[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6511-6514]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EXECUTIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

    NOMINATION OF SALLY QUILLIAN YATES TO BE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, 
which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Sally Quillian Yates, of 
Georgia, to be Deputy Attorney General.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be up to 1 hour of debate, 
equally divided in the usual form.
  The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am delighted we have the confirmation of 
Sally Yates before the body. I have pushed for a vote for several 
weeks, and now I know we are finally going to confirm Sally Yates to be 
our next Deputy Attorney General of the United States. I think she will 
be easily confirmed. I know there has been a delay of several weeks 
getting her here, but I thank Senator Isakson, who worked so hard to 
get her before this body. It should not have taken this long. Ms. Yates 
was voted out of the Judiciary Committee with overwhelming bipartisan 
support almost 3 weeks ago. We are finally voting to confirm her today 
to serve as the second highest law enforcement office in our country, 
and it is long past due. This is the least we can do to honor law 
enforcement, as it is National Police Week.
  The Deputy Attorney General is critical to the efficient functioning 
of the Department of Justice. The person serving in that position works 
diligently behind the scenes. The position requires someone who is of 
utmost competence, who prioritizes the Department above all else, and 
who executes the mission and vision of the Attorney General.
  We are actually fortunate here. We will have an Attorney General and 
a Deputy Attorney General whose backgrounds are very similar--both have 
shown their ability as law enforcement officers, both have been 
prosecuting attorneys, and both have similar views, as we saw during 
the confirmation hearings, on all the major issues.
  Sally Yates is an ideal person for this position, as those who know 
her can attest. She was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. She grew up 
seeing the justice system as a force for good. There was no need to 
look outside her home for an Atticus Finch to look up to because her 
family members lived that example. Her father, Kelly Quillian, was a 
judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals; her grandfather, Joseph 
Quillian, was a justice on the Georgia Supreme Court; and at a time 
when women did not fill the ranks of the legal system, her grandmother, 
Tabitha Quillian, became one of the first women to be admitted to the 
Georgia bar. Ms. Yates carried on that family tradition, becoming a 
top-notch lawyer who has prioritized public service above all else.
  For more than 25 years, Sally Yates served as a prosecutor in the 
Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. For 
the past 5 years she has served as U.S. Attorney of that district, 
following her unanimous confirmation by the Senate in 2010.
  Since January of this year, she has served as Acting Deputy Attorney 
General. I have been at briefings she has given to Members of the 
Senate. I have also been at briefings at the White House where she has 
briefed the President on issues before the country. She is an 
experienced and dedicated prosecutor with a well-deserved reputation 
for fairness, integrity, and toughness.
  She is perhaps best known for her successful prosecutions of the 
Atlanta Olympics bomber, who pled guilty in exchange for a life 
sentence without parole; and for her prosecution and conviction of a 
former Atlanta mayor for tax evasion. However, if you were to ask her 
the most significant case she has taken on, she will tell you that it 
involved a pro bono representation when she was just out of law school.
  As a junior associate at a law firm, Ms. Yates represented the first 
African-American family to own land in Barrow County, GA, in a property 
dispute. The family had obtained a deed to their property, but lacking 
trust in the court system, had failed to record their deed in a timely 
manner. As a result, when the adjoining property was sold, a dispute 
arose as to who owned part of the land. Ms. Yates filed suit to recover 
the family's property. After a 1-week trial--in which she helped 
convince a member of the ``Dixie Mafia'' to testify in court on behalf 
of the family--she was able to win the case before an all-white jury.
  According to Ms. Yates, it was the most meaningful case of her career 
because it gave the African American family she represented a sense of 
trust in the judicial system that they previously lacked. This case 
represents who she is as an attorney: someone who uses the judicial 
system as a force for good.
  It is also an example of why she will thrive as the Deputy Attorney 
General. While most people seek the spotlight by pursuing high-profile 
matters, Sally Yates devotes herself to the matters that are less 
glamorous, but just as important.
  Ms. Yates also deserves praise for her dedication to sentencing 
reform and the clemency initiative begun by her predecessor, Jim Cole. 
It is encouraging to see that we will continue to have individuals in 
the Justice Department's leadership who understand the inequities in 
our criminal justice system's sentencing practices and the consequences 
of mass incarceration. As she made clear when she testified before the 
Judiciary Committee, sentencing reform is critical to ensure that we 
better allocate our limited law enforcement resources and to make our 
country safer. The clemency initiative is an important part of that 
process as well and I am glad that I have her commitment that it will 
be a priority.
  Sally Yates has received strong bipartisan support for her 
nomination. Among the letters of support the Judiciary Committee has 
received are those

[[Page 6512]]

from Georgia's Republican Governor, Nathan Deal; Georgia's Republican 
Attorney General, Samuel Olens; and former Democratic Senator from 
Georgia, Sam Nunn. She also has the support of law enforcement and 
civil rights leaders.
  At her nomination hearing, Ms. Yates was introduced by Congressman 
John Lewis, Senator Perdue and Senator Isakson. As Senator Isakson 
noted when Ms. Yates was first nominated this past December, ``Sally 
Yates is an exceptionally skilled attorney with a strong record of 
public service and a well-qualified nominee to be Deputy Attorney 
General.'' Prior to his retirement, Senator Saxby Chambliss also spoke 
out in support of Ms. Yates' nomination.
  Almost 3 weeks ago, her nomination was voted out of Committee with 
strong bipartisan support, so this nomination should not be an occasion 
for further partisanship. The responsibilities of the Deputy Attorney 
General are too important to the safety and security of all Americans 
to be held up any longer. The dedicated public servants at the Justice 
Department deserve a confirmed leader in this crucial position, and I 
know Sally Yates will serve with distinction as our next Deputy 
Attorney General of the United States. I thank her for her willingness 
to continue to serve this great Nation, and I want to publicly 
congratulate her on this well-deserved appointment.


                         Tribute to Eric Holder

  Mr. President, I want to talk about a different but related issue.
  Two weeks ago, after 5 long months, Loretta Lynch was finally sworn 
in as the 83rd Attorney General of the United States. I know she is 
going to be an exceptional Attorney General, and she has an exceptional 
deputy in Sally Yates. But I want to speak here about the remarkable 
service of Eric Holder, who has just left as Attorney General.
  Many don't realize that he came to the Justice Department as a 25-
year-old law school graduate in 1976. He has served at nearly every 
level of the Department over the past four decades. I believe we owe 
him our gratitude for his commitment to public service.
  I also know on a personal basis how much Marcelle and I appreciate 
the friendship we have with Eric and his wonderful wife, Sharon.
  When Eric Holder's nomination was first announced in 2008, I said 
that we needed an Attorney General who, as Robert Jackson said 68 years 
ago, ``serves the law and not factual purposes, and who approaches his 
task with humility.'' Well, that is what I said we needed, and that is 
what we got. It is the kind of man Eric Holder is and the kind of 
Attorney General he has been. He understands our moral and legal 
obligation to protect the fundamental rights of all Americans and to 
respect the human rights of all people. His leadership over the past 6 
years shows us that.
  I was there when he was sworn in as the 82nd Attorney General. His 
family was there--his wife, mother, children, and others. Upon being 
sworn in, he immediately changed the tone of the Department. As he 
finished taking the oath, you heard this roar throughout the marbled 
and granite halls of the Department of Justice. The building literally 
shook with cheers. The dedicated professionals knew the Department was 
once again going to be dedicated to a nonpartisan search for justice 
for all Americans. These are highly professional and highly dedicated 
men and women appointed by both Republican and Democratic 
administrations, who set aside politics. They just want 
professionalism. And they knew, with Eric Holder, they would get it.
  His decision to dismiss the charges brought during the Bush 
administration against former Senator Ted Stevens because of 
prosecutorial misconduct was a courageous decision. But, more 
importantly, it sent a strong message that misconduct would not be 
tolerated under his watch, and the Department would adhere to the 
highest ethical standards.
  This sense of fairness and justice also led Eric to restore what he 
fondly refers to as the conscience of the Nation, the Civil Rights 
Division of the Justice Department.
  His work on voting rights is among the most important during his 
tenure, and in the last 6 years, he has had his work cut out for him. 
After the Supreme Court's disastrous decision in Shelby County v. 
Holder, where a narrow majority gutted the Voting Rights Act, the 
Attorney General recommitted the Justice Department to safeguarding the 
right to vote for every American. And that he did so at a time when 
these constitutional rights were under attack has been supremely 
important.
  For Eric Holder, this cause is not new. It is as deep as his family 
roots, which include the work of his late sister-in-law Vivian Malone, 
Sharon's sister, who fought against segregation and for equal rights as 
a college student, seeking admittance to the University of Alabama in 
1963. I know that Eric is deeply proud of her and of the countless 
brave men and women who fought for equal voting rights and civil rights 
for every American. Each generation has its trailblazers who contribute 
to our march toward equality. I and my family believe that history will 
count Eric Holder among those patriots.
  Eric Holder did not simply look to correct the misguided practices of 
a previous administration. He sought to bring this Nation forward with 
an acute understanding that the fight for civil rights is not a single 
movement of five decades ago. The fight, as he knows, continues.
  Attorney General Holder recognized that the constitutionality of the 
Defense of Marriage Act, which discriminated against Americans simply 
for whom they loved, could no longer be defended by the Justice 
Department. The Supreme Court's decision to strike down section 3 of 
DOMA vindicated his decision. Some argued that it was the Justice 
Department's duty and obligation to defend the constitutionality of 
that statute. But just as our country came to see separate as 
inherently unequal, I believe Attorney General Holder's decision will 
be further vindicated with time. Discrimination has no place in our 
laws. Rooting it out takes leadership--the kind of leadership Eric 
Holder is known for.
  He also recognized the inequities in our criminal justice system and 
the consequences of mass incarceration. Our criminal justice system 
serves to imprison too many offenders for too long. This has resulted 
in our Federal prisons at nearly 40 percent overcapacity, consuming 
nearly one quarter of the Justice Department's budget. And this growth 
has been largely driven by our misplaced reliance on drug mandatory 
minimums. These mandatory minimums too often see no difference between 
drug couriers and drug kingpins.
  Attorney General Holder's ``Smart
on Crime'' Initiative, along with Congress's effort to reform our 
Nation's sentencing laws, has been an essential step toward addressing 
these problems. No Attorney General in our Nation's history has 
recognized the inequities of our criminal justice system more than Eric 
Holder. He has proven that addressing these inequities leads to a more 
effective system. In fact, with Eric Holder, as our Nation's chief law 
enforcement officer, last year--for the first time in 40 years--the 
overall crime rate and the overall incarceration rate declined 
together.
  The Attorney General's commitment to fairness went well beyond 
sentencing reform. I look at the calm that he brought when he visited 
Ferguson, MO, in the midst of chaos and fear. He helped to bridge the 
distrust between law enforcement and the Ferguson community. He 
deserves praise for the Justice Department's investigation and 
reporting of the police department and the circumstances surrounding 
that shooting. These reports are scrupulously fair and they are fact-
based. His work has made the city of Ferguson reassess its practices, 
but it has also provided a path forward for both law enforcement and 
the broader community alike.
  Now, to go to one other point. I share Attorney General Holder's 
belief that we should not be afraid to prosecute terrorists in our 
Federal courts in accordance with the rule of law.

[[Page 6513]]

  With Eric's leadership, we proved we could hold terrorists 
accountable by making them answer for their crimes in public, for the 
world to see. Since Attorney General Holder assumed office, the 
Department of Justice has secured over 180 terrorism-related 
convictions. This shows his dedication to upholding the rule of law, 
even under the most difficult of circumstances. That is arguably one of 
his most enduring legacies.
  I know a number of people, including some on this floor, would stand 
up and say: Well, we should lock these terrorists up at Guantanamo. We 
are afraid to let them come to our country. We should not allow them 
here.
  Instead, Eric Holder said: What are we afraid of? We have the finest 
criminal justice system in the world. Bring them here; let the rest of 
the world see what happens.
  One by one, he did just that. They were each convicted, and they are 
all serving extremely difficult sentences. What he said is, we should 
not turn our backs on the values of America by locking them up in 
Guantanamo--a place so many of us feel should be closed. Let them come 
before our court system. Let's make sure they are adequately 
represented--both sides.
  The list of his accomplishments goes on. The Attorney General's 
leadership ensured that the most vulnerable Americans are protected by 
the Justice Department, including those who have suffered from hate 
crimes, domestic violence, and human trafficking. He guided the 
Department's steadfast implementation of vital legislation which passed 
through Congress, including the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate 
Crimes Prevention Act and the Leahy-Crapo Violence Against Women 
Reauthorization Act. These historic civil rights bills greatly expanded 
protections for the LGBT community, for rape victims, and for Native 
American domestic violence victims. As one who led the fight on many of 
these issues, I can tell my fellow Senators that it would have been 
impossible to pass them without Eric Holder's powerful commitment to 
protecting the most vulnerable among us.
  I talked about how when he returned to the Justice Department in 
2009, career attorneys lined the hallways to welcome back one of their 
own--cheers shook those walls. It had been a very difficult time for 
the Department. During the previous administration, there were scandals 
of politicized hiring, the decimating of the Civil Rights Division, the 
U.S. Attorney firing scandal, and the legal opinions defending the use 
of torture. But 6 years later, in his final day at the Department, 
those same professionals, appointed by both Republican and Democratic 
administrations, again lined the hallways in gratitude to Eric Holder 
for his work restoring integrity to the Department. Eric Holder 
restored the public's confidence in the Department. He leaves a 
Department that is now living up to its name, the Department of 
Justice.
  I am thankful for his dedicated, unwavering service to our country. 
We have a better Department of Justice because of Eric Holder's 
leadership. We are a better nation because of Eric Holder.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I am in support of Ms. Sally Quillian 
Yates, of Georgia, to be the next Deputy Attorney General of the United 
States.
  Ms. Yates has been acting as Deputy Attorney General since January of 
this year and has a long and successful career in public service. 
Graduating from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1986, with 
honors of magna cum laude, she went on to spend more than 20 years 
ensuring our streets were safe and our rights were protected in the 
U.S. attorney's office in Georgia. Ms. Yates served as the chief of the 
fraud and public corruption section and was the lead prosecutor in the 
case against Eric Rudolph, the Olympic Park Bomber in Atlanta.
  She was the first woman to serve as U.S. attorney in the Northern 
District of Georgia, confirmed by this body on March 10, 2010. Ms. 
Yates also served as vice chair of the Attorney General's Advisory 
Committee.
  Ms. Yates has not been afraid to take on complex and challenging 
cases and has handled herself with professionalism and integrity. She 
is effective in problemsolving and provides reasonable and rational 
solutions. I am confident she will serve the American people with 
distinction and dedication. I look forward to working with her in my 
role as vice chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the 
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies 
Subcommittee.


                        Amtrak Train Derailment

  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, just a quick comment, if I may, about this 
tragedy that is now up to 7 deaths and about 150 people who were 
injured in this Amtrak derailment. There was a report out of the Wall 
Street Journal just a few minutes ago that apparently the train was 
going 100 miles per hour going into a curve and that the curve speed 
should have been 50 miles per hour. If that is the case, that would 
indicate the conductor would not have been aware of what was happening 
or was negligent in what was happening. But there is something we can 
do about that, and it is called positive train control. Indeed, this is 
an issue which is facing all of the railroads. The infrastructure is 
very expensive, and the question is, How much should it be delayed in 
the future because it is not ready to go?
  Positive train control would--in places where there is potential 
danger or the potential of two trains colliding, there is automatic 
monitoring, and electronically it would change the speed of the train.
  Interestingly, Amtrak in the Northeast corridor already has some of 
this positive train control on the tracks, but apparently it did not at 
this particular location, in which case, that begs the question, What 
do we need to do if this is ultimately, by the NTSB investigation, 
determined to be the cause?
  One of the things this Senator would suggest is that we certainly do 
not want to cut Amtrak's budget. To the contrary, I would think we 
would want to increase Amtrak's budget. I am rounding numbers here, but 
Amtrak basically has about $3 billion in revenues, but they have about 
$4 billion in expenses. The difference is made up by the Federal 
Government. In the past, that difference has been about $1.4 billion. 
The House is considering legislation that would cut that down to $1.1 
billion, when, in fact, Amtrak is asking for $2 billion.
  Is the funding the only question? I do not think we will know until 
we get the NTSB investigation report. However, we should know this: 
Railroads and roads and bridges and other infrastructure are in 
desperate need of repair and enhancement and expansion, and that is 
going to take revenue.
  Is this country going to allow itself to be considered a third-rate 
country in infrastructure? By the way, that is not even to speak about 
what infrastructure does when you build it, the number of jobs. If you 
talk to road builders, they will tell you that for every billion 
dollars, thousands of new jobs are created.
  Confronting the safety issue is what we are focused on here with this 
terrible accident. Our heart goes out to the victims. But at the same 
time, we have to look to the future, and we have to get our heads out--
our collective heads--of the sand and start producing the funding for 
infrastructure investment.
  I think back to the time in the depths of the recession--as the 
Senator from Vermont will recognize--that we were going to do an 
economic stimulus bill. We tried to get increased infrastructure 
spending, and we were voted down in the stimulus bill. Here we are 
years later, out of the recession, the economy is returning, the jobs 
are increasing, but our infrastructure is still crumbling.
  I speak about this as the ranking member of the commerce committee, 
and fortunately we have a chairman who feels the same way. Senator 
Thune and I are going to be working on this as well as things I 
suggested a moment ago about positive train control to improve the 
safety of our traveling public.
  Mr. President, I have one more thing I would like to say.

[[Page 6514]]


  Mr. LEAHY. Is it on the pending business?
  Mr. NELSON. It is not. Does the Senator want me to stop so he can 
talk about the Assistant Attorney General?
  Mr. LEAHY. If we could.
  Mr. NELSON. Of course.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LEAHY. I thank the senior Senator from Florida.
  Mr. President, earlier I spoke praising Sally Yates. In my words on 
the floor, I also spoke about the senior Senator from Georgia, about 
all the help he has given on this. I want to make sure I also include 
the distinguished Presiding Officer, Senator Perdue, who, under our 
rules, cannot speak from the chair, but I would note for the other 
Senators how his testimony was so supportive of Sally Yates, and also, 
in the committee on which he and I serve, he voted for Sally Yates. 
Thus, both he and his colleague, Senator Isakson, were extremely 
valuable in this. I do not want anybody to think I was not aware of 
their support. I would say to both Senators from Georgia that I am 
deeply appreciative.
  I yield to the senior Senator from Georgia.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. ISAKSON. I thank the distinguished ranking member of the 
Judiciary Committee and my dear friend Senator Leahy for all his help 
and for his kind remarks. Sally Quillian Yates would not be before us 
if it were not for the Senator from Vermont. He has been great in the 
process.
  I think it is fortuitous and it is a good omen that the junior 
Senator from Georgia is the Presiding Officer at a time when we will 
elect the Deputy Attorney General, Sally Quillian Yates, to her 
position.
  Sally Quillian Yates is a human being I have known for almost 40 
years. For 25 years, she has been the lead prosecutor in the Northern 
District of Georgia. She has been an equal opportunity prosecutor--she 
has prosecuted Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Olympic Park 
bombers, anybody who violated the public trust. Any abuse of power, 
Sally Yates has gone after them, and she has won. She is fair. She is 
smart. She is intelligent.
  As a Georgia Bulldog--I realize the junior Senator is from Georgia 
Tech, so I am going to throw this in--as a Georgia Bulldog, she is what 
we call a double dog. She has her bachelor's degree and law degree from 
the University of Georgia and graduated magna cum laude from the 
University of Georgia Law School.
  Sally Quillian Yates is a great Georgian who will become a great 
Deputy Attorney General of the United States of America. I commend her 
to each of our colleagues and ask the Senators to vote and send a 
unanimous vote for Sally Quillian Yates to be Deputy Attorney General.
  The distinguished chairman of the committee is coming to the floor. 
Let me end my remarks by saying that Senator Grassley has been of 
immeasurable help in ensuring that Sally Quillian Yates gets to this 
position. I thank the Senator for his support. Unless he has something 
to say, I yield back the remainder of our time.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. No.
  Mr. ISAKSON. I yield back my time and the remainder of the majority 
time.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, if we have nobody here seeking recognition, 
we have a few minutes left, and I am perfectly willing to yield back 
that time also.
  I do yield it back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is yielded back.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the nomination 
of Sally Quillian Yates, of Georgia, to be Deputy Attorney General?
  Mr. GRASSLEY. 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 bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Toomey).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) 
and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 84, nays 12, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 177 Ex.]

                                YEAS--84

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Cassidy
     Coats
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cruz
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gardner
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Udall
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--12

     Blunt
     Boozman
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Inhofe
     Lankford
     Moran
     Risch
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Vitter

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Casey
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Toomey
  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.

                          ____________________