[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 1689-1690]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

 NOMINATION OF ADALBERTO JOSE JORDAN TO BE UNITED STATES CIRCUIT JUDGE 
                        FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following 
nomination, which the clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read the nomination of Adalberto Jose Jordan, of 
Florida, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 2 
minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today the Senate will finally vote on the 
nomination of Judge Adalberto Jordan of Florida to fill a judicial 
emergency vacancy on the Eleventh Circuit. Finally, after a 4 month 
Republican filibuster that was broken by an 89 to 5 vote on Monday, and 
after Republicans insisted on two additional days of delay, the Senate 
will have a vote.
  Judge Jordan is by any measure the kind of consensus nominee who 
should have been confirmed after being reported unanimously by the 
Judiciary Committee last October. Despite the strong support of his 
home State Senators, Senator Nelson, a Democrat, and Senator Rubio, a 
Republican, Republicans filibustered and delayed this confirmation for 
months. They prevented the Senate from voting on Judge Jordan's 
nomination in October, in November, in December, and in January. And it 
should not have taken another 2 days after the Senate voted 
overwhelmingly to bring the debate to a close to have this vote.
  This superbly-qualified nominee will be the first Cuban-American on 
the Eleventh Circuit. His record of achievement is beyond reproach. The 
only statements about this nominee--by me, by Senator Nelson and even 
by the Republican Senators who spoke--described him as qualified and 
worthy of confirmation. The stalling, the delays, the obstruction, even 
the votes against

[[Page 1690]]

ending the filibuster were all about something else, some collateral 
issue. They should not have marred this process and complicated this 
nomination. They should not have delayed this moment when Cuban 
Americans will see one of their own elevated to the second highest 
court in the land. I appreciate the attention that Hispanics for a Fair 
Judiciary and the Hispanic National Bar Association have given this 
important nomination. Their work will finally be rewarded, as well.
  The junior Senator from Kentucky held up this nominee for his own 
purposes--purposes having nothing to do with the nominee. He did it in 
order to gain leverage to force a vote on an unrelated and ill-advised 
amendment. You cannot amend a nomination. So now that he has forced the 
Senate into 2 days of inactivity, the Senate will finally vote.
  As I said yesterday, the goals of Senator Paul's amendment are 
already the law of the land. The new conditions on military aid for 
Egypt, which I wrote with Senator Graham, passed by an overwhelming 
bipartisan majority and were signed into law just 2 months ago without 
Senator Paul's support. Those conditions require certification by the 
Secretary of State that the Egyptian military is supporting the 
transition of civilian government and protecting fundamental freedoms 
and due process. Unlike Senator Paul's proposed amendment, these 
conditions again, already the law--do not pose a risk of backfiring on 
us and on our ally Israel.
  Moreover, once this misguided obstruction is ended and the Senate has 
voted to confirm Judge Jordan to fill the judicial emergency vacancy on 
the Eleventh Circuit, the Senate will turn back to its work on the 
surface transportation bill. As Senator Boxer said this morning, that 
bipartisan bill can save or create 2.8 million jobs. That, too, should 
be a priority, not a pin cushion to attach ill-advised foreign policy 
amendments.
  This is the kind of obstruction that is hard to explain to the 
American people. A Florida lawyer and former prosecutor was quoted in 
the Orlando Sentinel saying: ``It's a good reason why Congress' 
approval rating is 10 percent.'' He continued: ``Politics should have 
no place in the nomination and confirmation of excellent jurists like 
Judge Jordan. Shouldn't happen. We need qualified judicial nominees on 
the bench, big time.'' It is the kind of senseless obstruction that 
comes at a great cost to the millions of Americans living in Florida, 
Georgia and Alabama who are affected by the judicial emergency vacancy 
on the Eleventh Circuit. I am glad that they will finally have a judge 
to fill that vacancy.
  I am certain that all Americans will be well served by Judge 
Adalberto Jordan. He has proven through his long career on the bench 
and as a prosecutor to be a public servant of tremendous quality and 
integrity. I congratulate Judge Jordan, his family, Senator Nelson, 
Senator Rubio and the people of Florida on his confirmation today.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am advised that there is nobody else who 
wishes to speak, so I ask unanimous consent to yield back any time and 
ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Adalberto Jose Jordan, of Florida, to be United States Circuit Judge 
for the Eleventh Circuit?
  Mr. LEAHY. 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 clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from 
Illinois (Mr. Kirk).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 94, nays 5, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 19 Ex.]

                                YEAS--94

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Begich
     Bennet
     Bingaman
     Blumenthal
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown (MA)
     Brown (OH)
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coats
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson (WI)
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lugar
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     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
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--5

     Blunt
     DeMint
     Lee
     Toomey
     Vitter

                             NOT VOTING--1

                                  Kirk

  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the 
President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

                          ____________________