[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 1274-1279]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

NOMINATION OF DIANA SALDANA TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR THE 
                       SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

                                 ______
                                 

  NOMINATION OF PAUL KINLOCH HOLMES III TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT 
               JUDGE FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS

                                 ______
                                 

NOMINATION OF MARCO A. HERNANDEZ TO BE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE FOR 
                         THE DISTRICT OF OREGON

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations, 
which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nominations of Diana Saldana, of 
Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of 
Texas, Paul Kinloch Holmes III, of Arkansas, to be United States 
District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas, and Marco A. 
Hernandez, of Oregon, to be United States District Judge for the 
District of Oregon.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 1 hour 
of debate equally divided in the usual form.
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today, the Senate will consider, and I 
anticipate confirm, 3 of President Obama's nominations to fill judicial 
vacancies on Federal district courts in Arkansas, Oregon, and Texas. 
All 3 of the nominations--P.K. Holmes to the Western District of 
Arkansas, Judge Diana Saldana to the Southern District of Texas, and 
Judge Marco Hernandez to the District of Oregon--will fill judicial 
emergency vacancies. Given the serious need on those courts, and the 
qualifications of these nominees, there is no reason they could not 
have been confirmed when they were nominated and reported unanimously 
by the Judiciary Committee last Congress. There is every reason for the 
Senate to act promptly now that President Obama has renominated them, 
the Judiciary Committee has reconsidered them, and they have again been 
reported to the Senate unanimously.
  I am hopeful that our actions today signal a return to regular order 
in the consideration of nominations without unexplained and damaging 
delays. I am

[[Page 1275]]

hopeful that this signals a return to cooperation to confront a 
judicial vacancies crisis that has put at serious risk the ability of 
all Americans to find equal access to a fair hearing in court. Chief 
Justice Roberts commented on this in his most recent statement on the 
judiciary. The White House counsel recently spoke to the crisis. The 
President wrote us last year urging action. The real costs of these 
unnecessary partisan delays fall on Americans who depend on the courts. 
Last September, President Obama wrote that these delays in Senate 
consideration of judicial nominees are ``undermining the ability of our 
courts to deliver justice to those in need . . . from working mothers 
seeking timely compensation for their employment discrimination claims 
to communities hoping for swift punishment for perpetrators of crimes 
to small business owners seeking protection from unfair and 
anticompetitive practices.'' The President was, and still is, right.
  The Attorney General warned us last year that ``the system on which 
we all depend for a prompt and fair hearing of our cases when we need 
to call on the law--is stressed to the breaking point.'' The National 
Association of Assistant United States Attorneys, a group of career 
Federal prosecutors likewise wrote to us, stating that, ``Our federal 
courts cannot function effectively when judicial vacancies restrain the 
ability to render swift and sure justice.''
  As we consider these nominations today, there are still more than 100 
vacancies in the Federal judiciary. Unlike the progress we made during 
President Bush's first 2 years in office when the Senate confirmed 100 
judges and sharply reduced judicial vacancies, during the first 2 years 
of President Obama's term, we were only allowed to consider 60 judicial 
nominations. Despite vacancies for nearly 1 out of every 8 Federal 
judgeships, last year the Senate adjourned without voting on 19 
judicial nominations favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee. The 
3 judges we will confirm today were among those 19. They could and 
should have been confirmed last year.
  The Senate must do better. We can consider and confirm this 
President's nominations to the Federal bench in a timely manner. This 
President has reached across the aisle to work with home State 
Republican Senators. His nominees, like the nominees from Texas and 
Arkansas before us today, are supported by their home State Republican 
Senators. They are not controversial. They tend to be superbly 
qualified nominees with a strong commitment to the rule of law and a 
demonstrated faithfulness to the Constitution. The 3 nominees before us 
today, the 11 judicial nominees voted out of the Judiciary Committee 
unanimously last week, and the 4 other judicial nominations that will 
be considered on February 17 are all nominees who were nominated last 
Congress and considered and approved by the Judiciary Committee with 
strong bipartisan support.
  With judicial vacancies now at 104, nearly half of them judicial 
emergency vacancies, the Nation cannot afford further delays by the 
Senate in taking action on the nominations pending before it. Judicial 
vacancies on courts throughout the country hinder the Federal 
judiciary's ability to fulfill its constitutional role. They create a 
backlog of cases that prevents people from having their day in court. 
This is unacceptable. In order for the Senate to ensure that the courts 
are functioning at full capacity, we must restore regular order.
  A return to regular order would mean that nominations sent by the 
Judiciary Committee to the Senate should be considered expeditiously, 
not stalled interminably. Noncontroversial nominations should be taken 
up and approved on a regular basis. They should not be stalled for 
weeks and months for no good reason. We must return to the Senate's 
longstanding practice of quickly considering well-qualified consensus 
judicial nominations reported by the Judiciary Committee. Senators 
should not stall noncontroversial nominees. We should not have months 
and months of damaging delays for no good reason on virtually every 
judicial nomination.
  If Senators want to debate a nomination, we should have one. But then 
we should vote. Nominations that do have opposition should be taken up 
on a regular basis for debate, with cloture votes if necessary, so that 
all nominations can be acted upon in a reasonable amount of time. The 
Senate must move beyond the petty partisanship that has resulted in 
this vacancy crisis.
  I thank Senator Grassley, the Judiciary Committee's new ranking 
member, for his cooperation in helping us to report 11 of the 
previously reported judicial nominations last week, and for working 
with me to schedule our first confirmation hearing of the new Congress. 
I look forward to continuing to work with him, with Majority Leader 
Reid and with Republican Leader McConnell to schedule votes on the many 
other nominees reported favorably by the Judiciary Committee so that we 
can ensure that the Federal judiciary has the judges and resources it 
needs to provide justice to Americans in courts throughout the country.
  When I was chairman of the Judiciary Committee during 17 months of 
President Bush's first 2 years in office with a Democratic majority, we 
favorably reported 100 of his Federal circuit and district court 
nominees. All 100 were confirmed. I continued to work hard to make 
progress considering President Bush's circuit and district court 
nominations as ranking member during the President Bush's 3rd and 4th 
years in office when Senator Hatch was the committee chairman, and the 
Senate confirmed another 105. That should be our benchmark. By the end 
of this Congress, we should consider and confirm 205 Federal judges, 
just as we did during President Bush's first term. That is how we can 
reduce vacancies from the historically high levels at which they have 
remained throughout these first 2 years of the Obama administration to 
the historically low level we reached toward the end of the Bush 
administration. With the three confirmations today our total will stand 
at 63.
  Overall, judicial vacancies were reduced during the Bush 
administration from more than 10 percent to less than 4 percent. During 
the Bush administration, the Federal court vacancies were reduced from 
110 to 34 and Federal circuit court vacancies were reduced from a high 
of 32 down to single digits. Regrettably, this progress has not 
continued with a Democratic President in office. Instead, the minority 
has allowed votes on only 60 of President Obama's Federal circuit and 
district court nominees, judicial vacancies have skyrocketed and remain 
over 100 and over 10 percent.
  Today the Senate considers 3 of President Obama's qualified nominees. 
President Obama nominated Paul K. Holmes, III, last April to fill an 
emergency vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Western District 
of Arkansas. Mr. Holmes is currently Of Counsel at the Fort Smith, AR, 
law firm where he formerly worked for more than two decades as an 
associate and a partner. Previously, he was the U.S. attorney for the 
Western District of Arkansas. As U.S. Attorney, Holmes served for 2 
years on the Attorney General's Advisory Committee. Mr. Holmes earned 
the highest possible rating--unanimously well qualified--from the 
American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, 
and his nomination has now garnered the support of 3 Arkansas Senators, 
Senators Pryor and Lincoln last Congress, and also Senator Boozman. I 
thank the Senators from Arkansas for working with us. I am pleased that 
Mr. Holmes will be confirmed without further delay.
  President Obama nominated Diana Saldana last July to fill an 
emergency vacancy in the Southern District of Texas, the district she 
has served as a magistrate judge since 2006. Before taking the bench, 
Judge Saldana served the Southern District for 5 years as a Federal 
prosecutor, and she previously was a lawyer in private practice and a 
trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of 
Justice. The child of migrant farmworkers, Judge Saldana began working 
alongside her family in the sugar beet fields at age 10, and she 
continued to do so

[[Page 1276]]

for more than a decade. After graduating from law school, she served as 
a law clerk to then-Chief Judge George P. Kazen. If confirmed, Judge 
Saldana will fill the vacancy created by Judge Kazen's retirement. 
Judge Saldana earned the highest possible rating--unanimously well 
qualified--from the ABA's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. 
She has the support of her two Republican home State Senators. Senator 
Cornyn called her ``one of the toughest law enforcers in South Texas,'' 
and Senator Hutchison added that Judge Saldana ``has some of the finest 
qualities we expect in our judges.'' Her nomination has twice been 
reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee. I am pleased she will 
be confirmed without further delay.
  Marco A. Hernandez was nominated last July to fill an emergency 
vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. He has 
served as a State judge in Oregon for the last 15 years, first on the 
district court and now as a circuit court judge. Previously, Judge 
Hernandez was a deputy district attorney in Washington County, OR, and 
a lawyer for Oregon Legal Services. Judge Hernandez has the support of 
his two home State Senators, and he has now been nominated to this 
position by Presidents of both parties. If confirmed, he will become 
the first Latino to serve as a Federal judge in Oregon. His nomination 
was reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee last Congress and 
again this Congress. It was ironic that after Senator Sessions made 
quite a fuss that Judge Hernandez had not been considered and confirmed 
when nominated at the very end of the Bush administration, the Senator 
then proceeded to delay committee consideration of his nomination last 
year and then Republican objections prevented Senate action last year. 
I thank Senator Wyden and Senator Merkley for their consistent support 
for Judge Hernandez's nomination and am pleased that he will be 
confirmed without further delay.
  I have often said that the 100 of us in the Senate stand in the shoes 
of over 300 million Americans. We owe it to them to do our 
constitutional duty of voting on the President's nominations to be 
Federal judges. We owe it to them to make sure that hard-working 
Americans are able to have their cases heard in our Federal courts.
  All three branches of the Federal Government come together when the 
Senate considers a President's nomination to a lifetime appointment on 
the Federal bench. The Senate has a constitutional duty to act 
responsibly to consider the President's nominees and to confirm members 
of the Judiciary. Most importantly, the Senate has a responsibility to 
the American people to help ensure that Federal judges are there to 
protect their rights and administer justice.
  I mentioned that one of the nominees is Judge Diana Saldana to the 
Southern District of Texas. I see my good friends, both the Senators 
from Texas, are here, one of whom I have the privilege to serve with on 
the Senate Judiciary Committee and one of whom I have the privilege to 
serve with in the Senate.
  I yield the floor and reserve the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished chairman of 
the Judiciary Committee. I rise today to speak in support of the Diana 
Saldana confirmation to serve as a Federal judge for the Southern 
District of Texas in Laredo.
  Judge Saldana's career has given her a breadth of experience that I 
believe will serve her well on the Federal bench. She received her B.A. 
in history and government from the University of Texas and then went on 
to receive a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.
  She was born in Carrizo Springs, TX, only a stone's throw from where 
she is currently serving as a U.S. magistrate judge in Laredo, TX. 
Prior to that, Judge Saldana served 4 years as an assistant U.S. 
attorney. She handled as many as 350 active Federal criminal cases a 
year, ranging from immigration to narcotics to health care. It was in 
this capacity that she was selected coordinator for Chief Judge George 
Kazen. Before her work in the U.S. Attorney's Office, Judge Saldana 
spent time as a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Civil 
Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the General 
Counsel's Office. She also served as a law clerk to Judge Kazen in the 
Southern District of Texas.
  Judge Saldana has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Southern 
District of Texas Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme 
Court. Judge Saldana has good professional experience, and she is well 
respected in the South Texas community. The American Bar Association 
gave her a unanimous ``well qualified'' rating, and I believe she will 
be an effective Federal judge in South Texas.
  In September, I introduced Judge Saldana before the Judiciary 
Committee, and today I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support her 
nomination and confirm her as a Federal judge for the Southern District 
in Laredo, TX.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I wish to join my colleague, Senator 
Hutchison, in commending to our colleagues the nomination of Judge 
Diana Saldana of Laredo, TX, who has been nominated, as we have heard, 
to be a U.S. district judge in the Southern District of Texas. This is 
a busy docket, as one can imagine, being right on the U.S.-Mexico 
border, with the unfortunate drug-trafficking and immigration-related 
cases and the like. So this is a very important nomination. I hope my 
colleagues will join us in confirming her nomination.
  Senator Hutchison and I, as do many Senators, have a bipartisan 
committee of lawyers in the State--people who are very respected in the 
legal community who screen the people who apply for these positions, 
recognizing the importance of them and that they are lifetime 
appointments. We do our very best to make this a depoliticized process, 
believing that whether one is a good judge doesn't depend on whether 
one is a Republican or an Independent or Democrat as long as one is 
always willing to enforce the law and not impose one's own personal 
beliefs or any other type of agenda.
  Diana Saldana really represents the manifestation of the American 
dream. I had the opportunity to introduce her at the hearing she had 
before the Judiciary Committee, along with her wonderful family. 
Throughout the process, the more I learned about Diana's personal 
story, the more I grew to admire not only all she has accomplished but 
what she stands for in terms of our national guarantee that if you come 
to America, if you work hard, if you make the most of your God-given 
gifts, you can achieve anything. Judge Saldana represents that dream.
  At the age of 10, she began traveling with her parents and siblings 
from her home in Carrizo Springs to Minnesota and North Dakota to work 
as migrant farmers in the soybean, sugar beet, and potato fields. 
Because of the seasonal nature of migrant farm work, Diana and her 
siblings would often leave South Texas before the school year ended and 
return after the next school year had begun. Of course, one can imagine 
how tough that is on a young student. She traveled 1,500 miles north 
and worked with her family in the fields every summer through high 
school and college, and she even worked in the fields during her first 
year of law school as well.
  Despite these challenges, Diana rose to the occasion, and she 
succeeded in becoming the first person in her family to get a college 
degree. She recalls that while working as a migrant farmer, her mother 
told her that an education was the only way out of doing manual labor, 
and indeed she learned that lesson very well.
  She was once asked what person had the greatest impact on her, and 
she said, as many of us might answer, her mother. She said:

       My mother has a third grade education, but she was able to 
     raise six children by

[[Page 1277]]

     working hard and having a deep faith in God . . . I remember 
     her working up to three jobs at a time, taking naps in the 
     family car, when our finances were especially tight, to make 
     ends meet . . . My mother instilled in us a strong work ethic 
     and encouraged us to dream for a better life.

  Today, Judge Saldana doesn't just receive the gifts she has gotten as 
being the child of a hard-working and dedicated and sacrificing mother, 
she has turned it around and become a mentor to young people herself, 
using her own story as an inspiration to others and saying: If I worked 
hard and I was successful, you can, too, even as improbable as that may 
seem at the time.
  I could go on and on about Judge Saldana because her life story is 
truly remarkable and quite an inspiration, but I will conclude with 
this: Diana Saldana has been nominated to fill the vacancy left by her 
own mentor, Judge George Kazen, who is taking senior status. Judge 
Kazen knows Diana better than just about anybody, other than her 
family. She served as his law clerk, appeared before him as a Federal 
prosecutor, and presided over many cases as a Federal magistrate judge. 
Judge Kazen described Diana as ``one of the finest law clerks'' he ever 
had and a ``tough, no-nonsense prosecutor.'' He called her the 
``quintessential judge--intelligent, hard-working, fair, honest, and 
decisive.'' Finally, Judge Kazen told us it would be his ``personal 
honor'' if Judge Saldana was confirmed as his successor. I can't think 
of any higher praise.
  In just a few minutes, the Senate will confirm Diana Saldana as a 
U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Texas. I know I speak 
for many Texans when I say we could not be more proud.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, on the floor tonight we have three very 
distinguished individuals whom President Obama has nominated to be 
Federal judges. I commend the committee for bringing them forward and 
Senator Leahy for his tremendous ongoing leadership on the Judiciary 
Committee. I know, as my colleagues from Texas have indicated, these 
are extremely competent individuals. All three of them were reported 
out of the Judiciary Committee with unanimous approval. In light of the 
current judicial emergencies, I urge my colleagues to confirm them this 
evening.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time used during the 
quorum call be charged equally to both sides.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. STABENOW. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in addition to my support for Judge 
Saldana and Mr. Holmes, I rise in support of Marco A. Hernandez to be 
U.S. district judge for the District of Oregon.
  I am pleased the Senate is finally turning to this nomination. This 
is the third Congress to consider Mr. Hernandez's nomination. President 
Bush nominated Judge Hernandez to this seat in the 110th Congress. 
Unfortunately, his nomination stalled in the Judiciary Committee, 
although he had the full support of every Republican on the committee. 
After pending for over 5 months with no action, his nomination, at that 
time, was returned to the President.
  This vacancy has been designated a judicial emergency. Therefore, I 
would have expected his nomination to have been made very early in the 
111th Congress. However, it was not sent to the Senate until July of 
last year. Because of that delayed nomination, the Senate was unable to 
complete action on the nomination in that Congress. At the close of the 
111th Congress, the nomination was again returned to the President.
  Mr. Hernandez has been rated ``qualified'' by the American Bar 
Association. He received his B.A. from Western Oregon State College and 
his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law.
  After graduating from law school, he served as an attorney for Oregon 
Legal Services, where he represented migrant farmworkers. He later 
joined the Washington County district attorney's office as a deputy 
district attorney.
  Mr. Hernandez is a fine nominee under President Bush's standards but 
also a fine nominee under President Obama's standards. I am pleased 
this nomination is finally before the Senate. I am, however, 
disappointed that we have a vacancy that could have been filled over 2 
years ago. With our vote today, the President can fill this judicial 
emergency seat with a qualified nominee.
  Mr. President, I also support the nomination of Diana Saldana to be a 
U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Texas. She has the 
support of both home State Senators who spoke very highly of her at her 
September 29, 2010, nomination hearing.
  Judge Saldana received a BA in history and in government from the 
University of Texas. She received her JD from the University of Texas 
School of Law. Upon graduation, she clerked for the Honorable George 
Kazen.
  She has had a very successful career. Judge Saldana has been a staff 
attorney in the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, a trial attorney with the Department of Justice, and 
served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Texas. 
She was appointed to be a U.S. magistrate judge in 2006.
  Judge Saldana was nominated by the President on July 14, 2010. She 
was rated unanimously well qualified by the American Bar Association.
  I am pleased to support Judge Saldana's nomination to this very 
important seat. Not only has it been deemed to be a judicial emergency 
but it is also the seat to which her mentor, Judge Kazen, previously 
occupied.
  Mr. President, I also support Paul Kinloch Holmes III, a nominee to 
be a U.S. district judge for the Western District of Arkansas. A 
graduate of Westminster College and the University of Arkansas School 
of Law, Mr. Holmes has been rated unanimously well qualified by the 
American Bar Association.
  After graduating from law school, Mr. Holmes became an associate at 
the law firm of Warner & Smith, a firm that focused on general civil 
practice. On August 6, 1993, President Clinton nominated him to be the 
U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. The Senate 
confirmed his nomination shortly after, and he served his role with 
distinction until 2001. Since then, Mr. Holmes has been in private 
practice handling both criminal and civil litigation.
  Again, I am pleased to support the nomination of Mr. Holmes to this 
seat that has been deemed a judicial emergency.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I rise to also support the nomination of 
Judge Marco Hernandez of Oregon to the U.S. district court. Judge 
Hernandez is unquestionably qualified to serve on this court. He has 
built his career through hard work and determination.
  As a young man, he attended night classes at a local community 
college before enrolling at Western Oregon State College. He then 
proceeded to get a law degree at the University of Washington School of 
Law.
  As a young man, he picked crops. After he graduated from law school 
at the University of Washington, he returned to Oregon to join Legal 
Aid Services and represent farm workers. He went on to serve as deputy 
district attorney in Washington County and was later appointed to be a 
State court judge, a position he has held since 1995.
  As a State court judge, he established an innovative domestic 
violence program designed to aggressively pursue offenders. He also 
established a new program to assist mentally ill defendants, a program 
he continues to oversee.
  Judge Hernandez was first nominated to the district court by 
President Bush

[[Page 1278]]

in 2008. Although Congress did not act on his nomination, he has again 
been nominated by President Obama and has the support of Republicans, 
Democrats, and organizations representing the spectrum of the legal 
community.
  He also has strong support from the Hispanic National Bar Association 
and, if confirmed, will be the first Hispanic article III judge in the 
State of Oregon.
  I urge my colleagues to support Judge Hernandez's confirmation. I 
look forward to his contributions, based on the depth and breadth of 
his life experience, to the U.S. district court.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time 
be yielded back so we can proceed to our votes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Under the previous order, all time having been yielded back, the 
nomination of Marco A. Hernandez is confirmed.
  The Senate will proceed to vote on the nomination of Diana Saldana to 
be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, 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 Diana Saldana, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the 
Southern District of Texas?
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Kerry), the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl), the Senator from New 
Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg), the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman), 
and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from New 
Jersey (Mr. Lautenberg) would vote ``yea.''
  Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 94, nays 0, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 12 Ex.]

                                YEAS--94

     Akaka
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bingaman
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown (MA)
     Brown (OH)
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coats
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hoeven
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson (WI)
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Lee
     Levin
     Lugar
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Paul
     Portman
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Toomey
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Vitter
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Alexander
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Lautenberg
     Lieberman
     Menendez
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we are going to have one more vote tonight. 
Senator McConnell and I have spoken earlier today. We will have one or 
two votes in the morning. We will terminate before 11 o'clock, so we 
will have a vote around 10 o'clock, 10:15 in the morning--maybe two--on 
the FAA bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, is there time for the Senator form Arkansas 
if he wants it? I request 2 minutes equally divided on the Arkansas 
nomination, and I yield my time to the senior Senator from Arkansas.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I rise today to support the nomination of 
Paul K. Holmes--in Arkansas we call him P.K. Holmes--for the district 
court judgeship in western Arkansas. A lot of times when you stand here 
at this moment in a nomination, it is like making a closing argument. 
But in this particular case there is no argument; everybody is for him. 
The American Bar Association, Democrats, Republicans, plaintiffs, 
defendants, everybody in Arkansas is for him.
  He has been an Arkansas Lawyer of the Year. He has been the Western 
District U.S. Attorney. He is a partner in Warner, Smith and Harris. P. 
K. Holmes has an outstanding record and outstanding reputation. He 
likes to talk about the fact that he has a small town general practice, 
and that is true. He has handled a little bit of everything, but he has 
always done it with integrity. He has an outstanding reputation in 
Arkansas as a lawyer and a great member of the community.
  I would hope all of my colleagues support this nomination.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin). All time is yielded back.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Paul Kinloch Holmes III, of Arkansas, to be U.S. District Judge for 
the Western District of Arkansas?
  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Kerry), the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl), the Senator from 
Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman), and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. 
Menendez) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Tennessee (Mr. Alexander).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Tennessee (Mr. 
Alexander) would have voted ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 95, nays 0, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 13 Ex.]

                                YEAS--95

     Akaka
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bingaman
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown (MA)
     Brown (OH)
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coats
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hoeven
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson (WI)
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Lee
     Levin
     Lugar
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Paul
     Portman
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Snowe
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Toomey
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Vitter
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Alexander
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Lieberman
     Menendez
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motions to 
reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table. The President 
shall be

[[Page 1279]]

immediately notified of the Senate's action.

                          ____________________