The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“NOMINATION OF LUCY H. KOH” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the in the Senate section section on pages S9080-S9081 on Dec. 9.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NOMINATION OF LUCY H. KOH
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the nomination of Lucy H. Koh to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Judge Koh is a highly respected member of the Federal judiciary and has served California well throughout her career. She would be a welcome addition to the Ninth Circuit bench.
I have long supported Judge Koh and am pleased that the Senate will soon be considering her nomination. I recommended Judge Koh for a seat on the Ninth Circuit back in 2016 and was pleased that President Obama nominated her at that time. And I was disappointed that she did not receive a vote on the Senate floor, even though she received strong bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee, which favorably reported her nomination.
I am pleased that Judge Koh was among the first circuit court nominees announced by President Biden earlier this year. Her credentials are undeniably impressive. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1990, and her law degree from Harvard Law School in 1993.
Judge Koh spent several years early in her career in public service, first as a legal fellow on the Senate Judiciary Committee's Immigration Subcommittee and then with the Department of Justice. Among her achievements while at the Justice Department, Judge Koh received an award from the FBI for ``Demonstrated Excellence in Prosecuting a Major Fraud Case.''
She then brought her skills to the private sector, spending nearly a decade in private practice in Palo Alto, CA, where she became a distinguished intellectual property lawyer working on patent, trade secret, and commercial civil litigation. In 2008, she was appointed by California's then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, to serve as a judge on the California Superior Court for Santa Clara County.
In 2010, President Obama nominated her to serve as a Federal district judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Senate voted unanimously, 90 to 0, to confirm her to that position. She has served with distinction as a Federal district judge for more than a decade.
Judge Koh has excelled throughout her career as a Federal prosecutor, in private practice, and as both a state and Federal judge. I have no doubt that she will continue to excel if she is confirmed to the Ninth Circuit.
Judge Koh has received bipartisan support each time her nomination has come before the Senate, including a bipartisan vote earlier this year in the Judiciary Committee. I urge all of my colleagues to support her nomination.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all remaining time be yielded back.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Vote on Motion to Concur
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all postcloture time has expired.
The motion to concur with amendment No. 4871 is withdrawn.
The question is on agreeing to the motion to concur.
Mr. RISCH. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The yeas and nays have been requested.
Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Maine (Mr. King) is necessarily absent.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cornyn), the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Rounds), the Senator from Nebraska
(Mr. Sasse), and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).
The result was announced--yeas 59, nays 35, as follows:
YEAS--59
BaldwinBarrassoBennetBlumenthalBluntBookerBrownCantwellCapitoCardinCarperCaseyCollinsCoonsCortez MastoDuckworthDurbinFeinsteinGillibrandHassanHeinrichHickenlooperHironoKaineKellyKlobucharLeahyLujanManchinMarkeyMcConnellMenendezMerkleyMurkowskiMurphyMurrayOssoffPadillaPetersPortmanReedRomneyRosenSandersSchatzSchumerShaheenSinemaSmithStabenowTesterThuneTillisVan HollenWarnerWarnockWarrenWhitehouseWyden
NAYS--35
BlackburnBoozmanBraunCassidyCottonCramerCrapoCruzDainesErnstFischerGrahamGrassleyHagertyHawleyHoevenHyde-SmithInhofeJohnsonKennedyLankfordLeeLummisMarshallMoranPaulRischRubioScott (FL)Scott (SC)ShelbySullivanTubervilleWickerYoung
NOT VOTING--6
BurrCornynKingRoundsSasseToomey
The motion was agreed to.
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