[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9530-9531]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NOMINATION OF MICHAEL SIMON

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, tomorrow, the Senate will vote on the 
confirmation of Michael Simon to serve as U.S. District Court Judge for 
the District of Oregon. Michael Simon is a good and decent man. In my 
home State where we have a judicial emergency by the standards of Chief 
Justice Roberts, it is vitally important that Michael Simon be 
confirmed. To begin, I wish to thank Chairman Leahy; ranking minority 
member Grassley; the majority leader, Senator Reid, and minority leader 
McConnell for bringing this nomination to the floor today.
  Senator Merkley and I have been proud to put forward Mr. Simon's name 
for consideration by the President. We were enthused by his subsequent 
nomination, and we are now hopeful he will soon be able to continue his 
service to the people of Oregon in this new capacity.
  Michael Simon is both a distinguished lawyer and a legal scholar with 
a diverse and impressive legal career. That career includes work as a 
public servant, as a litigator, a pro tempore judge, and as a 
professor. Michael Simon now is a partner at the firm of Perkins Coie 
in Portland, and he has worked there since 1986. After graduating summa 
cum laude from UCLA, Mr. Simon attended Harvard Law School where he 
again graduated with honors cum laude.
  He began his legal career in the Department of Justice antitrust 
division where he served as a trial attorney for 5 years. During his 
time working in Washington, DC, Mr. Simon also volunteered for and 
served as special U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. 
It was through his work at the antitrust division that Mr. Simon made 
one of his most notable contributions, and that was a contribution to 
strengthening consumer protection law. The distinguished President pro 
tempore of the Senate knows from his days in Connecticut as attorney 
general how important it is that there be public advocates for consumer 
rights because so often this is a field that gets short shrift. People 
say they are for the rights of consumers, but these cases can be hard 
and time consuming to bring. That is what Michael Simon did and did so 
well.
  Working on behalf of the Department of Justice on the case of United 
States v. American Airlines, Mr. Simon successfully argued for 
extending the reach of the Sherman Act to include monopolization and 
attempted monopolization. In my view, this extension is one that 
benefits consumers each and every day across this country. Frankly, to 
have someone on the bench who has this kind of expertise in fighting 
monopolies and protecting the rights of consumers is a very special 
qualification that I would simply commend to the Senate as we consider 
the nomination of Michael Simon.

[[Page 9531]]

  Throughout his work both in the public sector and in private 
practice, Mr. Simon has been an active member of our community. In 
fact, I have had many conversations with him in his capacity as the 
immediate past president of Congregation Beth Israel in my hometown 
where he constantly is the leader of the congregation, reaching out to 
conscript volunteers for a host of projects, particularly those that 
involve children. He has engaged in extensive pro bono work. He has 
volunteered for many local nonprofit organizations. I would call him 
the official champion of voluntarism, because when we look at some of 
the causes he has volunteered for--he has been a past board member of 
the Waverly Children's Home; he has been past president and current 
board member of the Classroom Law Project--we see that he consistently 
comes back to recognizing the importance of the well-being and security 
of children in our community. That, too, is a special area of expertise 
and advocacy that he will bring to the bench, confirmed by the Senate, 
and another area that I wish to commend Mr. Simon to the Senate for as 
we look at his candidacy this week.
  This seat has been vacant for nearly 2 years. As the distinguished 
President pro tempore of the Senate knows, there is a process by which 
one actually determines a judicial emergency. It has essentially been 
defined by Chief Justice Roberts, and we clearly have such an emergency 
in my home State of Oregon. So it is very welcome news for Oregonians 
that we have this opportunity to have a full bench, to have all 
justices on deck, and it is my view that Mr. Simon is an outstanding 
nominee. I have absolutely no reservations that he will be a superior 
judge.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting an exceptional 
individual--a person who is fair and thoughtful and who brings years 
and years of expertise and a host of very important legal assignments. 
I am especially grateful that he is a resident of my hometown where he 
has distinguished himself with extraordinary volunteering for a whole 
host of causes that are important, especially the future of our 
children.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I see the distinguished chairman of the Finance Committee here, so 
let me yield the floor at this time.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. BAUCUS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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