Floor Statements

I announce that the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey), and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey), and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Ohio (Mr. Brown), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey), the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman), and the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, I have two separate statements here. The first I would like to put on the record, just over a week ago, a devastating earthquake rocked southern Turkey and parts of Syria. The devastation and loss have been heartbreaking.

I am glad that the Biden administration immediately offered American assistance and our help to rescue and discover the victims and survivors. That is what powerful and confident nations do in times of need.

Turkish people are resilient, and we will help them rebuild from this tragedy.

Mr. President, today, the Senate voted on the nomination of Judge Daniel Calabretta, who has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Born in Union City, TN, Judge Calabretta received his bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from Princeton University, and his J.D, magna cum laude, from the University of Chicago.

After clerking for the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and working in private practice for 3 years, Judge Calabretta spent the majority of his legal career--15 years in public service in California. As the Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary for California Governor Jerry Brown, Judge Calabretta advised officials on executive orders following emergency declarations. He then went on to work for the California Department of Justice, where he defended the Attorney General and other State officials in litigation on a variety of matters in Federal and State court. In 2019, Judge Calabretta was appointed to the California Superior Court as a Juvenile Court judge, where he has presided over approximately 200 bench trials.

The American Bar Association rated Judge Calabretta as unanimously ``well qualified,'' and he has the strong support of Senators Feinstein and Padilla.

In addition to his qualifications and deep ties to the California legal community, Judge Calabretta will be the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve on U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

I thank my colleagues for confirming him.

Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote on the nomination of Ana Reyes, who has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Ms. Reyes first immigrated to this country when she was 5 years old. At the time, she could not speak any English. That quickly changed through her hard work and with the help of her first-grade teacher, Pat Harkleroad, who came to Ms. Reyes' Louisville, KY, elementary school an hour early each morning to provide one-on-one English lessons.

Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Ms. Reyes built off of this foundational experience to earn her B.A. summa cum laude from Transylvania University in 1996 and her J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2000.

After clerking for the Honorable Amalya Kearse on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Ms. Reyes joined Williams & Connolly as an associate in 2001. Promoted to partner in 2009, Ms. Reyes has spent her career specializing in complex litigation and international arbitration, trying 10 cases to verdict, judgment, or final decision.

Although she has been in private practice for her whole career, Ms. Reyes has illustrated her commitment to public service by devoting over 3,300 hours to pro bono work. While her pro bono work spans several fields, including criminal defense, a significant amount of her efforts has been directed towards representing asylum seekers fleeing political persecution, torture, and gender-based violence.

The American Bar Association has unanimously rated Ms. Reyes as ``well qualified'' to serve on the D.C. District Court and, if confirmed, she will be the first Hispanic woman and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to ever serve on the D.C. District Court.

I look forward to supporting this highly-qualified nominee and urge my colleagues to join me in doing so.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) and the Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote on the nomination of Justice Adrienne Nelson, who has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.

If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman to serve on the District of Oregon. This will be just one in a history of firsts Justice Nelson has accomplished.

Born in Kansas City, MO, Justice Nelson was the first Black valedictorian at her Arkansas high school post-integration in 1985. She went on to earn her B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1989 and her J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993.

Justice Nelson began her legal career at Multnomah Defenders, Inc., a public interest law firm in Portland, OR, representing indigent defendants charged with State crimes for 3 years. She then joined a Portland-area law firm as an associate, where she represented a wide- range of clients, from individuals to private businesses and labor unions, for 5 years. In 2004, she became the coordinator and senior attorney for the student legal and mediation services at Portland State University. During her time in practice, she tried more than 40 cases, including 25 jury trials.

In 2006, Justice Nelson was appointed to serve as a circuit court judge for the Multnomah County Circuit Court. She presided over approximately 315 cases over 12 years of service on that court.

In 2018, Justice Nelson became the first Black justice to serve on Oregon's highest court. Since then, she has authored 33 majority opinions.

Senators Wyden and Merkley strongly support Justice Nelson's nomination, and the American Bar Association has unanimously rated her ``well qualified'' to serve on the District of Oregon.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this highly- qualified nominee.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Casey) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman) 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.

I announce that the Senator from Pennyslvania (Mr. Casey) is necessarily absent.