when called, they will find them a lot less expensive.
  The Defense bill also includes several other provisions of our Guard 
empowerment bill. It reinstates the three-star Vice Chief of the Guard 
Bureau, it institutes the recommendations on Federal-State military 
integration offered by the Council of Governors, it includes a limited 
authorization of the State Partnership Program, it mandates the 
consideration of Guard generals for certain vacant positions at U.S. 
Northern Command, and on and on.
  I think it is going to lay the groundwork for further collaboration 
between the Armed Services Committee, the Appropriations Committee, and 
the Senate National Guard Caucus. Our National Guard is a superb 21st-
century military organization, but it has been trapped in a 20th-
century Pentagon bureaucracy.
  These reforms will help clear away the cobwebs.
  It shows what happens when Democrats and Republicans work together. 
Sometimes it is not noted in the press, but a lot gets done around here 
when Democrats and Republicans work together. Senator Graham and I 
introduced a bill in May that has more than 70 cosponsors from both 
parties. We have accomplished a lot for our Guard with this bill, 
again, by having Democrats and Republicans work together. There is more 
to be done, but what a great start.
  As I have said about Democrats and Republicans working together, I 
have to applaud the two Senators from Alaska. Because of their hard 
work, we have this nominee before us, and that is something every one 
of us should take pride in, the way the two have worked together.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Alaska.

[[Page S8627]]

  Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, first I want to comment on the work the 
Senator from Vermont has done with regard to the Guard. It affects us 
in Alaska a great deal, and I want to thank him for all of the hard 
work he has done.
  In regard to the nomination today, again the chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy, has done an incredible job bringing 
so many judges to the floor. I come to the floor today in strong 
support of the nomination of Morgan Christen to fill a vacancy on the 
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
  I have known Morgan for years and am continually impressed with her 
keen legal mind, her outstanding record of public service, and her 
ability to carve plenty of time out of her schedule for her extensive 
volunteer work.
  For decades, Morgan has been recognized by her peers as one of the 
finest attorneys and judges in Alaska. She is currently one of the five 
justices on our State supreme court. I am confident she will continue 
to be a fair and impartial judge as a member of the Ninth Circuit.
  Justice Christen was born and raised in Washington State and excelled 
at the Golden Gate School of Law where she earned her J.D. in 1986. 
Right after graduating from law school, Morgan came to my State to 
clerk for the Alaska Superior Court. As many people do, once she got a 
taste of Alaska, she decided to stay and raise her family.
  Morgan worked for one of the finest law firms in Anchorage and 
quickly became a partner. In 2001, Morgan was appointed to the 
Anchorage Superior Court by my former boss, Gov. Tony Knowles. The 
Anchorage Superior Court is an important one in my State, handling 
criminal cases, family law, and even civil matters. As she always does, 
Morgan did an excellent job in the court.
  Before long, she became the presiding judge at Alaska's Third 
Judicial District, the busiest court in Alaska. As a presiding judge, 
she supervised over 40 judicial officers and 13 court locations.
  When I was mayor of Anchorage, our city was fighting against youth 
gangs, who were committing serious offenses and pushing up the crime 
rates in our community. Anchorage has an unusual judicial system and 
arrangement with the State. The city police provide basic law 
enforcement, but the State of Alaska runs the court and the corrections 
system. I worked closely with Judge Christen across municipal and State 
lines to crack down on these gangs and make Anchorage streets safer. I 
found her to be an energetic innovator who is sensitive to the broad 
cultural diversity of our State. In 2009, she was elevated to the 
highest court in the State, the Alaska Supreme Court.
  In addition to Justice Christen's impressive record of public service 
on Alaska's State courts, she also finds time to be one of the most 
prolific volunteers in our State. Her volunteer resume is pages long. 
If there is a volunteer organization in Alaska, more than likely Morgan 
has probably worked on it, with it, or served on the board. She is a 
member of the Rotary Club, the YWCA, the Alaska Community Foundation, 
the Athena Society. She has been on the board of directors of the 
United Way of Alaska. She has also been on the board of directors of 
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Alaska, and the Rasmussen Foundation. 
In 2004, Morgan and her husband Jim were jointly recognized as 
Outstanding Alaska Philanthropists of the Year--truly an impressive 
honor.
  I am proud to support such an outstanding Alaskan to sit on the Ninth 
Circuit Court of Appeals, and I want to urge all of my Senate 
colleagues to support her nomination as well.
  Justice Christen has bipartisan support. She received the unanimous 
support of every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee in September. 
In Alaska, she was elevated once by a Democratic Governor and once by a 
Republican Governor. The American Bar Association has recognized her 
legal capability and rated her as ``unanimously well qualified'' to 
serve as a judge on the Ninth Circuit.
  Morgan is one of the greatest legal minds and one of the most caring 
individuals Alaska has to offer. I am honored to support her for this 
position and honored to count her as a friend. I strongly urge every 
Member of this body to confirm her nomination to the Ninth Circuit.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Alaska.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I too rise in support of Morgan 
Christen, the nominee who is before us today, and I add my thanks to 
the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and, in fact, the entire 
Judiciary Committee, for their work in advancing not only Judge 
Christen as she has moved forward through the process, but it was 
several weeks ago that we were pleased to move through this body the 
nomination of Judge Sharon Gleason.
  I think it is worthy of note that Alaska in the past month now has 
moved forward two extraordinary women jurists who will work to serve us 
in an incredible way. If there is any regret I have, it is that such 
exceptional women are being taken from our State judiciary system and 
moved on to other positions, so there is a loss there. We are going to 
have to work to fill those back benches. But I am very pleased today to 
speak in support of Morgan Christen, a justice of the Alaskan Supreme 
Court who has been nominated to serve on the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court 
of Appeals.
  This is a historic nomination. Only two Alaskans have had an 
opportunity to serve on the Ninth Circuit, and both of those judges 
were, somewhat predictably, men. The first Alaskan to serve was Robert 
Boochever, who was appointed by President Clinton. Judge Boochever 
accepted senior status in 1986, and we were saddened when he passed 
away on October 9, 2011, at the age of 94. The second on the Ninth 
Circuit was Andrew J. Kleinfeld, who accepted senior status on June 12 
of last year. Justice Christen has been nominated to fill the vacancy 
created when Justice Kleinfeld took senior status. That vacancy has 
existed now for 18 months, which should concern all of us, given the 
heavy workload that faces the Ninth Circuit. That said, it often takes 
a little bit of time to get the best, and there is no doubt in my mind 
that when President Obama selected Morgan Christen for the Ninth 
Circuit, he selected the best.

  I have known Justice Christen for almost 25 years now. We graduated 
from law school at about the same time. We both clerked for the Alaska 
court system at the same time and we have kept in touch over the years. 
I have come to know Morgan, her husband Jim, and her family.
  Morgan Christen is an experienced, very well-rounded attorney. She is 
an exceptionally well-rounded jurist with experience on the trial and 
the appellate bench. She is an individual with a keen intellect and an 
impeccable reputation for integrity. She is highly regarded across the 
ideological spectrum in Alaska as a judge who keeps politics and 
ideology off the bench.
  Given the bruising nomination battles that have taken place here in 
the Senate over the past few years, a few of our colleagues might be 
inclined to challenge the notion that there is any such thing as a 
nonideological, nonpolitical judicial nominee. But in response, I would 
simply note that Morgan Christen was elected to serve on the Alaska 
Superior Court by Gov. Tony Knowles, a very well-known Democrat. She 
was then later selected to serve on the Alaska Supreme Court by Sarah 
Palin, our very well-known Republican Governor. Under Alaska's 
nonpolitical judicial selection process, she was vetted by the Alaska 
Judicial Council before her selection to the superior court in 2001, 
and once again prior to standing for retention election in 2004. 
Justice Christen was then vetted for yet a third time before her 
selection to the Alaska Supreme Court in 2009. In each case, she 
secured high marks from Alaska's very diverse legal community. In fact, 
she was ranked the top candidate for the supreme court position in a 
scientifically conducted study of Alaskan attorneys.
  I have appreciated that Justice Christen has been mindful of the 
separation of powers throughout her judicial career, and mindful of the 
fact that her personal views have no bearing when it is time to 
determine the rule of law. I know we can expect her to continue in that 
vein when she moves on to the Federal bench.
  Morgan Christen was educated at the University of Washington and 
Golden Gate University School of Law. She

[[Page S8628]]

spent portions of her undergraduate years studying in England, 
Switzerland, and China. Following law school, she clerked on the Alaska 
Superior Court and then entered private practice in the Anchorage 
office of Preston Gates & Ellis. As a private practice attorney, she 
represented the State of Alaska in the litigation that followed the 
1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
  As a member of the superior court bench, she served as the presiding 
judge of the Third Judicial District there in Anchorage which, as was 
noted, is the busiest judicial district in the State of Alaska. She 
held that position for 4 years. As a supreme court justice, she is 
deeply engaged in community outreach. In fact, she won the Alaska 
Supreme Court Community Outreach Award back in 2008. She also holds the 
Light of Hope Award for work on behalf of Alaska's children. I think 
her voluntarism has been acknowledged and highlighted. Not only does 
she meet the demands of a busy bench practice, but also takes the time, 
with her family, to be very engaged in our community.
  I inquired with some of my friends, former colleagues on the Alaska 
bar, about her reputation in anticipation of my comments today. One 
Alaskan stated:

       Morgan is extraordinarily talented and is well respected by 
     her peers. She constantly brings justice and fairness to her 
     professional and personal life. Friends and colleagues across 
     the country have savored her wild raspberry jam.

  I have yet to have the opportunity to savor her wild raspberry jam. I 
do a pretty mean raspberry jam myself, so I think we are going to have 
to trade and see. But it is yet one more aspect about this pretty 
amazing woman I wanted to share today.
  Another colleague stated, very simply, that she is a calm, 
thoughtful, and strong woman. Good words.
  In closing, let me simply say that Morgan Christen is more than just 
a good judge; she is a good person. Justice will be well served by her 
confirmation to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. I urge my 
colleagues to support this nomination with enthusiasm, as I do.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today the Senate is expected to confirm 
an additional judicial nominee. With this vote, we will have confirmed 
62 article III nominees during this Congress. More than half of these 
have been for vacancies designated as judicial emergencies. That is 
real progress. Over 72 percent of President Obama's judicial nominees 
have been confirmed.
  Morgan Christen is nominated to be U.S. circuit judge for the Ninth 
Circuit. Justice Christen received her B.A. from the University of 
Washington in 1983, and her J.D. from Golden Gate University Law School 
in 1986. After graduating from law school, she clerked for the Hon. 
Brian Shortell on the Alaska Superior Court in Anchorage.
  In 1987 she was hired at Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, working as an 
associate until 1992. She was a partner in the firm from 1993 to 2002. 
At that firm she was a general civil litigator, primarily representing 
plaintiffs. She began by assisting with large litigation projects. One 
of her most notable early matters involved serving on the liability 
team representing the State of Alaska in its claims for compensation 
arising from the Exxon Valdez oilspill. After the State settled its 
liability claim in 1991, she defended claims brought by individuals who 
argued the State's response to the spill was inadequate.
  By the time Justice Christen became a partner in 1993, she had 
developed a practice in Jones Act personal injury claims and was lead 
counsel in a case in the U.S. Court of Claims representing the parents 
of an infant who died after receiving a childhood vaccination. She also 
served as lead counsel on four aviation fatality cases between 1993 and 
1999, representing the estate of an FAA employee who was killed in a 
mid-air collision, the estate of a pilot killed during a catastrophic 
engine failure and in-flight failure, among others. She has also served 
as the lead counsel in the Equal Pay Act and represented a fuel barge 
line in several commercial disputes. Finally, from 1999 to 2001 over 
half of her practice was devoted to defending two physician practice 
groups in a Federal Medicaid fraud investigation and related False 
Claims Act case, and assisting with the defense of a class action 
antitrust case brought against purchasers of salmon harvested in 
Alaska.
  In 2001 she was appointed to the Alaska Superior Court, where she 
served from January 9, 2002, until her elevation to the supreme court 
in 2009. The superior court is the court of general jurisdiction in 
Alaska. As a superior court judge, her docket was comprised entirely of 
civil cases. From 2005 to 2009 she served as presiding judge of the 
Third Judicial District of the Superior Court. In this position she 
supervised approximately 40 judicial officers in 13 court locations.
  Justice Christen was appointed to the Alaska Supreme Court on March 
4, 2009, and has been a member of that court from April 6, 2009, to the 
present. She was nominated for that seat by the Alaska Judicial 
Council, composed by three members of the bar, three members of the 
public appointed by Governors, and the chief justice. She was then 
selected from a slate of two nominees by Governor Sarah Palin.
  The American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal 
Judiciary has rated Justice Christen with a unanimous ``well 
qualified'' rating.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, how much time is remaining on the 
judgeship?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. On the Republican side, there is 7 minutes 16 
seconds; on the Democratic side, 3 minutes 52 seconds.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to reiterate what I said before 
about Senator Murkowski and Senator Begich for their support of this 
woman for the Ninth Circuit. I appreciate the work they have done on 
this nomination. I also appreciate the personal comments the senior 
Senator from Alaska made, going back to her law school days. I think 
sometimes we forget that these judicial nominees are real people and 
they have a real life and are a real part of the community. So I 
appreciate that.
  I yield back the remainder of the time on our side.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I yield back all the time on the 
Republican side.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. All time is yielded back.

                          ____________________