[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 13, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2830-S2831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    NOMINATION OF SALLY QUILLIAN YATES TO BE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, 
which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Sally Quillian Yates, of 
Georgia, to be Deputy Attorney General.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be up to 1 hour of debate, 
equally divided in the usual form.
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am delighted we have the confirmation of 
Sally Yates before the body. I have pushed for a vote for several 
weeks, and now I know we are finally going to confirm Sally Yates to be 
our next Deputy Attorney General of the United States. I think she will 
be easily confirmed. I know there has been a delay

[[Page S2831]]

of several weeks getting her here, but I thank Senator Isakson, who 
worked so hard to get her before this body. It should not have taken 
this long. Ms. Yates was voted out of the Judiciary Committee with 
overwhelming bipartisan support almost 3 weeks ago. We are finally 
voting to confirm her today to serve as the second highest law 
enforcement office in our country, and it is long past due. This is the 
least we can do to honor law enforcement, as it is National Police 
Week.
  The Deputy Attorney General is critical to the efficient functioning 
of the Department of Justice. The person serving in that position works 
diligently behind the scenes. The position requires someone who is of 
utmost competence, who prioritizes the Department above all else, and 
who executes the mission and vision of the Attorney General.
  We are actually fortunate here. We will have an Attorney General and 
a Deputy Attorney General whose backgrounds are very similar--both have 
shown their ability as law enforcement officers, both have been 
prosecuting attorneys, and both have similar views, as we saw during 
the confirmation hearings, on all the major issues.
  Sally Yates is an ideal person for this position, as those who know 
her can attest. She was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. She grew up 
seeing the justice system as a force for good. There was no need to 
look outside her home for an Atticus Finch to look up to because her 
family members lived that example. Her father, Kelly Quillian, was a 
judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals; her grandfather, Joseph 
Quillian, was a justice on the Georgia Supreme Court; and at a time 
when women did not fill the ranks of the legal system, her grandmother, 
Tabitha Quillian, became one of the first women to be admitted to the 
Georgia bar. Ms. Yates carried on that family tradition, becoming a 
top-notch lawyer who has prioritized public service above all else.
  For more than 25 years, Sally Yates served as a prosecutor in the 
Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. For 
the past 5 years she has served as U.S. Attorney of that district, 
following her unanimous confirmation by the Senate in 2010.
  Since January of this year, she has served as Acting Deputy Attorney 
General. I have been at briefings she has given to Members of the 
Senate. I have also been at briefings at the White House where she has 
briefed the President on issues before the country. She is an 
experienced and dedicated prosecutor with a well-deserved reputation 
for fairness, integrity, and toughness.
  She is perhaps best known for her successful prosecutions of the 
Atlanta Olympics bomber, who pled guilty in exchange for a life 
sentence without parole; and for her prosecution and conviction of a 
former Atlanta mayor for tax evasion. However, if you were to ask her 
the most significant case she has taken on, she will tell you that it 
involved a pro bono representation when she was just out of law school.
  As a junior associate at a law firm, Ms. Yates represented the first 
African-American family to own land in Barrow County, GA, in a property 
dispute. The family had obtained a deed to their property, but lacking 
trust in the court system, had failed to record their deed in a timely 
manner. As a result, when the adjoining property was sold, a dispute 
arose as to who owned part of the land. Ms. Yates filed suit to recover 
the family's property. After a 1-week trial--in which she helped 
convince a member of the ``Dixie Mafia'' to testify in court on behalf 
of the family--she was able to win the case before an all-white jury.
  According to Ms. Yates, it was the most meaningful case of her career 
because it gave the African American family she represented a sense of 
trust in the judicial system that they previously lacked. This case 
represents who she is as an attorney: someone who uses the judicial 
system as a force for good.
  It is also an example of why she will thrive as the Deputy Attorney 
General. While most people seek the spotlight by pursuing high-profile 
matters, Sally Yates devotes herself to the matters that are less 
glamorous, but just as important.
  Ms. Yates also deserves praise for her dedication to sentencing 
reform and the clemency initiative begun by her predecessor, Jim Cole. 
It is encouraging to see that we will continue to have individuals in 
the Justice Department's leadership who understand the inequities in 
our criminal justice system's sentencing practices and the consequences 
of mass incarceration. As she made clear when she testified before the 
Judiciary Committee, sentencing reform is critical to ensure that we 
better allocate our limited law enforcement resources and to make our 
country safer. The clemency initiative is an important part of that 
process as well and I am glad that I have her commitment that it will 
be a priority.
  Sally Yates has received strong bipartisan support for her 
nomination. Among the letters of support the Judiciary Committee has 
received are those from Georgia's Republican Governor, Nathan Deal; 
Georgia's Republican Attorney General, Samuel Olens; and former 
Democratic Senator from Georgia, Sam Nunn. She also has the support of 
law enforcement and civil rights leaders.
  At her nomination hearing, Ms. Yates was introduced by Congressman 
John Lewis, Senator Perdue and Senator Isakson. As Senator Isakson 
noted when Ms. Yates was first nominated this past December, ``Sally 
Yates is an exceptionally skilled attorney with a strong record of 
public service and a well-qualified nominee to be Deputy Attorney 
General.'' Prior to his retirement, Senator Saxby Chambliss also spoke 
out in support of Ms. Yates' nomination.
  Almost 3 weeks ago, her nomination was voted out of Committee with 
strong bipartisan support, so this nomination should not be an occasion 
for further partisanship. The responsibilities of the Deputy Attorney 
General are too important to the safety and security of all Americans 
to be held up any longer. The dedicated public servants at the Justice 
Department deserve a confirmed leader in this crucial position, and I 
know Sally Yates will serve with distinction as our next Deputy 
Attorney General of the United States. I thank her for her willingness 
to continue to serve this great Nation, and I want to publicly 
congratulate her on this well-deserved appointment.