[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 202 (Tuesday, December 12, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7963-S7965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Remembering Vera Katz

  Mr. President, I also come this afternoon to talk about the passing 
of a vintage Oregonian and an extraordinary

[[Page S7964]]

woman--Vera Katz--who became Oregon's first speaker of our house of 
representatives in 1985. After serving three terms as speaker, Vera 
Katz won Portland's mayoral race in 1992. The Oregonian noted recently 
that she moved Portland to become a ``nationally recognized destination 
city,'' with developments ranging from the Portland Streetcar to the 
East Bank.
  I hope that all Oregonians and visitors to our city will stop by the 
bronze sculpture of Mayor Katz. It captures perfectly her strength and 
her warmth. She was an extraordinary person whom we think about today, 
not just because of her memorable accomplishments but because of her 
extraordinary spirit. It was indomitable. She could not be subdued when 
she took on an important cause.
  I remember in 1996, when floodwaters on the Willamette River 
threatened to overwhelm downtown Portland, that, in the middle of this 
chaos, this very slight but still unbelievably powerful woman, Vera 
Katz, led hundreds of volunteers to mount what we came to call a 
sandbags-and-plywood defense against the floodwater. That was 
quintessential Vera Katz.
  In my townhalls at home, we often speak of the ``Oregon way''--just 
finding the best ideas, looking for solutions, not standoffs. She lived 
and breathed that ``Oregon way'' ethos every day of her life. I am 
going to miss her, and I am especially going to miss some moments that 
will never be forgotten.
  When we were working in the early seventies and I had gotten involved 
with the elderly, back then--I think the Presiding Officer, the Senator 
from North Dakota, probably remembers these days--that was a time when, 
if a town had a lunch program for senior citizens, that was a big deal. 
Nobody was aware that we might have all of the services that we now 
have--in-home services and a variety of transportation services. Back 
then, if a town had a lunch program for older people, that was a big 
deal. Vera Katz was then in the legislature, and I had been running the 
legal aid office for the elderly and was codirector of the Gray 
Panthers. All of the senior citizens wanted to really focus on holding 
down the cost of medicine, and they told me one day: We are going to go 
to the legislature, and we are going to take all of our pill bottles 
and stack them up on the table and show those legislators what it is 
like to really be an older person in having to cut pills in half in our 
trying to find a way to make ends meet.
  As the Presiding officer, the Senator from North Dakota, knows, I had 
never been involved in politics or in public service back then. All I 
really wanted to do was to play in the NBA. So I didn't know if you 
could do that. I didn't know if you could take all of the pill bottles 
to the legislature, so I called Vera Katz.
  I said: The seniors want to come down, Representative Katz. They want 
to hold up all the bottles. I really don't know what to do.
  I could hear it through the phone because it just boomed out.
  She said: The seniors want to bring their pill bottles to wake up the 
legislature?
  I said: Yes, ma'am.
  I could hear it through the phone when she said: Damn right. I want 
them to bring their pill bottles, and they are going to get a big 
welcome from me.
  In all of those years in working with senior citizens, the very first 
person the seniors wanted to see was Vera Katz.
  I asked them: How come we are always going to see Vera Katz?
  They said: Because she always inspires us, and she always makes us 
laugh, and she always makes us want to get involved.
  So this life force who, like my family, fled the Nazis, was an 
extraordinary public figure. Yes, she represented Portland, but she 
always stood up for all of Oregon.
  In the days ahead, I will be back to the floor to talk some more 
about Vera Katz. She had a watermelon spitting contest with folks in 
rural Oregon just because she wanted to cement the bond between 
Portland and the rural part of the State. She was a wonderful woman. 
Our State grieves today as we think of her and her extraordinary 
contributions. In my having known her for more than 40 years, she is a 
role model for what public service ought to be all about.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill 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 (Mr. Strange). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Under the previous order, there will now be 30 minutes of debate 
equally divided between the two leaders or their designees.
  The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, the U.S. Senate has the opportunity 
today to vote on a nominee to the Eighth Circuit Court who exemplifies 
the qualities we all seek in a judge.
  Steve Grasz from Nebraska is a nominee who has earned the respect of 
his peers. He believes in the rule of law. He has the education and the 
training. He has the experience needed to prepare him for this serious 
responsibility. Steve has a keen intellect and the humility that allows 
him to show respect toward all. He has an even and calm temperament--a 
judicial temperament.
  Steve Grasz served as the chief deputy attorney general of Nebraska 
for 12 years. In that role, Mr. Grasz professionally and capably 
defended the laws of the State of Nebraska, authoring nine briefs in 
the U.S. Supreme Court. He has earned the respect of the Nebraska legal 
community. Timothy Engler, president of the Nebraska State Bar 
Association, has stated he always found Steve ``to be professional, 
civil, and ethical in all respects.'' In short, Steve is an outstanding 
Nebraskan and a talented legal mind.
  The scores of recommendation letters we have received for Steve are a 
testament to his temperament, his integrity, and his character. These 
recommendations come from a diverse group of Nebraskans, from political 
officials to church pastors, business and community leaders, and 
Steve's friends and neighbors.
  Steve has bipartisan support from those who know him best. Nebraskans 
from across the political spectrum have pointed to Steve's 
thoughtfulness, fairmindedness, high ethical standards, and brilliant 
abilities as a jurist. This includes former Democratic Governor and 
U.S. Senator Ben Nelson, who wrote that Steve ``was an asset to our 
state and Nebraskans benefited from having such a capable and 
thoughtful professional in public service. Today, he is unquestionably 
one of the foremost appellate lawyers in the state, making him an 
obvious choice for this seat on our federal appeals court.''
  Debra Gilg, the former U.S. attorney for Nebraska and a Democrat 
appointed by President Obama, said:

       Steve has always enjoyed a reputation for honesty, 
     impeccable integrity, and dedication to the rule of law. He 
     possesses an even temperament well-suited for the bench and 
     always acts with respect to all that interact with him.

  This is a nominee who should receive bipartisan support in the U.S. 
Senate as well.
  I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to put their 
lockstep partisan politics aside on these nominees and join with me and 
my Nebraska colleague in voting to confirm this decent man of integrity 
to the Eighth Circuit. I urge a ``yes'' vote on Steve Grasz.
  Mr. President, I yield back all time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, all time is yielded back.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Grasz 
nomination?
  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, 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 senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Mississippi (Mr. Cochran) and the Senator from Arizona 
(Mr. McCain).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Johnson). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 50, nays 48, as follows:

[[Page S7965]]

  


                      [Rollcall Vote No. 313 Ex.]

                                YEAS--50

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     McConnell
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Shelby
     Strange
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--48

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Hirono
     Kaine
     King
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCaskill
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Peters
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Cochran
     McCain
       
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the President 
will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

                          ____________________