Floor Statements

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 368, Amy Barrett.

Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 369, Joan Larsen.

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 432, Allison Eid.

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 433, Stephanos Bibas.

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions be waived.

I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the pending cloture motions ripen following the disposition of the McFadden nomination.

Madam President, in my opening remarks today, I commended President Trump once again for the outstanding judicial nominations he has made, and I reiterated the Senate's determination once more to continue confirming them regardless of the often mindless partisan obstruction we have been seeing across the aisle.

This pointless obstruction is designed simply to waste time, not to change an outcome, and it will not. It didn't stop the Senate from confirming Scott Palk, it will not stop the Senate from confirming Trevor McFadden, and it will not stop the Senate from confirming even more outstanding nominees next week. You can count on it.

I have filed cloture on four more well-qualified nominees for our Nation's circuit courts: Notre Dame law professor Amy Barrett, a nominee for the Seventh Circuit; Michigan Supreme Court Justice Joan Larsen, a nominee for the Sixth Circuit; Colorado Supreme Court Justice Allison Eid, a nominee for the Tenth Circuit; and University of Pennsylvania law professor Stephanos Bibas, a nominee for the Third Circuit.

By confirming these nominees, we can take a big step toward restoring our Nation's courts to their proper role, interpreting and applying the law based upon what it actually says, not what a judge might wish it to say. It is quite a departure from the last administration's philosophy when it came to selecting judicial nominees.

For the last 8 years, we had a President who said a criterion for lifetime positions was the ability to empathize with certain groups over others. It came to be known as the ``empathy standard.'' That is a great standard if you are the party in the case for whom the judge has empathy, not so great if you are the other person. It also is not in keeping with the longstanding American legal traditions of applying the law equally to all, giving every litigant a fair shake, and ruling based on the actual meaning of our Constitution and laws, not what a judge or some preferred political constituency might wish they meant. That, I believe, is the view of the American people.

President Trump has done a terrific job of nominating judges who are already helping to restore the courts to their intended function in our system of government. The nominees we will consider next week are sure to do the same.

We will continue our efforts with consideration of the Barrett nomination on Monday. Amy Barrett is a professor of law at one of our Nation's premier law schools. Notre Dame happens to be a Catholic University. Amy Barrett happens to be a nominee who is a Catholic and who speaks freely and openly about her faith and its importance to her. For some on the left, that seems to be a disqualifying factor for her nomination.

I would remind colleagues that we do not have religious tests for office in this country. There is no religious test for office in the United States of America.

Amy Barrett's nomination has received outstanding reviews. She is clearly well qualified for the office to which she has been nominated. As the president of Notre Dame recently wrote, ``Her experience as a clerk for Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is of the highest order. So, too, is her scholarship in the areas of federal courts, constitutional law, and statutory interpretation.''

Amy Barrett is going to make an outstanding Federal Circuit Court judge. So, too, will Ms. Larsen, Ms. Eid, and Mr. Bibas. I look forward to the Senate confirming all of them next week.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

I yield the floor

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

Mr. President, I have 9 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Committee on Armed Services

The Committee on Armed Services is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at 10 a.m., in closed session to conduct a briefing on Niger.

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on the following nominations: Brian D. Montgomery, of Texas, Robert Hunter Kurtz, of Virginia, and Suzanne Israel Tufts, of New York, each to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at 9:45 a.m., in room SD-366 to conduct a hearing.

Committee on Foreign Relations

The Committee on Foreign Relations is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing.

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at 10 a.m., in room SD-430, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Exploring Free Speech on College Campuses''.

Committee on the Judiciary

The Committee on the Judiciary is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at 10 a.m., in room SD-226 to conduct a hearing on S.807 and the following nominations: Allison H. Eid, of Colorado, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit, Stephanos Bibas, of Pennsylvania, to he United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, Liles Clifton Burke, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, Walter David Counts III, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas, Michael Joseph Juneau, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, A. Marvin Quattlebaum, Jr., to be United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina, Karen Gren Scholer, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, Tilman Eugene Self III, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Georgia, and John F. Bash, to be United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Erin Angela Nealy Cox, to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, and R. Andrew Murray, to be United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, all of the Department of Justice.

Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at 11 a.m., in SR-428A to conduct a hearing entitled ``Strengthening the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Women''.

Select Committee on Intelligence

The Select Committee on Intelligence is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at 2 p.m., in room SH-219 to conduct a closed hearing.

Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management

The Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 26, 2017, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Improving Oversight of the Regulatory Process: Lessons from State Legislatures''.