Floor Statements

I announce that the Senator from California (Mr. Padilla), the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema), and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr. Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Their being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Their being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.

Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Meredith Vacca to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

Judge Vacca earned her B.A. from Colgate University and her J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law. After completing law school, she began her legal career in private practice as an associate attorney at Hamberger & Weiss LLP, where she focused primarily on workers' compensation insurance defense cases. In 2007, Judge Vacca joined the Monroe County District Attorney's Office as an assistant district attorney, where she tried approximately 60 cases to verdict in her 13- year tenure. Since 2021, Judge Vacca has served as a judge on the Monroe County Court, where she has presided over 21 felony trials that have gone to verdict.

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Judge Vacca ``qualified'' to serve on the district court, and she has the strong support of Senators Schumer and Gillibrand.

Judge Vacca's deep ties to the Rochester, NY, legal community, combined with her courtroom experience both on and off the bench, will ensure that she is ready to meet the demands of the Western District of New York from day one.

I urge my colleagues to support her nomination.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.

Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Joseph Saporito to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Born in Pittston, PA, Judge Saporito received his B.A. from Villanova University and his J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law. He then entered private practice in Pittston, where he represented clients in a wide variety of matters, including criminal defense, civil litigation, and commercial transactions. He tried more than 60 cases to verdict in which he was either sole counsel or chief counsel. In addition, he served as a part-time assistant public defender in the Luzerne County Office of the Public Defender and as a part-time law clerk in the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas.

Since 2015, Judge Saporito has served as a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Wilkes- Barre. He has served as the chief magistrate judge since February 2024. During his time on the bench, he has handled a wide range of civil and criminal matters at various stages of litigation, and he has presided over 16 civil trials, including 14 jury trials.

Judge Saporito has deep ties to the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He enjoys the strong support of both of his home State Senators, Mr. Casey and Mr. Fetterman, and the American Bar Association unanimously rated him as ``well qualified'' to serve on the district court.

Judge Saporito's extensive litigation background and his courtroom experience as both an advocate and magistrate judge ensure that he will continue to be an asset to the district court. I am proud to support his nomination, and I ask my colleagues to join me.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Kelly), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), the Senator from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow), and the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Warner) are necessarily absent.