[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17477-17480]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

 NOMINATION OF SHARON PROST, OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, TO BE UNITED 
              STATES CIRCUIT JUDGE FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT

                                 ______
                                 

  NOMINATION OF REGGIE B. WALTON, OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, TO BE 
       UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will now go into executive session to consider en bloc Executive 
Calendar Orders 360 and 361, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nominations of Sharon Prost, of the 
District of Columbia, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Federal 
Circuit, and Reggie B. Walton, of the District of Columbia, to be 
United States District Judge for the District of Columbia.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, there 
will be a total of 20 minutes for debate on the two nominations, with 
the time to be equally divided between the chairman and the ranking 
member.
  The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, let me first thank the distinguished 
majority leader, Senator Daschle, and my dear friend the chairman of 
the Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy, for their support and efforts 
in moving this nomination and scheduling this vote today. The nominees 
before us are both great people, but I am going to first chat about the 
nominee Sharon Prost.
  She is no ordinary nominee. She is an extraordinary woman of 
integrity and intellect who is the nominee to be an appellate judge on 
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She also happens to 
serve as the Republican Chief Counsel to the Senate Judiciary 
Committee, my chief counsel, Sharon Prost.
  Many of us who have worked with Sharon either on the Judiciary or the 
Labor Committees know her well. Sharon grew up in an Orthodox Jewish 
home, where the values of faith, family, and country were instilled in 
her. Simply put, Sharon embodies the American dream. Her parents were 
concentration camp survivors who arrived in this country from Poland in 
1948. The pursuit of their own educations was derailed by the war, but 
they nonetheless emphasized to Sharon the importance of education and 
hard work in achieving success--advice Sharon has followed throughout 
her life. And, as Sharon noted at her hearing, her parents instilled in 
her the love of community, love of family, and love of God.
  Tragically, Sharon's father died when she was only 13 years old. Upon 
his death, she had to support herself, and worked her way through high 
school and college. But despite the obstacles life placed before her, 
Sharon persevered. She and her sister Marlene became the first in their 
family to graduate from high school and go on to attend college. 
Perhaps one of the best-educated individuals ever to have worked in the 
Senate, Sharon holds four degrees, including a bachelor of science from 
an Ivy League university, a law degree, an LLM in tax, and an MBA. She 
got three of her degrees at night while working full-time.
  A labor lawyer at heart, Sharon first came to work for me 12 years 
ago, after

[[Page 17478]]

serving as acting solicitor of the NLRB. I sought Sharon out to work 
for me on the Senate Labor Committee because I learned of her 
intellect, her integrity, her exceptional legal skills, and her 
background in finance.
  In her role as my chief counsel on the Judiciary Committee, she has 
been responsible for everything on the committee agenda, including 
matters of immigration, antitrust, and patent law.
  I cannot stress enough how indebted I am to her for her service over 
all of these many years. She is one of the most loyal, decent, and 
intelligent people with whom I have had the privilege to serve.
  Sharon truly is something of a modern renaissance woman, with a 
breadth and depth of knowledge in a variety of areas. Her background 
and education make her uniquely suited for service on the Federal 
Circuit, which, as you know, handles myriad issues ranging from 
veterans matters to patent cases to employment cases.
  It has been said that ``[t]he value of government to the people it 
serves is in direct relationship to the interest citizens themselves 
display in the affairs of state.'' Sharon has proved herself to be a 
valuable asset to our Nation, having devoted much of her life to public 
service.
  I know that Sharon holds the other Members of this body in the 
highest regard, and that those who have worked with her have the utmost 
respect for her as well--a fact reflected by the standing ovation that 
the Judiciary Committee members gave Sharon when they unanimously 
approved her nomination to be sent to the full Senate.
  Sharon has been the primary counsel working for me on a number of 
bipartisan initiatives, including the Violence Against Women Act with 
Senator Biden and his staff, as well as the religious liberty bill that 
was passed last year. And Sharon has worked closely with Senator 
Kennedy's staff over the years on Labor Committee and immigration 
issues.
  I would be remiss in talking about Sharon Prost and her many 
accomplishments without mentioning the role she considers most 
important of all: that of being the mother of her terrific sons, 
Matthew and Jeffrey. She is one of the most noble and fine people I 
have ever known.
  Let me close by noting that Sharon is not only an able counsel and 
wonderful mother, but she is a person with a good heart.
  As Robert Traver wrote more than four decades ago,

       Judges, like people, may be divided roughly into four 
     classes: judges with neither head nor heart--they are to be 
     avoided at all costs; judges with head but no heart--they are 
     almost as bad; then judges with heart but no head--risky but 
     better than the first two; and finally, those rare judges who 
     possess both head and a heart.

  Sharon will serve this country as a judge with head and a heart. In 
fact, Matthew and Jeffrey will tell you that one of their mom's 
favorite things to say is, when you use both your head and your heart, 
you will do things right and do the right things.
  These words are insufficient to express how much I respect and love 
her, and how much I will miss her and her skill and good counsel. I 
truly have mixed emotions, but I have no doubt that confirming her to 
the Federal Circuit will be the right thing for the country.
  Let me also take a moment to express again my personal thanks to the 
distinguished chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy for 
moving Sharon out of the committee and for the distinguished majority 
leader for scheduling this vote today. I also commend the President for 
recognizing Sharon's skills and talent and selecting her for the 
prestigious and noble position of being a circuit judge.
  I urge and thank my colleagues' support for Sharon's nomination.
  Mr. President, I wish to say a few words in support of Judge Reggie 
B. Walton who has been nominated to be a district court judge for the 
District of Columbia. Judge Walton is an excellent nominee for this 
position who brings a wealth of talent and experience to the job.
  Judge Walton began his legal career as a staff attorney in the 
Defender Association of Philadelphia from 1974 to 1976. There he served 
as defense counsel for indigent criminal defendants. Next he became an 
assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 1976 to 1981, 
and he served as the executive assistant U.S. attorney for that office 
from 1980 to 1981.
  In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Judge Walton to the 
Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He served as the deputy 
presiding judge of the Superior Court's Criminal Division from 1986 to 
1989. In 1989, Judge Walton was appointed by President George H.W. Bush 
as the Associate Director of the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy, Executive Office of the President. Judge Walton served in this 
position until 1991, when he was named by President Bush as the Senior 
White House Advisor for Crime. Judge Walton was reappointed to the 
Superior Court bench by President Bush in 1991. Judge Walton served as 
the presiding judge of the Superior Court's Domestic Violence Unit in 
2000. Since January 1, 2001, Judge Walton has served as the presiding 
judge of the Superior Court's Family Division.
  Judge Walton has been active in legal education throughout his 
professional career. Currently, he serves as a faculty member at the 
National Judicial College in Reno, NV, as an instructor at the Harvard 
University Law School's Trial Advocacy Workshop, and as a faculty 
member with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.
  In short, Mr. President, Judge Walton is a highly capable person of 
demonstrated talent who deserves the vote of confirmation by this body.
  I commend him to the Senate. And, above all, I commend Sharon Prost 
who has given this body, the U.S. Senate, tremendous service, dedicated 
service, good service, and intelligent service over the last number of 
years for whom I could not have any greater respect. She is a terrific 
human being.
  I hope both of these two judges-to-be will enjoy their service for 
our country in these very important positions.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, what is the parliamentary situation?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senate is considering en bloc 
the nominations of Sharon Prost and Reggie Walton. There are 20 minutes 
evenly divided. The Senator controls 10 minutes.
  Mr. LEAHY. I thank the Chair, my distinguished friend from New 
England.
  To reiterate, I commend the President of the United States for his 
speech last night. I said to him after the speech that I thought, as 
most people do, it was the finest speech of his public career. He spoke 
to us in accordance with constitutional provisions contained in article 
II, section 3 of our Constitution to report to the Congress on the 
state of the Union. But, more importantly, he spoke to all Americans.
  I was there. My wife Marcelle was in the galleries. Millions upon 
millions of Americans across the country and people all around the 
world listened to the President. We knew America had been hit by 
murderous terrorist acts in New York and at the Pentagon in Virginia, 
and at the plane crash in Pennsylvania.
  The President was right in saying there are no easy answers; that we 
face a long and terrible fight.
  I could not help but think as I listened to him that we will know our 
defeats in the years ahead. Often we will not know our victories. That 
makes the fight even more difficult. It is easier when you face a well-
known foe, as we have in other times. Here we will know when we lose 
some battles. We will not always know when we win some.
  The President should know that we have a United States behind us--a 
United States of America united more than at any time since I have 
served in the Senate. We must use that unity to bring out what is the 
best in our country, both in protecting our own liberties and our own 
rights as Americans--and we will do that--but also in demonstrating to 
the rest of the world that we are not a defenseless giant.
  I have served for many years with both the Majority Leader and the 
Republican leader. In fact, I have been in

[[Page 17479]]

the Senate throughout all of their careers. I commend Senators Daschle 
and Lott for their reinforcing reaction and response. I believe Senator 
Daschle and Senator Lott showed the best of the Senate last night and 
in these difficult days.
  The desk I sit in was once used by Senator George Vandenberg. Senator 
Vandenberg said ``politics stops at the water's edge.'' And we showed 
that last night.
  I have been working with the President and the Attorney General to 
bring together a package of legislative proposals to aid in this 
effort, laws that can help without sacrificing the freedoms and 
constitutional protections that define what is best in America. I want 
publicly to thank Attorney General Ashcroft for his cooperation. He and 
I have probably spoken more times in the past week and a half than we 
might have in months when we served side by side in the Senate.
  Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, the Judiciary Committee 
has been devoting virtually undivided attention to the aftermath, the 
investigation and the proper legislative response. The exceptions have 
been the confirmation hearings we have conducted since the attacks for 
high-ranking law enforcement officials at the Department of Justice and 
for judicial nominees. All will hopefully help. Today we are going to 
confirm Sharon Prost and Judge Walton.
  I spoke of the pride I had and all Senators had--both Democrat and 
Republican--when Ms. Prost appeared before our committee, at our 
extraordinary hearings during the August recess.
  I spoke about her not just as a person and as a lawyer and not just 
because I feel she will be a superb judge on this very important court, 
but I also spoke of her as the mother of two wonderful young men. I was 
gratified in seeing the looks in the faces of those two young men as 
they watched their mother testify but also the love that she showed to 
them.
  As we were reporting the Prost nomination from the Committee, she 
received a spontaneous standing ovation from all those assembled.
  This morning the Senate will confirm Sharon Prost to be a Judge of 
the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. At that 
moment, the Senate will have confirmed as many judges to our Courts of 
Appeals, since July of this year, as were confirmed in the entire first 
year of the Clinton administration. We are moving forward very quickly. 
In the first year of the Clinton administration, where they did not 
have all the disruptions and distractions and shifts we have had here, 
the first Court of Appeals judge was not confirmed until September 30 
and the third was not confirmed until November. We have moved a lot 
faster. Actually, we have moved a lot faster than the Senate did during 
the first year of the first Bush administration, as well. That year, 
1989, the third Court of Appeals nominee was not confirmed until 
October 24.
  With the reporting of the Prost nomination to the Senate earlier this 
month, we had reported as many Court of Appeals nominees as were 
reported all last year. Since then we have had a hearing on an 
outstanding nomination to the Second Circuit and I expect to be 
scheduling more hearings including Court of Appeals nominees in the 
days ahead.
  I recall the predictions when I was becoming Chairman in June that 
all the President's judicial nominations would be blocked and the 
Senate would not confirm a single nominee. By mid-July we had held 
hearings, the Committee had reported and the Senate had acted to 
confirm Judge Roger Gregory to the Fourth Circuit and we have continued 
to work at a brisk pace throughout the summer and into the fall.
  I recall published reports that the White House had predicted that 
the Senate would be confirming only five judges all year. With the 
confirmation of Judge Walton, we will confirm the sixth Federal judge 
since July. A fair assessment of the circumstances of this year would 
lead to the conclusion that we have done what we said we would do and 
what the Senate should do, proceed to consider and confirm those 
qualified, consensus nominees that the President is nominating to help 
fill the vacancies on our federal courts.
  We will also have the Attorney General before us on Tuesday morning. 
I intend to work with the Attorney General and the administration all 
day today, this evening, all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and all day 
Monday to try to bring together all the things necessary to get needed 
legislation enacted. I noted a coalition of more than 150 
organizations, ranging from the most conservative to the most liberal, 
that have joined together to ask the Senate and our committee not to 
trample on civil liberties as we do this. These groups range from the 
Eagle Forum to the ACLU, all united, taking the same position. I can 
assure them that trampling the rights of Americans is not the intention 
of our committee. We will be very careful.
  As the Attorney General said, we can operate within our Constitution. 
The Constitution has been our greatest shield throughout our democracy. 
We must honor it and operate within its confines and protections. We 
will also protect ourselves against terrorism, both domestic and 
foreign.
  I thank those Senators who stayed here with me last weekend, have 
worked with me evening after evening, and are committed to working with 
me this weekend, and their staffs. It is a great effort pulling all 
this legislation together.
  I hope that we can continue to show unanimity both for the American 
people and for this Senate. For example, I want my colleagues to know 
that early this morning, when most of us could barely keep our eyes 
open, we reached agreement with the White House and with the House of 
Representatives on a victims' compensation program for the victims of 
the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. When we met with the White 
House and with the House leadership and, in particular, when I met with 
the heads of the various airline companies, I said that we must have a 
victims' compensation program.
  I thank the majority leader, Senator Daschle; Senator Lott, the 
Republican leader; Speaker Hastert; Leader Gephardt; Senator Hatch; 
Senator Kohl; Senator DeWine; Senator Schumer; and Senator Clinton for 
their bipartisan efforts. We have created a victims' compensation fund. 
Payments to these victims will be tax free. We will move forward 
quickly.
  I thank Ed Pagano, John Dowd and Greg Cota of my staff for being 
willing to work around the clock and Makan Delrahaim of Senator Hatch's 
staff. I commend Mark Childress and Andrea LaRue of the Majority 
Leader's staff and Dave Hoppe of the Republican Leader's office, as 
well as Victoria Bassetti, Pete Levitas, Jeff Berman and Leecia Eve. 
This is extremely important. There is no higher priority. Again, this 
has been an occasion where in a bipartisan effort working for long 
hours in good faith and with common resolve, we have been able to forge 
a good agreement.
  I see the time has arrived for the votes. I ask unanimous consent to 
print in the Record the following relating to establishment of a 
victims' compensation fund.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Senate Bipartisan Compromise: Establishment of a September 11 Victims' 
                           Compensation Fund


       creation of the september 11 victims' compensation program

       Congress shall authorize and appropriate such funds as may 
     be necessary to compensate any victims or their families with 
     physical injury or wrongful death claims arising out of the 
     terrorist-related airline crashes in the United States on 
     September 11, 2001.
       To be eligible for compensation, applicants will need to 
     provide information about the harm they suffered or death 
     linked to the terrorist-related airline crashes on September 
     11, 2001. Applicants will not be required to prove negligence 
     or any other theory of liability.
       The Department of Justice shall supervise the program and 
     the Senate shall confirm a Special Master to administer the 
     program to determine victim compensation.


          quick review and payment of claims for compensation

       The Special Master shall make a final determination of the 
     applicant's eligibility for

[[Page 17480]]

     compensation and appropriate level of compensation within 100 
     days of having received the application.
       In all cases, the compensation shall be paid within 20 days 
     of the final determination.
       Filing of a claim under the program will preempt all other 
     civil remedies available under federal or state law for the 
     same physical injury or wrongful death suffered as a result 
     of the September 11, 2001 terrorist acts.
       Payments to victims will be tax free.

  Mr. LEAHY. I ask for the yeas and nays on the nominees.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The yeas and nays have been 
previously ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. I thank the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed for 1 
minute.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. HATCH. I thank the chairman of the Judiciary Committee for his 
solid support of Sharon Prost and Reggie Walton and for the work he has 
done. I also have enjoyed working with him as we have worked to 
fashion, along with all the people whose names he mentioned, and 
certainly in the House of Representatives, the law enforcement changes 
and terrorism laws that really need to occur. I hope we can get that 
done. I hope we can do it on a completely bipartisan basis. It has to 
be done.
  We have also worked very hard on the airline bill which he has 
described adequately. I thank him for the efforts he is putting forth, 
and his staff and, of course, my staff. A number of these staff people 
worked all night long on some of this legislation. They deserve an 
awful lot of credit, along with the White House staff, staffs of both 
Houses, and the staff of both sides on this issue. I am very grateful 
that we were able to move ahead on these matters. I hope we can move 
ahead in a way to protect, preserve, and defend our country as it 
deserves to be protected, defended, and preserved.
  Let's proceed to the vote.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question is, Will the Senate 
advise and consent to the nomination of Sharon Prost, of the District 
of Columbia, to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Federal 
Circuit? The yeas and nays have been ordered. The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Texas (Mr. Gramm), the 
Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Thomas), and the Senator from Arizona (Mr. 
McCain) are necessarily absent.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 282 Ex.]

                                YEAS--97

     Akaka
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carnahan
     Carper
     Chafee
     Cleland
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Gramm
     McCain
     Thomas
  The nomination was confirmed.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. HATCH. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


               Vote on the Nomination of Reggie B. Walton

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination of 
Reggie B. Walton to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of 
Columbia? On this question, the yeas and nays have been ordered, and 
the clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Texas (Mr. Gramm), the 
Senator from Arizona (Mr. McCain), and the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. 
Thomas) are necessarily absent.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the 
Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 97, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 283 Ex.]

                                YEAS--97

     Akaka
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carnahan
     Carper
     Chafee
     Cleland
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Helms
     Hollings
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Gramm
     McCain
     Thomas
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
President is notified of these actions taken by the Senate.

                          ____________________