[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 30, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2555-S2556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Vote on Shah Nomination

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the nomination of Manish S. Shah, of Illinois, to be United 
States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois?
 Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, today I wish to congratulate Manish 
Shah. I am proud to have put forward Mr. Shah to be a Federal district 
court judge for Northern Illinois. I thank President Obama for 
nominating him. I thank the Senate for voting to confirm Manish Shah.
  Senator Durbin, Illinois' senior Senator, and I work to ensure 
Illinois has highly skilled judges to help strengthen our courts. Mr. 
Shah was such a judicial nominee.
  In Illinois, Mr. Shah has established himself as an outstanding 
lawyer and dedicated public servant. He was among the most experienced 
prosecutors in the Northern District of Illinois. Now with Senate 
confirmation, Mr. Shah starts the next phase of his legal career. He is 
ready to take a seat on the Federal bench.
  We, as Americans, should be proud of Manish Shah. He is a great 
American success story. Mr. Shah was born in New York. His parents 
emigrated from India and raised their two sons in West Hartford, CT. 
Mr. Shah attended Stanford University and graduated with honors and 
distinction. He attended the University of Chicago Law School, and 
again he graduated with honors.
  After law school, Shah was a litigation associate at Heller Ehrman in 
San Francisco and clerked for Hon. James B. Zagel of the U.S. District 
Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
  Mr. Shah joined the Chicago U.S. attorney's office in September 2001 
and prosecuted violent crime, international drug trafficking, complex 
fraud, and public corruption. During his time as a Federal prosecutor, 
Mr. Shah developed a stellar record--notably, Mr. Shah worked with 
former U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Mr. Shah and a team of 
prosecutors and Federal agents investigated and prosecuted a series of 
cases arising out of the city of Chicago's Hired Truck Program and 
Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
  While working at the U.S. attorney's office Mr. Shah served in 
several leadership positions. He was a deputy chief of the General 
Crimes Section and the Financial Crimes and Special Prosecutions 
Section, and he was the chief of the Appellate Section. Mr. Shah was 
the chief of the Criminal Division and

[[Page S2556]]

responsible for supervising the prosecutions in the Northern District 
of Illinois handled by the approximately 130 Assistant U.S. attorneys. 
These are the types of life and work experiences that make great 
judges.
  Mr. Shah will be a knowledgeable jurist who will provide a fair forum 
for the resolution of civil disputes and the prosecution of alleged 
crimes. I am sure Mr. Shah will have a long and stellar career on the 
Federal bench in the Northern District of Illinois. I am certain Mr. 
Shah will be a top-rate judge.
  I congratulate Mr. Shah on his confirmation. I look forward to 
following his judicial career.
  Congratulations, Manish Shah. I wish you well.
  Mr. FRANKEN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Pryor) is 
necessarily absent.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman), the Senator from Mississippi (Mr. 
Cochran), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter), and the Senator from 
Mississippi (Mr. Wicker).
  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. 120 Ex.]

                                YEAS--95

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

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Boozman
     Cochran
     Pryor
     Vitter
     Wicker
  The nomination was confirmed.