[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 178 (Thursday, November 2, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S6996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



       Confirmations of Amy Barrett, Joan Larsen, and Allison Eid

  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, although nearly half of those graduating 
from law school are women, only about a third of the Federal judges are 
female. This week, we had the honor of adding three more.
  I rise to congratulate these three successful women because their 
additions to the Federal court system are historic. They serve as more 
evidence that well-qualified women are becoming more confident in 
stepping forward and serving our great Nation.
  Amy Coney Barrett, Joan Louise Larsen, and Allison Eid are three more 
cracks in that glass ceiling. Their confirmations are proof that 
successful women can balance responsibility and seize opportunity when 
it knocks on their doors. These accomplished nominees are not joining 
the Federal bench because of a frivolous attempt at trying to balance 
out the gender disparity in our courts. They will be donning the black 
robes because they will have earned it.
  Amy Coney Barrett, our new judge for the Seventh Circuit, climbed to 
the ranks by clerking for Judge Laurence Silberman on the DC Circuit 
and Justice Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. In working with her 
husband, who is a successful lawyer in his own right, she has balanced 
family responsibilities while having achieved personal success. At the 
age of 30, she was hired as a professor at one of the Nation's best law 
programs, Notre Dame. Over the past 6 years, she has sat on the 
Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure on the 
recommendation of Chief Justice Roberts.
  Joan Louise Larsen, the next U.S. circuit judge for the Sixth 
Circuit, is proof that hard work pays off. After graduating at the top 
of her class from Northwestern, Judge Larsen clerked for Justice Scalia 
on the U.S. Supreme Court before serving as a Deputy Assistant Attorney 
General in the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel. She 
most recently sat on the highest court in her State, the Supreme Court 
of Michigan. She has done this while raising two children with her law 
professor husband.
  Allison Eid, the newest judge for the Tenth Circuit, has demonstrated 
brilliance throughout her career. After graduating from Stanford, she 
worked as an assistant speechwriter for William Bennett, President 
Reagan's Secretary of Education. After graduating from law school with 
honors, she clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme 
Court. She has served with distinction on the Colorado Supreme Court 
since 2006. With her husband, Troy, the first Egyptian American to 
serve as a U.S. district attorney, she has helped to raise two 
children.
  These three successful women should serve as role models to girls and 
boys across this Nation. They are proof that women do not need to stand 
back while others find success, and their confirmations are evidence 
that, when women support each other, they will achieve at the highest 
level. They also demonstrate the power of families when they work 
together to accomplish goals.
  We should be proud to have confirmed these three great women to the 
Federal bench. All of us receive letters from children who ask 
questions about: What do you do in the U.S. Senate? Weeks like this one 
should be part of our response. We empower those who have empowered 
themselves regardless of their gender. We shape our legal system by 
filling it with qualified women who are dedicated to preserving and 
protecting our Constitution--the framework of our free Nation. We 
proclaim that hard work is to be rewarded. These three important 
confirmations are further proof that young women do not have to choose 
between raising families and rising to the top of their chosen 
professions.
  I stand here today and send a message to every little girl who 
wonders about politics and every young woman who faces the challenges 
of starting out in her career: You can do this too. We love you, and we 
support you. Be confident when you want to step forward and serve your 
community and serve your country.
  The judicial nominees who were voted on this week exemplify the best 
of our Nation's legal community. Their confirmations to the Federal 
bench have added significant talent to our Nation's system of justice. 
The work being done by the President and by this Senate in shaping the 
Federal courts with those who will follow the rule of law is historic. 
President Trump should be applauded for nominating such well-qualified 
people to be on the Federal bench.
  All of the nominees voted on this week will make exceptional 
additions to the Federal bench, and I hope that the President will send 
many more like them for us to consider. All four are deserving of their 
new positions, and I am sure that they will honor and protect the 
Constitution and serve the American people well as good judges.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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