Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, over the past 2 days, the Senate has sustained what has truly been an extraordinary, all-hours debate, a debate on judicial confirmations and on the very nature of each Senator's duty and right to give advice and consent on the nominations sent to us by the President of the United States, just as the Constitution requires. We have placed our differences over the last 39 hours, to paraphrase Justice Brandeis, in the disinfectant sunshine of public opinion. This continuous debate has been framed by the bipartisan effort on a very simple principle; and that is, give us an opportunity for an up vote or a down vote, just give us that right to vote. We have been focused on the Fifth Circuit Court nominee, Justice Priscilla Owen of Texas, who has already been denied that simple up-or- down vote on three previous occasions. It has been focused on two new circuit court nominees from California, Judge Carolyn Kuhl, nominated to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Janice Rogers Brown nominated to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. We also debated the bipartisan proposal cosponsored by Democrat Senator Zell Miller of Georgia to limit the use of the filibuster as to all nominations, a proposal that I believe will change the all too rancorous way that Washington does business. Indeed, this proposal, although more narrow, was based on one previously supported by Senators Kennedy, Lieberman, Kerry, and other Democrats. The minority has suggested again and again--we heard it just a few minutes ago--that we should not have spent this time on this issue of the Constitution of the United States of America; that we should not have spent this time discussing the unfair treatment of the President's nominees. They argue that we should not have spent this time on these new judicial nominees that we will be voting on in cloture in just a few minutes. We simply don't believe that the Senate stewardship, our responsibility, that stewardship for the third branch of Government is the least of our duties, as is suggested that we should not be spending time focused on these issues. It is almost as if the other side of the aisle said these issues are not important. On the contrary, the Senate stewardship of the independent judiciary is perhaps the Senate's most important task. Why? Because it is our responsibility. It is not the responsibility of the House of Representatives. George Washington understood this. He believed the judiciary was the most important of the three branches because the courts would protect our liberties. But America's courts do much more than that. We heard a lot about the economy. We heard a lot about jobs. It is our independent judiciary that provides the anchor for America's economic strength. It is the stability, and it is the confidence that our courts provide that make the United States of America the safest location, the best location for domestic investment, for foreign investment, whether in industry or commerce, and for the overall economy. Why? Because the courts protect those liberties. That means, what? More jobs. It means more prosperity for all Americans. Our courts guard the rule of law, and to the extent they are free of results-oriented politics and other forms of corruption, they are the foundation stones that have allowed America's history to unfold differently than our sister republics to the south. In this past year, Americans have come to understand the influence of the courts over our everyday lives, over our daily lives, over our national culture in ways that our Founding Fathers would have never imagined. Of course, the Democrats' complaint that we are spending too much time on these issues is a little bit strained in that it is they who are filibustering, continuing to debate, denying that opportunity to vote yes or no on these nominees. The filibuster rule, when not abused, is intended to give the minority more time, to allow more time for debate. Despite the complaints and the charges back and forth, I do give my Democratic colleagues real credit for collegially joining in this debate over the last 39 hours. I am enormously proud of my Republican colleagues. I believe that both sides should feel a certain degree of satisfaction as to how this historic debate has been conducted. In the past 2 days, we have debated three nominees who the American Bar Association considers qualified to serve on the appellate court but who a Democrat minority considers out of the American mainstream. How many times have we heard that over the last 39 hours--``out of the mainstream.'' I can tell you I don't think the minority has argued effectively or persuasively how Justice Owen, who was elected to the Texas Supreme Court by 83 percent of Texas voters, is out of the mainstream. Out of the mainstream, Justice Brown. Out of the mainstream when she was retained to serve by 76 percent of California voters? Is that out of the mainstream? They have certainly not convinced any fairminded person how it is that Judge Carolyn Kuhl--who has the support of over 100 California judges and labor unions across the political spectrum, and yes, even trial lawyers--cannot serve on that Ninth Circuit, that really worrisome Ninth Circuit Court that declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. What we have seen, and the reason this debate is historic is that it underscores and it lets the American people know, as well as restates the importance of the issue, that over the past year, the minority has used the filibuster to deny a bipartisan majority the opportunity to vote up or down, to give advice and consent. Let me say that again. A minority, for the first time in history--it happened this year--for the first time in history, a minority in this body is using the filibuster to deny a bipartisan majority the opportunity to vote yes or no. It has come up that while majorities have delayed judges in the past through the majority's delegation to the Judiciary Committee, votes on judges have never before been blocked by a minority. Of course, this debate has been more than about Senate procedure. In effect, what we have seen over the last year is the minority is, in effect, amending the people's Constitution without the people's assent. The reason for this is now well know. Senate liberals have sought with increasing intensity to politicize not just the confirmation process, but the courts themselves. In pursuing this course, they are threatening the legitimacy of America's courts. That legitimacy comes from much more than just black robes or a high bench. It comes from the people's belief that judges will apply the law or the Constitution without regard to personal politics. Rather than seeking to determine the judiciousness of a nominee and whether a nominee will be able to rule without bias, liberal Democrats are out to guarantee that our judges are, in fact, biased against some and in favor of others. In America, with that result, citizens will have to worry about the personal politics of the judge before whom they come for justice. I say judiciousness, why? Like other Senators this year faced with the question of what is required by the Constitution's mandate that the Senate give the President advice and consent, I have turned for guidance to the Founding Fathers and especially to the father of the independent judiciary, John Adams, to find that correct standard by which we give advice and consent on a judicial nominee. President Adams, the father of our independent judiciary, memorialized for us what the standards should be for confirming our judges. He wrote that they should be ``men [and women] of experience on the laws, of exemplary morals, invincible patience, unruffled calmness, and indefatigable application who will be appointed for life and subservient to none.'' President Adams understood well enough the challenge of being judicious despite one's opinions and even in the face of unpopular opinion. Few people remember it was John Adams who defended the British soldiers who, on March 5, 1770, shot into a crowd on the streets of Boston. Our children study this episode today as the Boston massacre. It is a history lesson we can learn from in our work and on judicial nominations. John Adams defended the British soldiers before a Boston court with angry mobs in the street. I will close in a second. I will speak on leader time for the next minute. I have to wonder, Mr. President, if today John Adams would be obstructed by filibuster because an out-of-touch minority, urged on by special interest groups, questions John Adams' qualifications based on his past advocacy simply for being a good lawyer defending a client, however politically unpopular. In a few minutes, the filibustering minority will have another opportunity to stand in the light of the Senate floor and do the right thing. I say to the minority: Give these nominees a vote. Vote them up or vote them down, but just give them an honest up-or-down vote.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will be happy to talk during the votes with the leadership on the other side. My intent would be to have these three consecutive cloture votes and then after that have no other votes today. Before saying that with definitiveness, I would like to have a discussion with the minority leader, if there is other business he would like to bring to the floor as well. We likely will have other business following that. Again, I expect no rollcall votes after these three votes.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I understand there are five bills, numbered S. 1862 through S. 1866, at the desk, and I ask that they be read for the first time en bloc.

Mr. FRIST. I now ask for their second reading and object to further proceeding on these matters en bloc.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, in looking over the course of the last week, much of the focus of the last 40 hours or so, the last 2 days, has been on the issue of judges. The three cloture votes failed this morning. Earlier in the week, we really accomplished a reasonable amount, as I look over what we have done. The Syria Accountability Act--Chairman Lugar and Senator Santorum and many others in the body who brought that forward had it debated, and it was passed. The MILCON conference report was completed this week, and the Defense authorization conference report. We had another bill, the armed cargo pilots bill. We had the District of Columbia Retirement Equity Act by Senator Collins and others. Today, we had the OPIC reauthorization, which we just did, with a lot of bipartisan work done by Chairman Lugar and others; a bill that has been worked on for a long period of time in a bipartisan way with Senator Mike Enzi, the Workforce Investment Reauthorization Act, a lot of work reflected in that bill. I am glad we have completed action on that bill today. With regard to the last 48 hours, I want to extend the comments that were made earlier by the Democratic leader a few hours ago in thanking everybody, expressing my heartfelt appreciation to all of the people who participated over what was a very long and challenging schedule the last couple of days: The Secretary of the Senate, Emily Reynolds, and her staff, Dave Tinsley and Allen Frumin, along with their team of legislative clerks and Parliamentarians; the folks in the Official Reporters of Debates and in Closed Captioning Services who worked around the clock; the Sergeant at Arms Bill Pickle, and all of his support staff, including Skip Rouse and his crew with Capitol facilities, for the around-the-clock services, everything from cots to different bedding materials; Myron Flemming and his doorkeepers who kept control of the galleries because we had a lot of people through over the course of the last 2 days; the Capitol Police who, as always, do such a superb job watching over this Capitol complex, keeping it safe, and very long hours through the night and through the morning with a lot of visitors in and out of the building; Margo Conner and Jorge Castro, along with the Senate restaurants that helped provide food and made sure we were all well fed over the course of the last couple of days; Joy Ogden and the women of the appointments desk for ably handling all of the many guests who came through; the Press Gallery, the folks in the Senate Library, Printing and Document Services, Information Systems, and the Senate pages with whom I was just talking a few moments ago, all for their willingness to help in any way; we have the floor staff here, the cloakroom staff in the cloakrooms behind us, all who helped to make things run as smoothly as possible. A lot of staff are involved for each Senator. Behind each and every one are a number of staff members on both sides of the aisle who worked very long hours. As I got home very late last night, when I said hello to Karen, my wife, I realized I hadn't seen her in quite a few days. It made me realize, once again, that the Senators on this floor work long hours, and there is a lot of patience and a lot of understanding by Senate spouses who sacrifice their time for their loved ones, especially with a lot of understanding. I thank my own staff who have worked with a lot of dedication, including Manny Miranda, Marty Gold, Ramona Lessen, Holly Nass, Brook Whitfield, Tom Craig, Meg Gregory, and Abby Clinton. I thank everybody who has participated in the last several days. It has been extraordinary in many ways, made possible by a lot of hard work.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12 noon, Monday, November 17. I further ask that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then resume consideration of the VA-HUD appropriations bill.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, on Monday, the Senate will resume the VA- HUD appropriations bill. If Senators have amendments, they should be prepared to offer and debate those amendments during Monday's session. At 4:30 p.m. the Senate will resume consideration of the FAA reauthorization conference report. Under the previous order there will be 1 hour of debate prior to a vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the conference report. The cloture vote on the FAA conference report will occur at approximately 5:30 p.m., and that will be the first vote on Monday's session. I would also remind my colleagues that two cloture motions were filed on the Dorr nomination today. Those cloture votes will occur on Tuesday morning. Before closing, I see the distinguished Senator and colleague, the person who is most responsible in many ways for this Workforce Investment Reauthorization Act, Senator Enzi. I am happy to yield to him.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, again, I congratulate Senator Enzi for outstanding work. This is a bill he has worked on for a long period of time, as we have talked about jobs, job creation, what the workplace is like. This is a very exciting bill. I congratulate him and his colleagues who worked in a bipartisan way on an excellent piece of legislation that will have a true impact on what we all care so much about; that is, the economy, jobs, and the setting in which those jobs are carried out.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that at a time determined by the majority leader, with the concurrence of the Democratic leader, the Senate may proceed to executive session for the consideration of Calendar No. 418, MG Robert T. Clark, to be lieutenant general in the Army; further, that there be 2 hours equally divided between the chairman and the ranking member; provided further, that under the time controlled by the minority, 40 minutes be allocated to Senator Kennedy and 15 minutes to Senator Dayton. I further ask consent that following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to a vote on the confirmation of the nomination, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3182 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I now ask, notwithstanding rule XXII, this vote occur at 5:30 on Monday, and that the time from 4:30 to 5:30 be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees for debate prior to the vote. Finally, I ask the quorum under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the Democratic leader and I were just talking about that prior to my taking the floor. I will discuss this with the appropriate people, as well as Senator Lott, who has worked very hard on the conference report.

Mr. FRIST. To my understanding, we are unable to reach a time agreement on this conference report. I now send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 2115, the Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. FRIST. This nomination was reported by the Agriculture Committee on June 18. We have been unable to reach a consent on its consideration. Therefore, I send two cloture motions to the desk and ask they be reported consecutively.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to the consideration of the following nomination on today's Executive Calendar: Calendar No. 461. I further ask unanimous consent that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, ``Iraqi Destiny,'' which is the 101st Airborne Division's weekly newsletter, runs a feature on its last page called ``Man on the Street.'' The 101st Airborne is based in Tennessee and Kentucky, right on the border. I and my colleague, Lamar Alexander, and the distinguished colleagues from Kentucky have a particular interest in the men and the women with the 101st Airborne and their families and their support groups. It is fascinating to receive this weekly newsletter. In it was run a feature on the last page called ``Man on the Street.'' It features the 101st soldiers and Iraqi citizens answering a question of the week. The questions range from light hearted to the much more serious, such as, ``What will you do with the extra money you are making?'' to, ``What do you think of the new schools that are opening?'' A few weeks ago, soldiers were asked, ``What Arabic words have you learned while in Iraq?'' Most had conventional responses, things you would expect: ``Hello, how are you.'' But I was very interested to learn that a certain Screaming Eagle, Sergeant Thomas Baker, has learned the word, ``Habibi,'' Arabic for ``Sweetheart.'' Now, I won't speculate as to how or why Sergeant Baker has learned the word, ``Habibi.'' But I do think we can take it as an encouraging sign of the progress that is being made in Iraq. I take special, home State pride in the 101st Airborne Division. It is based at Fort Campbell, 60 percent of which is located in Tennessee. It goes without saying that Fort Campbell is integral to the Tennessee community, and especially to Clarksville where many of Fort Campbell's families reside. I've had the privilege of visiting Fort Campbell numerous times, actually staying overnight in the army barracks and traveling to Fort Campbell on another occasion with the President of the United States. Under the leadership of Major General David Petraeus, a friend and someone I had known prior to coming to the Senate, the 101st is doing extraordinary work. You may remember that it was the 101st that found and dispatched Uday and Qusay Hussein in Mosul. Since then, the 101st has moved more quickly than any other American unit in training guards and policeman for the new Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. They've also shown the Iraqi people tremendous generosity and heart in helping to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure, civic institutions and, even more fundamentally, the people's pride and hope in their future. Take for example the story of the Avgani Clinic. Located in the north, the clinic serves 60,000 Iraqis from the town of Avgani and 50 outlaying villages. Under Saddam Hussein, the clinic was allowed to fall into disrepair. It had cracking walls, poor electricity, no bathroom. The clinic's director says that the clinic was ``a sad place.'' That, however, was before the arrival of First Lieutenant Michael Lefler and the Screaming Eagles. In 3 months time, with just $25,000--in America, the price of a mid- size sedan--Lefler and his team led the renovation of the entire facility. They installed new desks, chairs, computers, curtains, and yard tiles. They constructed several new rooms and bathrooms. The clinic is now fully operational, with twice the funds it previously had. The director of the clinic says the facility is now a ``very happy place.'' The 101st soldiers list among their values: ``Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage, and Professionalism.'' All of these virtues have been on sterling display. From organizing book drives for Iraqi schoolchildren, to restoring water and power, everyday the 101st is showing the Iraqi people exceptional character and America's commitment to Iraq's future. I'd like to close with a story about a soccer game, not too long ago, in the town of Al Qosh. With the help of the 101st, the Lady Virgin Orphanage of Al Qosh hosted the championship soccer tournament of the season. For the event, army engineers cleared an area adjacent to the orphanage to create a soccer field. Seven teams from around the region, along with their families, gathered at the new field, cheering and blowing kazoos as the Screaming Eagles faced off against the Iraqi Sharafeya team. The Screaming Eagles won 2 to 1, and the crowd of spectators ran onto the field with cheers and laughter. Among the happy fans were children from the orphanage wearing personalized soccer uniforms. Earlier in the summer, the 101st had given each child their own soccer uniform with the child's name printed across the back, and ``Screaming Eagles'' in Arabic emblazoned across the front. I suspect those uniforms will be treasured for years to come, and that is what this struggle is all about--the years to come. We have undertaken an extraordinary task to change the course of history, to bring peace and democracy to Iraq. We know that democracies do not export terror. Tyrannies do. So, we have toppled a despotic, terror-sponsoring regime and set out to transform a brutalized nation. It is an ambitious undertaking worthy of a great country. America is a great country, and through the noble efforts of men and women like those of the 101st, Iraq is on the road to freedom. Not too long ago, President Bush signed the historic $87 billion wartime supplemental that will help the Iraqis realize their dream. He also gave a very important speech to remind us of the fundamental nature of democracy, and America's role in the world. He said: The advance of freedom is the calling of our time; it is the calling of our country. We believe that freedom is not for us alone, it is the right and the capacity of all mankind. The establishment of a free Iraq in the heart of the Middle East will be a watershed event in the global revolution. President Bush has set a brave and courageous course. And I am confident that twenty years from now, Iraqis will fondly recall moments, like the Al Qosh championship soccer match of 2003, with the special pride of having been there when the liberation came. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. FRIST

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

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the next two votes be 10-minute votes.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to executive session for the consideration of Calendar Nos. 237 and 238, en bloc.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, what I would like to do, because it is going to affect everybody's schedule, is to address this. If we can go through the remainder of the unanimous consent request, then try to address it. I just want to restate I would love to finish this bill, the appropriations bill on VA-HUD, and I would love to be able to work it out if we can on Friday.