[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S1020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 NOMINATION OF BETH LABSON FREEMAN TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 
                FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the nomination.
  The assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of Beth Labson 
Freeman, of California, to be United States District Judge for the 
Northern District of California.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all postcloture time 
is yielded back. There will be 2 minutes of debate equally divided 
between the two leaders or their designees.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I yield back my time.
  Mr. REID. As do we.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas and nays are requested.
  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 Beth Labson Freeman, of California, to be United States District 
Judge for the Northern District of California?
  The yeas and nays are ordered.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Florida (Mr. Nelson) and 
the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) are necessarily 
absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 91, nays 7, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 43 Ex.]

                                YEAS--91

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Begich
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cruz
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson (WI)
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Lee
     Levin
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Paul
     Portman
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Toomey
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Vitter
     Walsh
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--7

     Coats
     Crapo
     Inhofe
     Kirk
     Risch
     Roberts
     Shelby

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Nelson
     Rockefeller
       
  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 
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would like to thank the majority leader 
and the Democratic floor staff for taking the necessary steps to 
confirm the four judicial nominees we have just confirmed between last 
night and today. I am sure the people in Connecticut, Arkansas, and 
California are thankful that their districts now have judges to help 
alleviate the heavy caseload in those districts and that they will now 
be able to have their cases decided in a more expeditious manner.
  There are 28 more judicial nominees still currently pending on the 
Executive Calendar in States such as Tennessee, Kansas, Massachusetts, 
Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Washington, Illinois, Maine, 
Maryland, and Wisconsin.
  I hope Senate Republicans will not continue to politicize the filling 
of judicial vacancies. Americans in those States want a functioning 
Federal judiciary at full capacity so they can seek and obtain justice 
in an expeditious manner.


                            Vote Explanation

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I was regrettably unable to be present 
for vote number 41, the confirmation of James Donato to be a United 
States District Judge for the Northern District of California. I was 
happy to see that he was confirmed, and if I had been present, I would 
have voted yea on the nomination.

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