December 6, 2011 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S8361 constitutional challenge is presented, but I Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask The clerk will call the roll. think that authority has to be exercised very unanimous consent that I be given 11⁄2 The bill clerk called the roll. sparingly and very carefully. more minutes to finish this point. Mr. HATCH (when his name was Time and time again she answered The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without called). Present. similarly with clear and unambiguous objection, it is so ordered. The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 54, answers. Mr. SCHUMER. When we confirmed nays 45, as follows: Some of my colleagues have accused President Bush’s nominee to the 11th [Rollcall Vote No. 222 Ex.] Halligan of lacking candor in her an- seat in 2005, Thomas Griffith, his con- YEAS — 54 swers. Well, I have sat through a lot of firmation resulted in there being 121 hearings for nominees to Federal pending cases per judge. We did not Akaka Hagan Murray Baucus Harkin Nelson (NE) courts of appeals, and I know evasion hear a peep out of the other side that Begich Inouye Nelson (FL) when I see it. Halligan was not evasive. that was too low. Yet today there are Bennet Johnson (SD) Pryor Some of the same people who say she 161 cases per judge. With Halligan’s Bingaman Kerry Reed lacked candor still defend Miguel Blumenthal Klobuchar Reid confirmation, it would go down to 143— Boxer Kohl Rockefeller Estrada who didn’t answer a single far more than the 121 when all my col- Brown (OH) Landrieu Sanders question because he might come before leagues on the other side of the aisle Cantwell Lautenberg Schumer them as a judge. voted for Mr. Griffith, the Republican Cardin Leahy Shaheen She answered questions thoughtfully Carper Levin Stabenow nominee of President Bush. So there is Casey Lieberman Tester and forthrightly and explained the con- no reason to argue about caseload. Conrad Manchin Udall (CO) text of any past statements that might The fact is, if we cannot confirm Coons McCaskill Udall (NM) have seemed to have contradicted her Durbin Menendez Warner Halligan, this will not go down as a Feinstein Merkley Webb current views. vote about caseload, this will be re- Franken Mikulski Whitehouse This morning, some of my colleagues corded as a new bar for nominees. Gillibrand Murkowski Wyden on the other side of the aisle pointed to In conclusion, when Caitlin Halligan NAYS—45 two things that she did not write to try drove with her father from her home in to indicate she has activist views. Alexander DeMint McCain Kansas City to Harvard or when she Ayotte Enzi McConnell First, she gave a speech in 2003 on be- was a standout student at Georgetown Barrasso Graham Moran half of her boss, Elliott Spitzer, that Law School or when she started her Blunt Grassley Paul she did not write herself. In fact, she work for the New York Attorney Gen- Boozman Heller Portman stepped in at the last minute to give Brown (MA) Hoeven Risch eral’s Office, I am sure she could not Burr Hutchison Roberts the speech when he could not make it. have imagined that someday she would Chambliss Inhofe Rubio She did not write it, and she clarified be the topic of a debate in the U.S. Coats Isakson Sessions at the time that it did not reflect her Coburn Johanns Shelby Senate about whether she was too rad- Cochran Johnson (WI) Snowe personal views. ical or lacked the candor to be a judge. Collins Kirk Thune Second, she was a member of a com- I hope that when we vote and the de- Corker Kyl Toomey mittee that issued a report on Execu- bate is over, my colleagues recognize Cornyn Lee Vitter tive power and enemy combatants. She the truth here: Halligan is a sterling Crapo Lugar Wicker explained in the committee she hadn’t example of a public servant who has ANSWERED ‘‘PRESENT’’—1 seen the report and didn’t agree with worked hard, earned every honor she Hatch either its content or its tone. In her has received, and fits squarely within hearing she clearly stated her views on The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this the mainstream of judicial thought. vote, the yeas are 54, the nays are 45, Executive power. This should have She deserves an up-or-down vote today, cleared up any doubt about her ability and 1 Senator responded ‘‘present.’’ and I will be proud to cast my vote for Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- to recognize and respect the current cloture on Caitlin Halligan’s nomina- state of law. sen and sworn having not voted in the tion. affirmative, the motion is rejected. Finally, I wish to say a word about a I thank the Chair. red herring argument that has been CLOTURE MOTION f raised today—that the workload of the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under LEGISLATIVE SESSION DC Circuit is too low to confirm the previous order, pursuant to rule Halligan. I have expressed this concern, XXII, the Chair lays before the Senate Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask too, and, in fact, in 2008 we voted to the pending cloture motion, which the unanimous consent that the Senate re- take away one of the seats in the DC clerk will state. sume legislative session. Circuit. It now has 11 judges rather The bill clerk read as follows: The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without than 12; but I, as well as many of my CLOTURE MOTION objection, it is so ordered. colleagues on both sides of the aisle We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- f have in the past reserved our concern ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the for nominees of the 11th seat and what Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby MORNING BUSINESS was then the 12th seat. Halligan has move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Mr. nation of Caitlin Joan Halligan, of New been nominated for the 9th seat. There President, I ask unanimous consent are only 8 members on that court York, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit. that the Senate proceed to a period of which now has a roster of 11. The 10th morning business until 6 p.m., with and 11th seats remain vacant. No one Harry Reid, Patrick J. Leahy, Charles E. Schumer, Christopher A. Coons, Amy Senators permitted to speak therein ever until now, on either side of the Klobuchar, Al Franken, Richard for up to 10 minutes each. aisle, has ever argued that the DC Cir- Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there cuit should have only eight judges. Richard J. Durbin, Dianne Feinstein, objection? Without objection, it is so I wonder, if control of the body Herb Kohl, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Tom ordered. changes, which I don’t think it will, or Udall, Ron Wyden, Robert P. Casey, we get a Republican President, which I Jr., Sherrod Brown, Jeanne Shaheen. f don’t think we will, how quickly our The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- RECESS colleagues on the other side of the aisle imous consent, the mandatory quorum will abandon that foolish and specious call has been waived. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under argument. The question is, Is it the sense of the the previous order, the Senate stands I am concerned that we are hearing it Senate that debate on the nomination in recess until 2:15 p.m. now for the first time because the cur- of Caitlin Joan Halligan, of New York, (Whereupon, the Senate, at 12:31 rent makeup of the court happens to to be United States Circuit Judge for p.m., recessed and reassembled at 2:15 have five Republican appointees and the District of Columbia Circuit, shall p.m. when called to order by the Pre- three Democratic nominees. be brought to a close? siding Officer (Mr. WEBB)). The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time The yeas and nays are mandatory The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- of the Senator has expired. under the rule. ator from Florida.

VerDate Mar 15 2010 02:44 Dec 07, 2011 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G06DE6.019 S06DEPT1 pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S8362 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 6, 2011 LATIN AMERICA She is well known all over the United name of John Katz. John is a longtime Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. Presi- States in Hispanic circles because she public servant to the State of Alaska dent, I wanted to share with the Senate has held, as a Foreign Service officer, a who is set to retire at year’s end. John today what should be a collective out- number of posts. During the August has served Alaska for more than 40 rage because an American citizen has 2010 congressional recess, the President years, working for eight different Gov- now been held behind bars in Cuba for named her Ambassador to El Salvador. ernors, Republican and Democratic, exactly 2 years. That recess appointment is going to ex- liberals and conservatives. He once said Alan Gross was working in Cuba pire at the end of this year. he was comfortable serving so many under a contract with the U.S. Agency Before joining the State Department, different Governors because the issues for International Development. He has Ms. Aponte served as Executive Direc- for Alaska were consistent. Whether devoted his career to helping thousands tor of the Puerto Rican Federal Affairs they be responsible resource develop- of people around the world, working in Administration and president of the ment, State sovereignty, or Federal as- development for over 25 years in more very respected Hispanic National Bar sistance with infrastructure, the one than 50 countries. Association. constant figure connecting one admin- In Cuba, Alan Gross was trying to Typical of the sentiment in Florida, istration after the next over eight ad- make a difference in the lives of people an editorial in a recent Miami Herald ministrations has been John Katz. who share his Jewish faith by bringing editorial expressed support for her con- John started his career as a high them modern communication tools. firmation, saying that ‘‘her diplomatic school teacher and coach in Baltimore For that simple act, he has now lan- success has earned her the unprece- City public schools back in 1966, fol- guished in a Cuban prison for 2 years. dented support of the private sector lowing his graduation from Johns Hop- His health worsens each day and his and of the most prominent political kins University. In 1969, he earned his law degree from the University of Cali- family, of course, misses him. His wife leaders in El Salvador.’’ It was unprec- fornia at Berkeley. He then moved to Judy spoke to him just days ago and edented that three former Presidents of Alaska to work as a legislative and ad- said that Alan sounded ‘‘more hopeless El Salvador came all the way to Wash- ministrative assistant to Congressman and more depressed,’’ as one would ex- ington to show their support during her Pollock and then later for Senator Ted pect. nomination hearing. Stevens. The release of Alan Gross must re- My wife Grace and I were recently John has truly played many crucial main front and center in any discus- visited by the First Lady of El Sal- roles for the State of Alaska. He served sion with or about the Cuban regime. vador. She pointed out all of the ter- for several years as the counsel to the That is why many of us in this Cham- rible events that have taken place in Joint Federal-State Land Use Planning ber have joined in writing to the Am- her country: struggling to recover from Commission for the State of Alaska. He bassador of Cuba here—and since we the tropical depression that made land- served as special counsel to Gov. Jay don’t have diplomatic relations, that fall this past fall, the heavy rains that Hammond back in 1979, advocating the individual is called the Chief of the have caused major damage throughout State’s position on the Alaska Na- Cuban Interests Section—and asking Central America, and the 70,000 Salva- tional Interest Lands Conservation the Castro regime to immediately and dorans still living in shelters. That lit- Act, or ANILCA, to Congress. Two unconditionally release Alan Gross as a tle country faces many challenges. So years after that, he was appointed com- humanitarian gesture and a sign of if for no other reason than those I men- missioner of natural resources by Gov- compassion for his family. We have tioned, we do not want to continue into ernor Hammond. Then, in 1983, John been met, however, with stonewalling next year without our having an am- was sent by Gov. Bill Sheffield to head silence. bassador there. We need to confirm Ms. Alaska’s Washington, DC, office, and While we remember Mr. Gross and we Aponte as soon as possible so that she he has served as the liaison between keep pressure on the Castro regime, can continue exercising the necessary the State and the Federal Government the Senate must also fulfill its duties U.S. leadership. for the past 28 years—a pretty remark- toward the rest of the Western Hemi- Latin American countries continue able record, if you would consider it. sphere. A case in point: Four countries to be America’s fastest growing trade As Alaskans, we know how important in Latin America—Venezuela, Bolivia, partners. We need to continue to pro- his role has been in bridging the very Nicaragua, and Ecuador—are currently mote that trade. It helps our economy. considerable gap between our State and without a U.S. Ambassador. That is the It deepens the economic linkages. We the Federal Government—a key role job of the Senate—to confirm appoint- can explore clean energy initiatives, when more than 60 percent of Alaska’s ments of the President. In the case of and we can help them as they continue land is controlled by the Federal Gov- Venezuela, it is not because we don’t to strengthen transparency in govern- ernment. have a nominee, it is because, in fact, ment and the rule of law. We need to You could refer to John as Alaska’s we are having some trouble with the pay more attention to Latin America, fourth Congressman—his 40-year ten- Chavez government. We have been not less. Disengagement is not the an- ure in the league of the late Senator without an Assistant Secretary of swer. This is just another reason we Stevens and Representative Don State for Western Hemisphere Affairs need to confirm this nomination as YOUNG. John’s breadth of knowledge since July. It isn’t in the interest of quickly as possible for Ambassador to and understanding of Alaska’s issues the United States not to have these El Salvador. have guided him in his very unique people in place. Mr. President, I yield the floor. role. The Senate has basically 2 weeks to The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Since entering public service, John go if we get out a week before the ator from Iowa. has been involved in key issues, such as Christmas holiday—and that is an ‘‘if,’’ Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I sug- the passage of the landmark Alaska by the way. During this time, while we gest the absence of a quorum. Native Claims Settlement Act back in go through all of what we have to do in The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 1971, the legislation in 1976 which ex- the next 10 legislative days—such as clerk will call the roll. tended America’s fishery zones to 200 solving the doctors problem, extending The assistant bill clerk proceeded to miles which allowed for the Americani- this payroll tax cut, appropriations call the roll. zation of Alaska’s fishing fleet. There bills, extending unemployment com- Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I was also the passage back in 1980 of the pensation for people who desperately ask unanimous consent that the order Alaska National Interest Land Con- need it, and extending a lot of the tax for the quorum call be rescinded. servation Act, the Nation’s largest con- extenders—we must also fulfill our con- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without servation lands measure. There was the stitutional duty to consider these im- objection, it is so ordered. Alaska Railroad Transfer Act back in portant Presidential appointments. f 1983, the Tongass Timber Reform Act There is one in front of the Senate in 1990 and 30 other major pieces of leg- right now; that is, the Ambassador to RETIREMENT OF JOHN KATZ islation and hundreds of amendments El Salvador. Mari Carmen Aponte is Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I that have greatly affected the lives of the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador. rise today to honor a gentleman by the all Alaskans.

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