Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning we will return to the nomination of William Pryor to be a judge of the Eleventh Circuit. Yesterday, cloture was invoked by a vote of 76 to 32, and we will have the vote on the Pryor nomination at 4 p.m. today. Following that vote, we will turn to the consideration of the two Sixth Circuit nominations that are pending on the Executive Calendar, with the time allotted for the Griffin and McKeague nominations totalling 10 hours. However, it is my hope and expectation that much of that time can be yielded back and that we can have those votes either very late this afternoon or early this evening. On Monday, we will debate the nomination of Tom Griffith to be judge for the D.C. Circuit Court, with that vote occurring Monday evening. That is an overview of today, pretty much as we have agreed earlier in the week, and the expected votes. We will update Members over the course of the day of changes in the schedule and definitely what the schedule will be on Monday. And then we will follow that with the energy legislation. Following the remarks from the Democratic leader, I have a short statement on energy.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent there now be a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, pursuant to the order of May 24, I ask unanimous consent that at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, June 13, the Senate proceed to the Griffith nomination as provided under the order; provided further that following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate resume legislative session and the vote occur on the confirmation of the nomination at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that on Tuesday, immediately following the vote on the Griffith nomination, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 6, the Energy bill; provided further that the chairman be recognized in order to offer the Senate-reported bill as a substitute amendment, the amendment be agreed to and considered as original text for the purpose of further amendment.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, June 13, the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 39 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. I further ask unanimous consent there be 3 hours for debate with the time equally divided and controlled between Senators Landrieu and Allen or their designees, and upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to a vote on the adoption of the resolution without intervening action or debate. I ask unanimous consent that upon adoption, the preamble then be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Isakson) Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be directed to prepare a revised edition of the Standing Rules of the Senate, and that such standing rules be printed as a Senate document. I further ask unanimous consent that beyond the usual number, 2,500 additional copies of this document be printed for the use of the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 166, submitted earlier today.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 167, submitted earlier today.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as you can see, the list is huge. We are going about it systematically, in discussion on a regular basis with the Democratic leader. That is the way we will continue as we address many issues important to the American people.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, the Senate stand in adjournment until 2 p.m. Monday, June 13; I further ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate then return to executive session and begin consideration of the nomination of Tom Griffith to be a United States circuit court judge for the DC Circuit as under the order.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, briefly in response--really in agreement-- as we heard from the Democrat leader, we have a lot to do. We have an ambitious agenda with a superb piece of legislation that we bring to the Senate early next week, the Energy bill, which addresses gasoline prices, energy independence, a move toward energy independence, issues important to the American people. In addition to appropriations bills, the Democratic leader mentioned stem cell research. I add to that the Department of Defense authorization which is ready for consideration. Asbestos--the distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania who was just here, Senator Specter, has worked so hard on that particular bill. That is important to job creation, to health care, to getting benefits to people who need it. We have a lot to do. I look forward to beginning that process. Next week, we have one more judge, Thomas Griffith, on Monday. Then we can go to the Energy legislation. So we have an ambitious agenda, but we are working together and we have made a huge amount of progress in the last week.

Mr. FRIST. I yield.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. On Monday, the Senate will consider the Griffith nomination to the D.C. Circuit. There will be up to 4 hours of debate on the nomination on Monday afternoon. Then we will set the nomination aside with a confirmation vote occurring on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. At 6:30 p.m. Monday evening, the Senate will proceed to S. Res. 39 relating to antilynching. That resolution will not require a rollcall vote and therefore there will be no votes on Monday. On Tuesday, we will begin the Energy bill. Chairman Domenici and Senator Bingaman will be ready to consider amendments on Tuesday in order to make headway on that important bill. I encourage Senators to come forward early with their amendments and to contact the managers of their intent to offer specific amendments.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order, following the remarks of Senator DeWine for up to 15 minutes and Senator Salazar to follow Senator DeWine for up to 10 minutes.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I think this 4-week period does demonstrate the Senate responding to the American people and what they expect, the fact that this week we are moving forward on judges, which people know has been very contentious over the last several weeks, months, and even the last couple years. We are making great progress working hand in hand on both sides of the aisle and delivering what the American people want and expect. As the Democratic leader said, we will be returning to an issue I know we care extremely about. We have not been able to make progress in several years. Because of the work of the two leaders, Senators Domenici and Bingaman, they have delivered an energy bill in a bipartisan way that will come to the Senate floor and be fully debated. We will be spending next week, week and a half, 2 weeks on the bill for debate, offering amendments, and we will start that process in the early days of next week.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I do wish to comment just a bit further on energy, really as a prelude to what we will be spending a lot of time on beginning hopefully Monday and then spending the course of that week into the next week, and that is the issue surrounding gasoline prices, natural gas prices, concerns that individuals think about every single day as they turn on the lights in their home, as they go to work, on the way filling up the gas tank of their automobile with gasoline, as they use energy sources over the course of the day in the activity of their small business, and that is the energy challenges that are before us, have been before us. Now is the time to address them, and that we will. With gasoline now averaging over $2 a gallon, anyone who has gone to the pump lately feels that impact, they feel that squeeze of higher energy prices. It is costing families who have driven to work this morning more and more just to get to work, over the last several years costing them more to go pick up their kids from school in the afternoon, or as many people prepare for summer vacations costing them more because of this increase in energy prices. It is not just the gasoline prices that are climbing. We have rising natural gas prices that have been driving up electric bills in the last 4 months, higher electric bills for everybody, especially families and small businesses. As energy costs take a bigger and bigger bite in the family budgets, families are able to spend less on other necessities in their lives, whether it is food or shelter or health care. As electric bills consume more and more of the small companies' assets or their bottom lines, they invest less, they invest less in inventory or in capital expenditures, or they invest less in how much they can pay employees working for that small business. In order to keep our economy strong, and it does translate down into jobs, making others' lives more fulfilling every day, we must rely on a reliable and affordable and secure supply of energy, reliable, affordable, and secure. That is the purpose of the Energy bill that will be brought to the floor of the Senate early next week. Right now, we face enormous challenges, huge challenges. We have not had a comprehensive national energy policy or energy strategy, cohesive strategy in over 10 years. This has contributed to the higher prices. It has threatened our ability to maintain a reliable, affordable, and secure supply of energy for the future. The fact is that--and it is probably the easiest thing to remember when you start talking about energy other than the impact it has on everybody in everyday life--we are too dependent on foreign sources of energy. We have to look to a more diverse energy series of sources. We have to look to new technologies here at home. Yes, absolutely we need to conserve more, and we also need to produce more in order to enhance our energy independence and to enhance our energy security. One of the primary energy challenges we face is this reliance on foreign oil. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the United States produced almost as much oil as we consumed, and during that period of time imports were very small. In 1972, however, U.S. oil production began to decline, and that production has been declining steadily ever since. The U.S. consumption of oil has been steadily increasing. So we have declining production and increasing consumption. As a result, our reliance--this I would say irresponsible reliance that we have today on foreign oil, on imported oil--is growing. Ten years ago, in 1995, we were 47 percent dependent on foreign sources of oil. Today, that 47 percent has grown to a 56-percent dependence on foreign sources of oil. If you project that out, by 2025, if we do nothing, we will be 68-percent dependent on foreign oil; much of it, as we all know, coming from countries that do not necessarily have our best interests at heart. Today we import most of our oil from Canada, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. However, as we look forward, the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration did project more and more of the oil we need will come from the OPEC countries in the Middle East. We must take steps to reduce our dependence on foreign countries and enhance our energy security at home. When we rely on other nations for more than half of our oil supply, we simply put ourselves at greater risk. While there is no silver bullet that can make us 100-percent energy independent in the near future, there is a lot we can do right now to reduce our dependence and enhance our security. Much of it will be addressed on the floor in the next 2 weeks. Everything should be on the table, including increasing conservation, enhancing energy efficiency, investing in new technologies that will allow us to both use energy more wisely and tap new sources of energy, and finally, increasing domestic production of energy sources at home. The transportation sector is a prime example. Nearly 70 percent of the oil we use goes to power the cars and trucks we drive every day. If we are serious about reducing our dependence on foreign oil, we must look for new ways to fuel our vehicles. We are already doing this with the hybrid cars--they are becoming more and more popular, as we all know-- and with alternative fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel. We must continue to move in this direction by continuing to invest in hydrogen fuel cell research. President Bush has stressed this again and again, and he has said his goal is that today's children will take their driver's test in a zero-emission vehicle. That would go a long way toward helping to reduce our dependence and enhance our security. Natural gas is another energy source we depend on heavily and is another area in which we are, unfortunately, becoming increasingly reliant on foreign imports. Because natural gas is clean burning and relatively cheap, it has been the fuel of choice for new electric power generation in recent years. Sixty percent of American homes are now heated and cooled with natural gas. But while that demand has been growing, domestic supply has remained essentially flat. In 2003, we imported 15 percent of the gas we used. By 2025, that number will nearly double. We simply cannot continue on this path, and that is why we are bringing this bill to the floor next week. We need to take bold action in the Senate. It is what the American people expect; it is what they deserve. This is exactly what we will do. We will take that action in the Senate to address these energy challenges head on. The bill that was reported out of the Energy Committee last month was done so on a bipartisan basis, and it is a step in the right direction. It likely will be amended and improved on the floor of the Senate next week. I, again, thank Chairman Domenici and Senator Bingaman for their tremendous work and for the cooperative spirit with which they approached these issues. I hope that same bipartisan spirit will prevail on the floor and that we can get this important legislation to the President as quickly as possible. Several of us had the opportunity to meet with the President yesterday, and this was at the very top of his list of issues that he expects us to address. Our goal is to get that legislation to his desk for his signature as soon as we possibly can. America needs a policy that keeps our families safe, strong, and secure, a policy that keeps America moving forward. Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I thank my distinguished colleague from Alabama for his leadership. I mentioned to him yesterday it was just a few weeks ago that it was uncertain whether we would ever reach this moment--about 3\1/2\ weeks ago and I remember the conversation. We committed to have an up-or-down vote, whatever it took. Indeed, I am delighted to say that in a few moments we will vote up or down on William Pryor's nomination to serve on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. This body will be allowed that opportunity to give Judge Pryor what he deserves, and that is the respect of an up-or-down vote. He was first nominated to the Federal bench on April 9, 2003, over 2 years ago. So it has been a long time coming. That wait is almost over. It will be over in about 6 or 7 minutes. The partisan charges and obstruction leveled against him are going to be brought to a close. Soon William Pryor will get the fairness and the respect he deserves with that vote. Judge Pryor's experience and achievements in the legal profession have prepared him well to serve on the Federal bench. He graduated magna cum laude from Tulane University School of Law where he served as editor in chief of the Law Review. He began his legal career as a law clerk for a legendary civil rights advocate, the late Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. While practicing law at two of Alabama's most prestigious firms, Judge Pryor also taught several years as adjunct professor at Samford University's Cumberland School of Law. Later he served as deputy attorney general and then attorney general of Alabama. As attorney general, he was overwhelmingly reelected by the people of Alabama in 2002. Two years later, President Bush, in 2004, recess appointed Judge Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit. During this time, Judge Pryor has served with distinction. While on the appellate bench, many of Judge Pryor's opinions have been supported by judges appointed by both Democrats and Republicans. But this should not come as a surprise. His rulings as a Federal judge are entirely consistent with his past record. William Pryor believes in interpretation of the law, not rewriting the law according to his own political views. He has an outstanding record on civil rights. Dr. Joe Reed, chairman of the African-American caucus for Alabama's Democratic Conference, said of Judge Pryor: He ``will uphold the law without fear or favor. I believe all races and colors will get a fair shake when their cases come before him.'' Many other prominent African-American leaders have submitted letters of support for Judge Pryor praising him for his commitment to upholding civil rights and equality for all Americans. It is simple. Those who criticize Judge Pryor's record have not examined it with the care and respect that every nominee's record deserves. His record consistently proves his unwavering dedication to the protection of individual liberties and his commitment to treating all people fairly. Further, those who study his record, as I have, know that Judge Pryor understands and appreciates the obligation of the judiciary branch to interpret the law, not to write the law. He stated in his hearing before the Judiciary Committee the following: I understand my obligation to follow the law, and I have a record of doing it. You don't have to take my word that I will follow the law. You can look at my record as Attorney General and see where I have done it. It has been over 2 years since the President sent William Pryor's nomination to the Senate. In that time, he has endured a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee lasting 4 hours where he answered over 185 questions. Judge Pryor answered another 45 written questions from Senators and submitted over 26 pages in response. On two separate occasions, his nomination has been favorably voted out of the Judiciary Committee, consuming another 4 hours of debate. Two times his nomination has come to the Senate floor for a cloture vote, and twice the motion to invoke cloture failed because of partisan obstruction. But that day is over. During the last 2 days, we have continued to debate the nomination of Judge Pryor, and now it is time to give him that long overdue vote. With the confirmation of Justice Owen and Justice Brown, and the upcoming vote on Judge Pryor, the Senate does continue to make good progress, placing principle before partisan politics and results before rhetoric. I hope and I know we will continue working together. As the debate on judicial nominees has shown, we can disagree on whether individual nominees deserve confirmation, but we can all agree on the principle that each nominee deserves a fair up-or-down vote. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the confirmation of Judge William H. Pryor. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, before the recess, the Senate confirmed Priscilla Owen to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Yesterday, we confirmed Janice Rogers Brown to the DC Circuit. And earlier today, William Pryor was confirmed to serve on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Apeals. All three of these judges had been waiting for years to get an up-or- down vote on the Senate floor. Until 2 weeks ago, all three of these nominees had been blocked by partisan obstructionist tactics. In a few minutes, we will give Judge Richard Griffin and Judge David McKeague fair up or down votes. We are making progress on fulfilling our constitutional duty to advise and consent. The judges before us now are nominees to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals--a circuit which includes Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and my home State of Tennessee. It is a circuit that desperately needs new judges. My circuit--the Sixth Circuit--has the highest vacancy rate and the slowest appeals process in the Nation. For the last 3 years, the Sixth Circuit has had the highest the vacancy rate for Federal judges in the nation. Twenty five percent--4 out of 16--of its seats are empty. All four have been declared judicial emergencies. These vacant judgeships have turned the Sixth Circuit into the slowest circuit in the country. Consider that the national average for an appeal is about 10 months. In the Sixth Circuit, it takes almost 17. This situation is unfair to our constituents and unfair to the hard- working judges who labor under increasingly heavy caseloads. Judicial obstruction has been delaying and denying justice to the 30 million people who live in the Sixth Circuit. It is time to end this judicial obstruction and fill these seats with qualified judges. I would like to comment briefly on the backgrounds of Judges McKeague and Griffin. The President nominated Judge McKeague on November 8, 2001, and Judge Griffin on June 26, 2002. Judge Griffin has extensive experience as a practicing attorney. He has appeared before the Federal district courts in Michigan and before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. He also has served with distinction as a State court judge for well over a decade. As an appellate judge, he wrote over 280 published opinions and heard thousands of criminal and civil cases. He enjoys bipartisan support from his colleagues. The chief judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals has called Judge Griffin a ``decisive scholarly judge with an instinct for the core issues and with a flair for authoring crisp understandable opinions.'' Judge Griffin has been waiting nearly 3 years for a fair up or down vote. It is time to give him that courtesy. It is time to vote. Judge David McKeague, likewise, is a highly regarded jurist. In 1992, the Senate voted unanimously to confirm him to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Many of those same Senators who confirmed Judge McKeague to the district court have been obstructing his nomination to the appellate court for over 3 years. Judge McKeague was also appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist to serve on the Judicial Conference's Committee on Defender Services and on the Federal Judicial Center's District Judges Education Committee, which he chairs. Those in the legal community who have worked with Judge McKeague respect him. One fellow attorney called him ``a person of unquestioned honor and integrity. Judge McKeague's judgments are sound, impartial, and prompt.'' Attorneys who have represented clients before Judge McKeague say that he is fair and ``treats all litigants and litigators with courtesy and respect'' and that ``his rulings are well reasoned with due regard for precedent and the law.'' Judge McKeague has been waiting nearly 4 years for an up-or-down vote. It is time to give him that courtesy. It is time to vote. Judges Griffin and McKeague are highly qualified individuals with extensive legal experience and bipartisan support. Both have been rated ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association, the highest rating possible. It is only because of partisan obstruction that they have not received a fair vote. Justice has been delayed because an up-or-down vote has been denied. I hope things are changing in the Senate. I am pleased that with today's votes the Senate is continuing to move forward to embrace the principle of fair up or down votes on judicial nominees. I urge my colleagues to join me to vote to confirm Judge Griffin and Judge McKeague to the Federal appeals court. Mr. President, for the information of our colleagues, we plan on beginning the votes--there will be two votes--in about 5 minutes. I know a number of people are in meetings and around the Hill, but I want to notify them that we will begin voting at 4:55, in about 5 minutes.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, before we leave I want to give a final thanks to the page class of the spring of 2005. Tomorrow is a special day. They will be receiving their certificates and will be leaving us to return home. We rarely take that opportunity to say thank you for your service, and thus we do so tonight. They have done a tremendous job over the past several weeks. We thank them for their hard work. I ask unanimous consent their names be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to consideration of H. Con. Res. 159 which was received from the House.

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we have just voted to confirm Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. We are making progress. We are securing up-or-down votes on previously blocked nominees. We will now turn to another judge who has been considered in the past, Judge William H. Pryor. For the information of our colleagues, we are going to go immediately to the cloture vote. If cloture is invoked on the Pryor nomination, it is my expectation that we will be able to lock in a time certain for the final up-or-down vote on that nomination. That would be for tomorrow. The Democratic leader and I have consulted back and forth, and we will lock in a vote for 4 p.m. tomorrow, if cloture is invoked through the next vote. Following that vote, tomorrow we will consider the Sixth Circuit nominations and hopefully not use all of the allocated time to which we previously agreed. We will be doing that after the vote tomorrow, and we will be voting on those nominations, as well, tomorrow--late afternoon, hopefully, maybe early evening. President Bush nominated Judge Pryor on April 9, 2003, to serve on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. While the individual nominees may change, the debate continues to be centered on a simple and unequivocal principle. It is based on fairness, and it is grounded in the Constitution of our great Nation. It is the principle that every judicial nominee that comes to this floor deserves an up or down vote. Judge Pryor is also a qualified nominee. He deserves a fair vote, and it is our duty to cast one. Judge Pryor has broad legal experience as a public servant, as a practicing attorney, and as a law professor. Judge Pryor has served with distinction on the appellate bench since he was recess appointed last year. Many of his opinions have been supported by judges appointed by both Democrats and Republicans. He enjoys bipartisan support inside and outside the Senate chamber. Yet he has had to wait more than 2 years for a fair, simple, and courteous up or down vote on the Senate floor. It is time to close debate and vote on this nominee, up or down, yes or no, confirm or reject. I will continue to work to ensure that Judge Pryor and every other judicial nominee get an up-or-down vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate. We are working on a process to start the Energy bill next week, as well as to consider the Griffith nomination on Monday and will announce more on that schedule tomorrow. But Members should expect a vote Monday evening. That pretty much outlines, I believe, the schedule for tonight and tomorrow.