[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 101 (Thursday, June 26, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4097-S4098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           KRAUSE NOMINATION

  Mr. TOOMEY. Mr. President, I rise this morning to speak on the 
nomination of Cheryl Krause to serve as a judge on the Third Circuit 
Court of Appeals.
  Cheryl Krause was nominated by the President on February 6, 2014.
  I want to start with a few thank yous for where we are in this 
process. First, Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Grassley. I 
appreciate their expediting the consideration of Cheryl Krause through 
committee. They moved that process along very quickly.
  I thank Leader Reid and Leader McConnell for agreeing to bring Ms. 
Krause's nomination to the Senate floor so quickly. In fact, later this 
morning my understanding is we have a cloture vote on consideration of 
her nomination.
  From my point of view, this is part of an ongoing effort I have with 
Senator Casey, my colleague from Pennsylvania--a bipartisan 
collaboration to make sure we are filling vacancies as they occur, as 
quickly as we responsibly can, to make sure we have as close to a full 
complement of Federal judges as we possibly can.
  So thus far, in the 3\1/2\ years I have been in the Senate, Senator 
Casey and I have worked closely, and we have had 10 people who have 
gone through the entire process--from the application process, the 
vetting process, the consideration, the recommendation by Senator Casey 
and myself jointly to the White House, the nomination, and through the 
confirmation process--10 people who have successfully gone through that 
process already. There are four additional candidates, recently 
nominated by the President at the recommendation of Senator Casey and 
myself, and I am very hopeful the Senate will confirm all four of them 
later this year.
  We still have remaining vacancies, and we are working on filling 
those vacancies as well, but we are making progress, and it is in this 
spirit of bipartisan cooperation in filling vacancies on the Federal 
court that Senator Casey and I are both enthusiastically supporting the 
nomination of Ms. Krause to the Third Circuit.
  I certainly hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle today will 
vote to support her confirmation.
  Cheryl Krause is an extremely qualified individual. There is no 
question about that. She has a wealth of legal experience in both 
public service and in private practice. In fact, her background is so 
impressive that the ABA gave her a unanimous well-qualified rating.
  She has excellent educational credentials. She earned her 
undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she 
graduated summa cum laude. She went on to Stanford Law School, where 
she graduated with highest honors. She clerked for Justice Kennedy on 
the U.S. Supreme Court.
  She has been a U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, 
where she served for 5 years. She has taught at the University of 
Pennsylvania Law School. She is currently a partner at the law firm of 
Deckert LLP.
  So she has a wealth of experience--it is relevant experience--and a 
terrific background. She has been both on the prosecution side and on 
the defense side, so she understands both perspectives, both of which 
need to be understood to have a properly balanced perspective on the 
court.
  In addition to a very strong legal record, Cheryl Krause has 
demonstrated a commitment to serving her community. She served as 
counsel to the Philadelphia Board of Ethics. She has represented 
children with disabilities. She has led Deckert's partnership with Penn 
Law School in a project that supervises law students representing 
indigent defendants.
  She comes from a family of public service. Her husband has a 
distinguished career in the United States military.
  So, to conclude, I am confident Ms. Krause will serve as an excellent 
Federal appellate judge. She has the crucial qualities we look for in a 
candidate for such an important post: intelligence, integrity, 
experience, a

[[Page S4098]]

commitment to public service, and an understanding of and respect for 
the limited role the judiciary plays in our constitutional system.
  The Senate Judiciary Committee apparently shares my confidence in 
Cheryl Krause. They unanimously reported her out of committee, 
unanimously supporting her confirmation.
  So I am pleased to speak on behalf of this highly qualified nominee, 
and I urge my colleagues to support her confirmation.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa.

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