[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5623-5624]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                    ___
                                 

 NOMINATION OF GREGORY L. FROST TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR 
                     THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time having expired, under the previous 
order, the Senate will go into executive session and proceed to the 
consideration of Executive Calendar No. 39, which the clerk will 
report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Gregory L. Frost, of 
Ohio, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of 
Ohio.
  The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, in a moment we will be voting on the 
nomination of Judge Gregory Frost to be a United States District Court 
Judge for the Southern District of Ohio. I have had the opportunity of 
knowing Judge Frost for many years. He is a man of great honor and 
integrity, and I ask my colleagues to vote for this very fine man. 
Judge Frost has been on the Licking County bench for 19 years, 7 as 
municipal court judge and 12 as common pleas court judge. Judge Frost 
will make an excellent district court judge.
  I thank my colleagues.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, tonight the Senate will vote to confirm 
Judge Gregory Lynn Frost to the United States District Court for the 
Southern District of Ohio. This will be the 105th confirmation of a 
lifetime Federal judicial appointment by President George W. Bush, the 
fifth so far this year. He is also the second District Court nominee 
confirmed for Ohio this year, following the confirmation of Judge Adams 
to the District Court for the Northern District last month, and the 
third within the last year. Last May, the Senate also confirmed Judge 
Thomas Rose to the vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Southern 
District of Ohio. With the confirmations of Judge Frost, we will have 
filled all of the vacancies on the Federal trial courts in Ohio.
  Federal judicial vacancies remain under the level--67--that Senator 
Hatch termed ``full employment'' in the Federal courts during the years 
before 2000 when President Clinton's nominees were being considered by 
the Republican majority in the Senate at a rate of 38 per year. Of 
course, last year the Democratic Senate majority proceeded to bring 
vacancies down by confirming 72 of President Bush's nominations, a rate 
almost double that maintained when the roles were reversed.
  Judge Frost currently serves the people of Ohio as a Licking County 
Court Judge in Newark, Ohio. Judge Frost is a graduate of Wittenberg 
University (B.A. 1971) and Ohio Northern University Law School (J.D. 
1974). He is strongly supported by Senator DeWine, who shepherded this 
nomination through the Judiciary Committee and now to the Senate floor 
for prompt consideration.
  After graduating from law school, Frost was appointed to be an 
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the Licking County Prosecuting 
Attorney's Office. In 1978, Frost joined the law firm of Schaller, 
Frost, Hostetter & Campbell

[[Page 5624]]

in Newark, Ohio as a partner. He was appointed in 1979 by Mayor Chet 
Geller to be an Ohio Civil Service Commission clerk. In the early 
1980's, he was elected a Licking Counting Municipal Court Judge. In 
1990, Judge Frost was elected to a 6-year term on the Licking County 
Common Pleas Court and has been reelected twice, most recently in 
November 2002. According to this Senate Questionnaire, he has no 
experience in Federal court.
  Judge Frost is a current or former member of numerous charitable, 
civic and social organizations. Judge Frost is also a current member of 
the Newark Elks Club, which currently bases membership on being ``a 
citizen of the United States over the age of 21 who believes in God.'' 
Judge Frost states in his Senate Questionnaire that, for four years, he 
had been a member of the Newark Elks Club, along with the Newark Moose 
Lodge and Newark Maennerchor, however, he states that, ``when it became 
apparent that those organizations discriminated against women in their 
membership practices, I resigned. In 2000, I was asked to re-apply for 
membership in the Newark Elks Lodge. I advised that organization that I 
could not subscribe to their membership tenets as a result of their 
continued discrimination against women. In part, because of my position 
on this issue, I am proud to say that the Newark Elks Lodge has changed 
its practices and now permits women as full members.'' Judge Frost 
belongs to the Moundbuilders Country Club, a private golf club that 
does not discriminate in its membership.
  The Committee received a letter of support for Judge Frost from the 
Ohio Employment Lawyers Association, a nonprofit organization that 
represents individual employees concerning employment and labor 
matters. The Ohio Employment Lawyers Association writes that Judge 
Frost ``is an example of how a jurist should set aside personal and 
partisan political beliefs to provide justice.'' Supporters of Judge 
Frost's nomination to the District Court also include the Ohio Academy 
of Trial Lawyers and Peter W. Hahn, a Democrat who has practiced before 
Judge Frost, writes that ``Judge Frost has the unique ability and 
temperament to adjudicate complex cases while maintaining civil and 
professional decorum both inside the courtroom and in chambers.''
  I congratulate Judge Frost and his wife on his confirmation.
  Mr. DeWine. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Gregory L. Frost, of Ohio, to be United States District Judge for 
the Southern District of Ohio? The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. FRIST. I announce that the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), 
the Senator from Alaska (Ms. Murkowski), and the Senator from Oregon 
(Mr. Smith) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), the 
Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Corzine), the Senator from Florida (Mr. 
Graham), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the Senator from 
Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman), and the Senator from New York (Mr. 
Schumer) are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) would vote ``aye''.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Alexander). Are there any other Senators 
in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 91, nays 0, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 44 Ex.]

                                YEAS--91

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Clinton
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     Dayton
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--9

     Biden
     Corzine
     Graham (FL)
     Kerry
     Lieberman
     McConnell
     Murkowski
     Schumer
     Smith
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the President shall 
be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
  The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I know the Senator from Ohio is here to make 
a statement. The Senator from Illinois wishes to make a unanimous 
consent request prior to the Senator from Ohio speaking.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, returning to Illinois this weekend, as I 
am sure my colleagues did in their home States, it is clear that we are 
in dire economic straits in America. It should be our highest priority, 
next to national defense and security, to put this economy back on 
track. I believe this is the moment to start the debate for an economic 
stimulus package that would create jobs and give businesses a chance.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, will the Senator withhold?
  Mr. President, what is the parliamentary status of the Senate at this 
time?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is in executive session.
  Mr. REID. I am wondering if the Chair is about to announce that we 
are going to go back to the legislative matter that was before the 
Senate before the vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is no order to return to legislative 
session.

                          ____________________