Floor Statements

Mr. President, Senators should be prepared to be in the Chamber throughout the day on the impeachment trial of Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr. At 12:30 p.m., the Senate will proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business, with Senator LeMieux permitted to speak for up to 15 minutes. Following his remarks, the Senate will recess until 2:30 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. When the Senate reconvenes, there will be a mandatory live quorum to resume the court of impeachment. There may be another live quorum at 5:30 this evening to begin the closed session deliberations.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Is a quorum present?

Mr. President, on March 17, 2010, the House of Representatives exhibited to the Senate four Articles of Impeachment against U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., of the Eastern District of Louisiana. Judge Porteous was summoned to answer, which he did on April 7, 2010, and the House of Representatives filed a reply to the answer on April 17, 2010, and amended the reply on April 22, 2010.

On the same day that the Articles of Impeachment were exhibited to the Senate, Members present in the Chamber were administered the oath, as required by the Constitution for impeachment trials. Those Senators who were not present to take the oath and those who had been elected to this body since the oath was administered, should be sworn today.

However, before the oath is administered to these Senators not yet sworn, there is one preliminary matter to be addressed. The Senator from Illinois, Mr. Kirk, was a Member of the House of Representatives during this Congress when the House voted on the Articles of Impeachment. If the Senator wishes to make a statement about his participation in the Senate phase of this impeachment, this would be an appropriate time to do so.

Mr. President, I would first ask that the House managers and Judge Porteous and counsel will take their seats. There is no reason, at this time, to remain standing.

Oath Administered to Newly Elected Members

Mr. President, the remaining preliminary matter is to administer the impeachment oath to the other newly elected Members of the Senate and any Member of the Senate who did not take the oath when the Articles of Impeachment were first exhibited.

Article I, section 3, clause 6 of the Constitution provides, in part:

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all

Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on

Oath or Affirmation.

The impeachment oath that was taken by Members of the Senate earlier in this session remains in effect. The four current Members who did not take the oath at that time have been so advised by the Secretary of the Senate. The two newly elected Senate Members also should be sworn now.

Thank you, Mr. President.

The Secretary will note the names of the Senators who have just taken the oath, and if these Senators will now present themselves to the desk, the Secretary will present to them for signature the book, which is the Senate's permanent record of the taking of the impeachment oath by Members of this body.

Mr. President, on March 17, 2010, the President pro tempore appointed, pursuant to S. Res. 458, Senators McCaskill, Hatch, Klobuchar, Whitehouse, Udall of New Mexico, Shaheen, Kaufman, Barrasso, DeMint, Johanns, Risch, and Wicker to perform the duties provided for by rule XI, the Senate's impeachment rules.

Under the leadership of its chairman, the Senator from Missouri, Mrs. McCaskill, and its vice chairman, Mr. Hatch, the committee heard 5 days of testimony between September 13 and September 21. During that time, the committee heard from 26 witnesses, 14 who were called by the House of Representatives and 12 witnesses who were called by Judge Porteous. The committee also conducted pretrial depositions of four witnesses and admitted into evidence the testimony of a number of witnesses, including Judge Porteous, who had testified in prior proceedings, more than 300 factual stipulations and hundreds of exhibits.

The Senate is indebted to all of the members of this committee who so conscientiously discharged their responsibility in this important constitutional matter. In addition to the committee's leadership, I would like to take particular note of the contribution of Senator Kaufman, who actively participated in the committee's proceedings, although his tenure in the Senate concluded before the committee filed the report of its proceedings in the Senate.

The committee filed its report on November 15, and the report was received as Senate report 111-347. In accordance with impeachment rule XI, the committee certified the Senate hearing report 111-691, which reprints the committee's proceedings, is a transcript of the proceedings and testimony had and given before the committee.

Before proceeding further, I would like to verify with the Presiding Officer that the evidence and the testimony received by the Senate from the

committee shall, as prescribed in rule XI:

be considered to all intents and purposes, subject to the

right of the Senate to determine competency, relevancy and

materiality, as having been received and taken before the

Senate . . .

Will the Presiding Officer advise the Senate whether this is correct?

Thank you again, Mr. President. Rule XI provides that the Senate's receipt of evidence reported by the committee is subject to the Senate's right to determine competency, relevancy, and materiality. Further, the same rule explicitly provides that nothing in it prevents the Senate from sending for any witness and hearing that witness's testimony in open Senate or, by order of the Senate, having the entire trial before the full Senate.

I would ask the Presiding Officer to advise the Senator whether, following the report of the committee, any motions have been filed asking that any witnesses be heard in open Senate.

Mr. President, the parties have filed their final written briefs and the Senate is now ready to hear arguments.

Prior to consideration of the Articles of Impeachment, Judge Porteous has requested time to present argument on three motions that take issue with the sufficiency under the Constitution of several aspects of the Impeachment Articles framed by the House. First, Judge Porteous has moved to dismiss Article II, or for alternative relief, based on the House's inclusion of allegations of misconduct occurring prior to the commencement of the Judge's Federal service as a U.S. district judge. Second, Judge Porteous has moved to dismiss article I, or for alternative relief, based on the House's inclusion of unconstitutionally vague allegations that Judge Porteous's conduct deprived the public of its right to the honest services of his office. Third, Judge Porteous objects to the manner in which each Article of Impeachment was framed to aggregate discrete allegations of misconduct. He accordingly moves to dismiss the Articles of Impeachment or seeks alternative curative relief. The parties' written arguments on those legal issues are addressed in their post-trial briefs, as well as the motion papers submitted by the parties to the committee, which are on the desks of all Members. In accordance with the unanimous consent agreement, each side will be permitted no more than 1 hour to present its argument on the motions.

Upon the conclusion of argument on the motions, the Senate will then turn to hearing final arguments by the parties on the Impeachment Articles. Under impeachment rule XXII, final argument will be open and closed by the House. By unanimous consent, each party shall have up to 1\1/2\ hours to present final argument on the merits.

As the Senate has done in the past, we have provided that counsel may face the full Senate during these presentations. They should remain mindful, nevertheless, that the proceedings are under the direction of the Presiding Officer. On their part, Senators should recall that any questions they have of counsel should, pursuant to impeachment rule XIX, ``be reduced to writing, and put by the Presiding Officer.'' There is assistance available in the respective cloakrooms to aid Members in putting the questions in writing. Questions may be sent to the Chair during the argument, for reading by the Chair at the appropriate times.

The managers, on behalf of the House of Representatives-- Representative Schiff, Representative Goodlatte, and Representative Johnson, Representative Sensenbrenner, and special impeachment counsel to the House Alan Baron are present at the managers' table. Jonathan Turley, Daniel C. Schwartz, P.J. Meitl, Daniel T. O'Connor, and Ian Barlow are counsel to Judge Porteous and are present with him.

Mr. President, motions will be argued first by Jonathan Turley, counsel to the judge, who is the moving party. By the unanimous consent order, argument on the motions on behalf of the House will be divided between Representative Schiff and Representative Goodlatte. Mr. Turley may, under the unanimous consent agreement, reserve a portion of Judge Porteous's time for rebuttal.

For the argument on the articles, the managers will likewise divide their time between the two managers, and Mr. Turley will present argument on behalf of Judge Porteous. Under impeachment rule XXII, the House will open and close final argument in the impeachment articles.

Mr. President, is a quorum present?

Mr. President, I move that pursuant to impeachment rule 10, the Senate now close its doors to commence deliberations on the motions and impeachment articles and ask unanimous consent that floor privileges during the closed session be granted to the individuals listed on the document I now send to the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now move to legislative session.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

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

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the lasting achievements of the Walt Rulffes. His recent retirement from the post of Superintendent of Clark County School District means that southern Nevada is losing one of its most versatile leaders. Walt's impressive ability to lead, while often having to make tough decisions, has garnered the respect of all Nevadans. His guidance of one of the Nation's fast-growing school districts through good times and bad, will never be forgotten.

Born in Long Island, NY, Walt was raised on a ranch in Washington State. He grew up with a love for literature and learning. Although childhood dreams revolved around becoming a cowboy, he went on to obtain his M.B.A. from Gonzaga. Walt developed a background in Finance, which laid the foundation for later success. He also developed the ability to act decisively in a moment of need. Serving first as deputy superintendent of finance, then as interim superintendent, Walt eventually became the superintendent for the Clark County School District.

The Clark County School District is one of the country's largest local education agencies, serving over 300,000 students from a variety of backgrounds. Its superintendent, therefore, must be able to proficiently manage immense day-to-day activities as well as oversee financial affairs. Mr. Rulffes not only met these demands, but in fact exceeded all expectations. His success is mainly due to this fact: Walt has never forgotten the most important part of his job--the students. In one occasion, unsatisfied with the inconsistency of math teaching practices and tests, he implemented district-wide math textbooks and uniform testing to equip students with necessary mathematics skills for college. Scores improved and students are now much better prepared for college and careers. His focus on the development of career and technical schools likewise improved students' possibilities for education. Walt further implemented English language learning, ELL, programs and was a champion of the ``Empowerment Schools,'' a program that grants school principals greater autonomy.

Serving as the head of Clark County School District, Walt was also forced to master the art of adaption. From year to year, the issues faving the school district were never quite the same. CCSD went from building over 100 new schools to accommodate new

residents, to dealing with over $250 million in budget cuts when the economic downturn hit. Through the highs and lows, Walt Rulffes has worked to give the school district, its teachers, and students the consistency that must accompany a quality education.

The recognition of his work has gone far beyond the borders of the Silver State. Just this year, he was one of the four finalists for National Superintendent of the Year, awarded by American Association of School Administrators. In making their selection, the judges cited student achievement, his empowerment program, fiscal responsibility, and staff development in the nation's fifth largest school district. I congratulate him on this honor and appreciate all the improvements he has brought to the district.

I join with my fellow Nevadans in honoring Walt for his great work as Superintendent of Clark County Schools. ``My whole obsession in Nevada has been to increase the number and quality of our graduates,'' he once noted. For that, we will always be grateful.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that on Wednesday, December 8, upon the conclusion of the impeachment trial, the Senate stand in recess subject to the call of the Chair; that upon reconvening, the Senate then resume consideration of the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 661, S. 3991, and that the time until 12:30 p.m. be equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees; that at 12:30 p.m., the Senate stand in recess until 3:30 p.m.; that upon reconvening at 3:30 p.m., there be an additional 30 minutes of debate, divided as specified above; further, that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 661; further, if there are back-to-back votes with respect to the cloture motions, that there be 4 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form prior to each vote.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we now proceed to Calendar No. 673.

I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 671.

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, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we now discharge the Commerce Committee from further consideration of H.R. 2480 and have that matter now brought before the Senate for its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we proceed to

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to consideration of S. Res. 696, which was submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 8; that following the prayer and

the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and that following any leader remarks, the Senate resume the Court of Impeachment of Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr.

Mr. President, Senators should be on the floor at 9:30 tomorrow morning for a mandatory live quorum to resume the impeachment proceedings. Once a quorum is established, there will be a series of up to five rollcall votes on the motions and Articles of Impeachment.

Under a previous order, the Senate will recess from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. to allow for the Democratic caucus meeting. At 4 p.m. the Senate will proceed to a series of up to four rollcall votes.

Mr. President, it will be a courteous thing to do for all Senators for everybody to be here on time or close to it; otherwise, we are waiting around to get a quorum established.

We need to get those votes out of the way because we have a ton of votes tomorrow evening also after we do the caucuses.

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