[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15431-15432]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    KIYO MATSUMOTO AND PAUL GARDEPHE

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise to speak about two judicial 
nominees who were approved by this Chamber a few hours ago, both from 
my home State of New York. Happily, earlier today, they were confirmed 
by voice vote to be district judges in the Southern and Eastern 
Districts of New York. Both of these nominees, Magistrate Judge Kiyo 
Matsumoto and Paul Gardephe, were rated unanimously ``well qualified'' 
by the American Bar Association, and both were unanimously reported out 
of the Judiciary Committee before they were confirmed today.
  In New York, we have actually worked out a wonderful system for 
nominating judges to the district and circuit courts in which the 
President and I have worked extremely well together to name mainstream, 
consensus candidates to the Federal bench such as these two nominees.
  Some of my Republican friends were here on the floor earlier making 
all kinds of assertions about the judicial nominations process. 
Undoubtedly, there has been rancor when it comes to judges from other 
parts of the country, but it doesn't have to be that way. When the 
administration works closely and cooperatively with home State 
Senators, as we have done in New York, things work out extremely well. 
Highly qualified, mainstream judges, not too far on either side, are 
approved--some nominated by the President and some nominated by the 
Senators from New York. In my State, we work well together. The results 
are not only mainstream consensus nominees but mainstream consensus 
nominees without the acrimony. Two of the consensus nominees were 
before us earlier today.
  I am particularly pleased to support Judge Matsumoto in the Eastern 
District to be judge because I personally recommended her to the 
President. When I interviewed her, I was deeply impressed by her poise, 
intellect, temperament, and thoughtfulness. The sitting judges in the 
district speak extremely highly of her, and her record of public 
service and accomplishment speaks for itself. Her confirmation, 
moreover, is historic. She now becomes only the second Asian-American 
woman ever to be confirmed to the Federal bench. We hope another and 
another and another will come soon.
  Judge Matsumoto graduated with high honors from the University of 
California at Berkeley and received her J.D. from Georgetown. Her 
distinguished career has included work in the private sector, in 
academia, and public service. For years, Judge Matsumoto has been a 
well-respected Federal magistrate judge in the Eastern District. In 
fact, on only one occasion has a reviewing district court judge 
declined to adopt Judge Matsumoto's report or recommendations. That is 
an extremely impressive record.
  I am not only proud to support the nomination of Judge Matsumoto 
because of her integrity and qualifications but also because I believe 
she will contribute to a diversity of perspectives on the Federal 
bench. I have always believed that our Federal bench should reflect the 
same broad diversity of experience as America writ large. I have 
endeavored to add minorities to the benches of New York State. I am 
endeavoring now to add women as well because fewer than one-third of 
sitting judges in the Eastern District are women, and Judge Matsumoto 
will help narrow the gap. I have also nominated a woman to sit in the 
Southern District whom, hopefully, we will nominate next week, as she 
was approved by the Judiciary Committee unanimously.
  Of course, there is an unfortunate underrepresentation of Asian 
Americans on the bench. With her confirmation, Judge Matsumoto becomes 
only the third Asian-American Federal judge outside of the Ninth 
Circuit and only the second ever in New York. The only other, Denny 
Chin, was confirmed to the Southern District bench 14 years ago.
  Judge Matsumoto has received the enthusiastic support of other 
groups, including the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. 
They call Judge Matsumoto's nomination ``a potential milestone for the 
Asian Pacific American community.'' I couldn't agree more.
  Judge Matsumoto's father and mother, merely because they were of 
Japanese descent, were forcibly removed to an internment camp during 
World War II. Fifty years later, their daughter ascends to the Federal 
bench. This shows that in America, we make our mistakes, but we also 
have greatness. Judge Matsumoto's life and career show the greatness of 
those who believe in America and push our Nation to its best potential. 
The woman whose family was subject to the worst injustice under law, 
now, as a result of her own talent and hard work, has a seat of legal 
power to judge others with intellectual excellence and fairness. God 
bless America for these kinds of things that happen.
  Finally, I would like to say a few words in favor of Judge Paul 
Gardephe, who was earlier confirmed as a judge in the Southern District 
of New York. Mr. Gardephe has an impressive and eclectic legal resume 
that includes work in both the public and private sector, work on 
criminal prosecution, criminal defense, civil litigation, and corporate 
law. He is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania 
and Columbia Law School. He served as a law clerk to Judge Engel on the 
Sixth Circuit, has spent 9 years as a prosecutor in the Southern 
District, and worked as deputy general counsel for Time, Inc. Mr. 
Gardephe also worked for the inspector general in the Department of 
Justice, where he was involved in the review of the Department's 
performance in the Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames spying cases. Mr. 
Gardephe was also honored with the Thurgood Marshall Award for his work 
representing a death row inmate pro bono.
  When I decide whether to support a nominee to the Federal bench, the 
most important criteria to me is this: Is the nominee an ideologue or 
will the nominee place the rule of law ahead of his or her own personal 
ideological views? I believe both of these nominees will make excellent 
judges who will be impartial and thoughtful guardians of the rule of 
law. I am pleased that my colleagues voted to confirm both of them. I 
heartily congratulate the nominees and their families.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I think we all agree that balancing 
environmental with energy goals can be a challenge, but it is a 
challenge we must confront now.

[[Page 15432]]

  Members of this body have discussed various proposals to regulate the 
output of greenhouse gases. Some advocate doing it though a cap-and-
trade approach. Others have advocated a carbon tax. Such proposals are 
aimed at limiting future carbon output into the atmosphere.
  Discussion and debate is not enough. We need action now. One resource 
often overlooked is coal. Despite the recent pace in developing clean 
coal technologies, America cannot afford to simply give up on this 
challenge. Coal is an abundant, affordable, reliable, and secure energy 
source. It has the potential to become an even cleaner fuel.
  I believe another solution to protect our environment and our economy 
can be found in the GEAR Act. This bill takes a new look at climate 
change by tapping into human potential and the American spirit to 
develop the technological solutions we need to address climate change.
  Recently, there was a very thoughtful editorial written by Shawn 
Taylor which was printed in the ``Wyoming Livestock Roundup'' on July 
12, 2008. Shawn is the executive director of the Wyoming Rural Electric 
Association. I believe he does a terrific job of summing up the 
feelings of Wyoming people on the need to take action balancing climate 
change goals while keeping bills affordable.
  I ask unanimous consent to have the editorial to which I referred 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                       Was Chicken Little Right?

                           (By Shawn Taylor)

       Is the sky falling? In the past I would have responded to 
     this question by saying, ``It depends on whom you ask,'' but 
     in today's world you'll be hard pressed to find anyone 
     involved in the energy/environmental/business/agriculture, 
     etc. industries that would argue with Chicken Little.
       Whether you agree with those who subscribe to the man-made 
     global warming theory, or those who think the status quo is 
     acceptable, or somewhere in between, you can find a scientist 
     with numbers to argue your case. But I would like to try to 
     focus on some political, physical and, economic realities.
       First, pressure is mounting in Congress to do something 
     about climate change. Both presidential candidates have 
     stated they support a cap and trade approach to curb 
     emissions of carbon dioxide. While political debates in 
     Washington, D.C. may seem far away the outcome will have a 
     direct impact on you, whether you're in the agriculture 
     industry, a small business owner or just own a house and have 
     to pay your utility bill.
       Experts now say some areas of the country will be short of 
     power within one or two years. Climate change is but one 
     aspect of a looming energy crisis created by increasing 
     demand and decreasing capacity to meet that demand.
       While Wyoming's elected representatives in D.C. are 
     sympathetic and understand these issues, many in D.C. aren't 
     spending a lot of time on the energy supply issue. The desire 
     to reduce greenhouse gas emissions quickly without regard to 
     our national economy and giving short shrift to technology-
     driven solutions, and the growing demand for power are about 
     to collide and form, excuse the cliche, the perfect storm.
       Second, while all Americans need to start being more 
     efficient with their energy usage, energy conservation cannot 
     meet the nation's power needs alone. While the development of 
     more renewable resources helps diversify and strengthen our 
     energy supplies, they are not the silver bullet solution to 
     climate change. We need everything we can get our hands on in 
     the near future, just to keep the lights on, to say nothing 
     of a long-term energy policy.
       Third, to avert an energy crisis, the federal government 
     must exercise true leadership. Without that leadership--
     without a sound, responsible plan--government risks not only 
     the reliability of our electric system, but literally the 
     ability of many Americans to be able to afford to pay their 
     electric bill. Consumers could be paying a higher bill each 
     month without the guarantee the lights will stay on.
       Folks in Wyoming and across the country need to start a 
     dialogue with their elected officials at every level by 
     asking the following questions:
       Balancing electricity needs and environmental goals will be 
     difficult. How much is this effort going to increase my 
     electric bill; what will you do to make it affordable; and in 
     the end, will these emissions reduction goals have a global 
     impact?
       Experts say our nation's growing electricity needs will 
     soon go well beyond what renewable energy and energy 
     conservation and efficiency can provide. What is your plan to 
     make sure we have the electricity we'll need in the future? 
     What are you doing to fully fund the research required to 
     make emissions free electric plants an affordable reality?
       I encourage you to contact your representatives and 
     senators and ask them these questions and ask they pose the 
     same questions to their colleagues.
       You don't need to be an energy expert to ask questions. You 
     I do need to be aware you may not be able to pay your utility 
     bill in the future, or that there might not even be a utility 
     bill to pay! Asking questions helps find the answers to solve 
     the problem of balancing climate change goals while keeping 
     your electricity reliable and your bills affordable.
       Right now members of Congress, as well as state elected 
     officials, are hearing from lots of different interest groups 
     with ideas about how to address climate change or global 
     warming or emissions reductions, whatever you want to call 
     it. While I write this as the Executive Director of the 
     Wyoming Rural Electric Association, the problems we face are 
     pretty much universal, and the one group that, to date, has 
     been left out of the conversation is the consumer. We need a 
     plan people can live with today while we deal with the long-
     term issue of balancing energy policy and environmental 
     policy.
       To make things easy there is a website to allow you, the 
     consumer, to contact your Congressional delegation and ask 
     them the questions mentioned above. The website 
     www.ourenergy.coop was established by the National Rural 
     Electric Cooperative Association but you don't have to be a 
     member of a co-op to ask these questions, you just have to be 
     concerned about the approach D.C. is taking.
       Policy makers far too often don't ask questions until 
     something goes wrong. We believe it makes sense to know the 
     answers before the laws are passed. You can help your elected 
     officials and yourself by having this conversation.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority has 2 minutes 20 seconds 
remaining; therefore, the Senator from Pennsylvania is recognized.
  Mr. CASEY. I know my time is limited, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will make sure my friend from Pennsylvania 
doesn't lose a second of his time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There is 1 minute 56 seconds.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Pennsylvania 
have 3 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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