Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I am in strong support for the confirmation of Thomas Varlan to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Tom grew up in Knoxville, TN as a second-generation Greek-American. His parents, Alexander and Constance Varlan, instilled in their son the time-honored ideals of commitment to hard work, involvement in the community, and love for country. He put those ideals to work in his studies of Political Science and Economics at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and at Vanderbilt University's School of Law, where he was the managing editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review. From there, Tom practiced law in Atlanta from 1981 to 1987. In 1988, Tom began ten years of service as Law Director for the City of Knoxville where he was responsible for a wide range of legal issues. In this role, Tom demonstrated his keen legal mind and temperament suited to judicial office. Tom's current position as a partner at Bass, Berry and Sims has enhanced his solid background in the law. Tom Varlan is a skilled attorney who is known for his fairness, integrity and dedication to the law. Tom has worn many hats in his professional life, but he has never wavered from the ideals that he grew up with. In fact, his nomination fulfills not only the dreams of his first-generation American parents, I believe it epitomizes the American dream as well. I am convinced that Mr. Varlan will make an ideal judge, and he has my highest recommendation and unqualified support. I urge my colleagues to vote for his confirmation.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Campbell), the Senator from Texas (Ms. Hutchison), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kyl), and the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell) are necessarily absent.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now continue in executive session with the consideration of the Estrada nomination.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the live quorum as provided for under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. FRIST. For the information of all Senators, this cloture motion, which will be the third vote in relation to the Estrada nomination, will occur on Tuesday. I regret that it has been necessary for me to file this motion once again. With Tuesday's vote, the Senate will have matched the most cloture votes relative to executive nominations. That is certainly not a record or milestone I think this Senate should be proud of achieving.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will be very brief in our opening script this morning. We will have the opportunity during morning business later this morning for further comments to express our appreciation to Dr. Ogilvie for his 8 years of service to this body. We will have two votes this morning and then we will have that period of morning business. Following some time for a bill introduction, there will be time available for the Senators to express their gratitude. The next vote, following the two votes which are about to begin, will begin at 12:30, and will be on invoking cloture on the Estrada nomination. Additional votes will occur this afternoon. I will update Members later this morning.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I am in strong support of Judge Daniel Breen to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee. For more than a decade Judge Breen has admirably served the state of Tennessee's Western District as a United States Magistrate Judge. Before assuming this position in the Jackson and Memphis area, he practiced law in most of the surrounding West Tennessee counties for sixteen years. Judge Breen graduated first in his class from Spring Hill College and later graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law. His list of bar-related and civic activities is long and distinguished: President of the Tennessee Bar Association, Subcommittee Chair in the American Bar Association, Executive Committee member of the West Tennessee Council Boy Scouts of America, and a Lifetime Board Member of the West Tennessee Cerebral Palsy Center. As you can tell, his roots are deep with the people he serves. In addition to an active civil trial docket, Judge Breen is also recognized as an effective mediator, and an instructor and author on alternative dispute resolution. He has made a broad range of contributions to the bar, as well as the State and Federal courts. This work has earned him the respect of the local legal community. I have heard from many in the Tennessee bar praising Judge Breen's thoughtfulness and judicial temperament. Judge Breen is a dedicated, hard working and even-handed jurist. Judge Breen's record has prepared him to be ready for this job beginning on day one. I am honored to support his confirmation, and I know he will serve the Western District of Tennessee as a U.S. District Judge with distinction. I thank my colleagues for voting for his confirmation.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I announce that the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Bond), the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Domenici), the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell), and the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Nickles) are necessarily absent.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I announce that the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. McConnell) and the Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Nickles) are necessarily absent.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the live quorum provided for under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, given that response, I now send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Yes.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will yield for 1 minute, and then we will go to lunch.

Mr. FRIST. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that we resume legislative session.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that with respect to Calendar No. 35, John Roberts, to be a U.S. circuit judge for the DC Circuit, there be 4 hours for debate equally divided between the chairman and ranking member, or their designees, and that following the conclusion of that time, the Senate proceed to a vote on the confirmation of the nomination, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, all five of these individuals are on the Executive Calendar for consideration on the floor of the Senate. We can continue our conversations, but all of these have gone through the Judiciary Committee and have been presented on the floor.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, with respect to the rejection of these five proposed unanimous consents, we do ask that the other side look at these as individuals. Once again, I state the willingness on our side of the aisle to bring these forward. I mentioned 4 hours for debate equally divided. If it takes 8 hours or 10 hours of debate, I would put that forward. Rather than run through the unanimous consent request again, we will continue our conversations off the floor.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that with respect to Calendar No. 32, Jeffrey Sutton, to be a U.S. circuit judge for the Sixth Circuit, there be 4 hours for debate equally divided between the chairman and the ranking member, or their designees, and that following the conclusion of that time, the Senate proceed to a vote on the confirmation of the nomination, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that with respect to Calendar No. 34, Deborah Cook, to be a U.S. circuit judge for the Sixth Circuit, there be 4 hours for debate equally divided between the chairman and ranking member, or their designees, and that following the conclusion of that time, the Senate proceed to a vote on the confirmation of the nomination, without intervening action or debate.

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 am informed that in the 106th Congress, the Senator from West Virginia voted yes to ban this procedure.