May 21, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 158, Pt. 6 7497 Charitable Trusts; Pfizer, Inc.; PhRMA; costs, and possible unintended con- out of committee. We had not been able Pittsburgh Life Science Greenhouse. sequences, members agreed to a list of to get an agreement to debate or vote Pittsburgh Technology Council; Pittsburgh policy concepts. If it was not a con- on this nomination since it was ap- Venture Capital Association; Plymouth/ Terryville Chamber of Commerce; Premier sensus on a particular policy, then it proved. So for the 27th time, the major- healthcare alliance; Prevent Blindness was not included. The chairman men- ity leader was forced to file cloture to America; Prevent Blindness Mid-Atlantic; tioned the importance of consensus, get an up-or-down vote on one of Presi- Prevent Blindness Ohio; ProteoTech Inc; and that is what we worked on. dent Obama’s judicial nominations. Psychiatric Society of Virginia; Respiratory As this process progressed, my staff Thankfully enough, Senate Repub- Health Association of Metro Chicago; Rib-X met with the Republican staff on the licans came forward to say they are Pharmaceuticals; Rio Grande Valley Diabe- HELP Committee for at least 2 hours not going to delay a vote or to con- tes Association; Rocky Mountain Stroke every week to keep them informed of tinue a filibuster. We ought to just Center; Rush To Live Organization; Rx Part- have an up-or-down vote, which we al- nership; San Antonio AIDS Foundation; everything that was happening. I per- Sanofi; Seattle BioMed; Sequella, Inc.; Sheet sonally met with the members of the ways used to do. Hopefully, we will not Metal Workers Local 40. committee before the markup to make vote to promote a filibuster, but vote Society for Adolescent Health and Medi- sure I understood their priorities. No up or down, and I thank those Repub- cine; Society for Pediatric Research; Som- one office got the entirety of what they licans who came forward and said erset County Business Partnership; South wanted. However, we did find the 80 enough of the cloture votes, let’s vote. Jersey Geriatric Care, P.C.; South Jersey percent of each solution we could all This nominee, Paul Watford, is high- Senior Marketing Group; South Shore Cham- agree could help solve whatever policy ly qualified. In fact, he has the highest ber of Commerce; Southwest Michigan Phar- qualifications for the Ninth Circuit. He macists Association; Spanish American Mer- the group was working on. chants Association (SAMA); Stanford Hos- What we see before us now is the out- shouldn’t be filibustered. He should not pital & Clinics; Supercritical Fluid Tech- come of the hard work of these groups. require a cloture vote. He is a nominee nologies; Susan G. Komen, Denver Metro Af- The bill passed the committee by a with impeccable credentials and quali- filiate; Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advo- voice vote. The bill reflects the work of fications. He served as a Federal pros- cacy Alliance; Takeda Pharmaceuticals every member of the Health, Edu- ecutor and is now a highly regarded ap- U.S.A., Inc.; Targepeutics; Tech Council of cation, Labor, and Pensions Com- pellate litigator in private practice. He Maryland; TECHQuest Pennsylvania; Teva mittee. All of them have at least one served as a law clerk at the United Pharmaceuticals; Texas BioAlliance; Texas States Supreme Court and at the Health Care & Bioscience Institute. provision included in this legislation, The Arc of Connecticut; The Association and many members of the committee United States Court of Appeals for the for Corporate Health Risk Management; The worked with us to find consensus meas- Ninth Circuit. The ABA Standing Com- Center for Health Care Services; Trinity ures that addressed their priorities as mittee on the Federal Judiciary gave Health—Novi, Michigan; Trust for America’s well. Paul Watford the highest possible rat- Health; Union of Concerned Scientists; This legislation is a model for how ing they could give and they gave it to United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation; the process can and should work no him unanimously. He also has the University City Science Center; University strong support of his home State Sen- of Utah Health Care; University of Wash- matter what the political environment. ington; Virginia Biotechnology Association; This went to committee, it was worked ators, Senator FEINSTEIN and Senator Virginia Chamber of Commerce; VisionServe in committee, it is now at the Senate BOXER. He has widespread support Alliance; Visiting Angels; Washington Bio- floor, and I hope my colleagues will across the spectrum, including known technology & Biomedical Association. join me in supporting this truly bipar- conservatives such as two former Washington Global Health Alliance; Wash- tisan provision that reduces the debt Presidents of the Los Angeles chapter ington State Department of Commerce; and ensures that the United States will of the Federalist Society, as well as Washington State University; Waterbury Re- maintain its leadership in the innova- Judge Alex Kozinski, a conservative gional Chamber of Commerce; We Work For Reagan appointee who is now Chief Health; We Work for Health New Jersey; tion of safe and effective biomedical WellDoc, Inc.; Western Economic Council; product. Judge of the Ninth Circuit. By any tra- Western Michigan University; Westside I yield the floor. ditional measure, Paul Watford is the Health; Wolcott Chamber of Commerce; f kind of judicial nominee who should be Worcester Chamber of Commerce; Wright confirmed easily by an overwhelming Runstad & Company. EXECUTIVE SESSION vote—a vote of both Republicans and I yield the floor. Democrats. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- I had hoped after the agreement be- NOMINATION OF PAUL J. ator from Wyoming. tween the Democratic and Republican Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I thank the WATFORD, OF CALIFORNIA, TO Senate leadership to begin finally con- chairman for his remarks and wish to BE UNITED STATES CIRCUIT sidering the backlog of judicial nomi- be associated with them. It has been a JUDGE FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT nations from last year that the Senate very bipartisan process that has re- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under was at last returning to regular order. sulted in this bill coming to the floor, the previous order, the Senate will pro- The refusal of Senate Republicans to and I am hoping there will only be rel- ceed to executive session to consider consent to a debate and vote on this evant amendments and that there will the following nomination which the nomination for more than 31⁄2 months, be few of those. Every amendment has clerk will report. however, again required the Majority the potential for disrupting the entire The legislative clerk read the nomi- Leader to file cloture to end another bill. This has been a very inclusive nation of Paul J. Watford, of Cali- Republican filibuster. process that has led to this legislation. fornia, to be United States Circuit Senate Republicans continue to Over a year ago staff began to meet Judge for the Ninth Circuit. apply what they have admitted is a with stakeholders on the policy issues The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under ‘‘new standard’’ to President Obama’s that are addressed in S. 3187. Starting the previous order, there will be 1 hour judicial nominees. From the beginning in the spring of 2011, staff from Repub- of debate equally divided and con- of the Obama administration, Senate lican and Democratic offices on the trolled in the usual form. Republicans abandoned the standards Health, Education, Labor and Pensions The Senator from Vermont. and arguments they used to say should Committee began a series of standing Mr. LEAHY. I am glad we are finally apply to judicial nominations. During meetings. The groups proceeded to able to debate and vote on the nomina- the administration of the last Presi- meet every week for several months. tion of Paul Watford of California to dent, a Republican, they insisted that They met with stakeholders and dis- fill a judicial emergency vacancy on filibusters of judicial nominees were cussed policy solutions that each mem- the Ninth Circuit. As the distinguished unconstitutional. They threatened the ber thought would solve the problem. Presiding Officer knows, it was 31⁄2 ‘‘nuclear option’’ in 2005 to guarantee After much discussion of the benefits, months ago that we voted Mr. Watford up-or-down votes for each of President VerDate Sep 11 2014 08:28 Apr 21, 2017 Jkt 019102 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 0685 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR12\S21MY2.000 S21MY2 pmangrum on DSK3GDR082PROD with BOUND RECORD 7498 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE, Vol. 158, Pt. 6 May 21, 2012 Bush’s judicial nominations. Many Re- appointee of President Ronald Reagan. the other Justices concluded: ‘‘We are publican Senators declared that they Over his 17-year legal career, Paul unanimous in our view that Paul pos- would never support the filibuster of a Watford has worked on briefs in nearly sesses all the qualities of the most judicial nomination. 20 cases before the United States Su- highly regarded jurists: powerful ana- Senate Republicans reversed course preme Court, and has argued numerous lytical abilities, a readiness to listen and filibustered President Obama’s cases before the Ninth Circuit Court of to and consider fairly all points of very first judicial nomination, that of Appeals as well as the California appel- view, a calm temperament, and a pro- Judge David Hamilton of Indiana. They late courts. As a Federal prosecutor in digious work ethic.’’ tried to prevent an up-or-down vote on the 1990s, Mr. Watford handled prosecu- A number of corporate general coun- that nomination even though he was tions involving immigration and drug sels from leading U.S. corporations nominated by President Obama after offenses, firearms trafficking, and have written us urging confirmation: consultation with the most senior and major frauds.