[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 182 (Monday, October 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S7021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Gustavo A. Gelpi

  Finally, Madam President, today the Senate will vote to confirm 
Gustavo Gelpi to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First 
Circuit.
  Judge Gelpi is a highly qualified jurist who has two decades of 
experience on the bench. When confirmed, he will be only the second 
judge of Hispanic origin and the second judge from Puerto Rico to serve 
on the First Circuit.
  I would like to take just a moment to discuss his extensive 
qualifications and experience. Throughout his career, Judge Gelpi has 
dedicated himself to public service. Prior to his appointment to the 
bench, he gained a keen understanding of the need for fairness and 
impartiality in our system of justice. He worked as a public defender 
as well as prosecutor. He served in the Puerto Rican Department of 
Justice, where he handled criminal matters on behalf of the attorney 
general of Puerto Rico.
  In 2001, Judge Gelpi was selected to serve as magistrate judge for 
the District of Puerto Rico. Five years later, his impressive judicial 
record caught the attention of President George W. Bush, who nominated 
him to serve as district judge for the District of Puerto Rico. With 
Senate Republicans in the majority, Judge Gelpi's nomination received 
unanimous support in both the Senate Judiciary Committee and on the 
floor of the Senate.
  Having served as a Federal judge for 20 years, Judge Gelpi is 
eminently qualified to sit on the First Circuit. He has already 
presided over 3,400 cases, 62 jury trials, and issued almost 900 
written opinions.
  He is a real judge. He is well versed in both complex and civil 
criminal matters and was rated unanimously ``well qualified'' by the 
American Bar Association.
  Judge Gelpi's nomination is yet another example of the Biden 
administration and Senate Democrats working to advance judicial 
nominees to bring professional and demographic diversity to the Federal 
bench. The fact that Judge Gelpi has been nominated by both Republican 
and Democratic Presidents is almost historic and is certainly a 
testament to his evenhandedness and fidelity to the rule of law. 
Leaders on both sides of the aisle trust that he will rule impartially 
and without regard for partisanship.
  Once he is confirmed as only the second judge of Hispanic origin to 
serve on the First Circuit, Judge Gelpi will help build a Federal bench 
that truly reflects the diversity of America. I urge my colleagues to 
join me in supporting Judge Gelpi's nomination.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Duckworth). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.