[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 26615-26616]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

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                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Acting in my capacity as a Senator from 
Kansas, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to 
executive session to consider the following nominations on the 
Executive Calendar: Executive Calendar Nos. 137 and 272.
  I further ask unanimous consent that the nominations be confirmed, 
the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements 
relating to the nominations be printed in the Record, the President be 
immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return 
to legislative session.
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The nominations considered and confirmed are as follows:


                          department of state

       David B. Sandalow, of the District of Columbia, to be 
     Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International 
     Environmental and Scientific Affairs.


                             the judiciary

       Richard K. Eaton, of the District of Columbia, to be a 
     Judge of the United States Court of International Trade.

  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I must say how delighted I am that the 
Senate has just confirmed Richard K. Eaton to be a Judge of the United 
States Court of International Trade. I have known Dick for nearly a 
quarter-century: he volunteered to work on my first campaign for the 
United States Senate in 1976. I was so impressed with his abilities, I 
asked him to run my Oneonta office. Later, he ran my New York City 
office. Then he moved to Washington to serve as my legislative director 
and--on two separate occasions--as my chief of staff.
  Dick Eaton lives in Georgetown with his wife Susan Henshaw Jones and 
their two delightful daughters, Alice and Liza. He is a partner in the 
New York law firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, LLP. He was also a 
partner in Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander & Ferdon. His practice has been 
varied, but includes work on some of the largest offerings of municipal 
securities in American history and appearances on behalf of clients in 
civil lawsuits in both State and Federal Courts.
  I suppose I have always thought of Dick as a judge. Before he joined 
my staff he was--at the tender age of 26--the Village Justice of 
Cooperstown, New York. I know I have always benefitted from his wise 
counsel with regard to matters large and small, professional and 
personal. I can tell you that he has the requisite qualities to make a 
fine judge: a respect for all points of view, extraordinarily good 
sense, an evenness of temperament, patience, intellectual agility, and 
absolute integrity.
  Mr. President, Richard Eaton's greatest contribution to the 
administration of Justice may be that, since 1977, he has been the 
anchor of my committee that screens candidates for recommendation for 
Federal District Court and United States Attorney nominations. Dick now 
serves as chairman of the committee which--in our view at least--serves 
as a model for other States. Ours was the first such committee to 
proceed on a non-partisan basis. New York University Law School 
Professor Stephen Gillers put it this way:

       In most places, lawyers who count, who want to be judges, 
     become politically active. In New York, lawyers who want to 
     be Federal trial judges complete a twelve-page questionnaire 
     containing thirty-seven questions. An eleven-member panel 
     screens applicants and recommends nominees. .  .  . Who have 
     been Moynihan's nominees? .  .  . They are a first-rate 
     group, as might be expected from the process that produced 
     them.

  No one deserves more credit for the committee's work than Dick. I 
know that a great number of Federal judges in New York can attest to 
the value of his counsel, so indispensable during the nomination and 
confirmation process, which often can be quite torturous. I daresay it 
is only fitting that Dick should himself join the Federal bench.
  International trade litigation is a subject requiring intelligence 
and energy. The issues facing the Court of International Trade are 
hugely complex. As Congress prescribed in the Customs Court Act of 
1980, the Court of International Trade has broadened its

[[Page 26616]]

powers and is now far more capable of providing uniformity in the 
judicial decision-making process for import transactions as required 
under Article I, section 8, of the Constitution. It will require the 
dedication and surpassing intellect of someone meeting Dick Eaton's 
high standard to see this job through. The President has shown great 
wisdom in proposing Dick for this Court.
  It would be remiss of me not to thank the Majority and Minority 
Leaders for shepherding this nomination, and the Chairman and Ranking 
Member of the Judiciary Committee, Senators Hatch and Leahy, for their 
generous support. We have confirmed a man of great talent and 
unwavering integrity who will distinguish himself on the bench as he 
has in every other endeavor.

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