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Tuesday, June 15, 2004 |
The Senate voted 98-0 to confirm the Martinez nomination and will now vote on the Pratter nomination.
5:17:02 PM 
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The Senate voted 98-0 to confirm the nomination of Virginia Hopkins and will now voted on the nomination of Ricardo Martinex to be U.S. District Judge for the Wester District of Washington.
4:57:20 PM
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The Senate voted 65-33 to adopt the Smith Amendment. The Senate will now vote on the nomination of Virginia Hopkins to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
4:31:14 PM
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The Senate is now voting on the Smith amendment.
4:01:00 PM
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Senator Sessions is speaking in support of the nomination of Virginia Hopkins United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The Senator said that she has an impeccable academic credentials and integrity, and is a graduate of University of Alabama. The Senator took a few moments to outline her legal career and said that over the past twelve years she has developed broad civil practice and her experience will be an asset to the bench.
3:44:53 PM
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Senator Santorum is speaking on the floor about the nomination of Gene Pratter to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Senate will be voting on her nomination later this afternoon. At 4:00 p.m. the Senate is scheduled to vote on the Smith amendment, followed by votes on three judicial nominations.
3:38:08 PM
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Senator Kennedy, a cosponsor of the Smith amendment, is speaking in support of the hate crimes legislation. He said that that every crime is tragic, but not every crime is a hate crime. The Senator said that like acts of terrorism, hate crimes have an impact much greater that the the pain felt by the victim. Senator Kennedy continued to say that violence motivated by hate is more destructive than other crimes because the victims are attacked simply because of who they are.
2:40:26 PM
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Senator Smith is speaking about his amendment regarding hate crimes that would extend protection to gay Americans. The Senator said that some of the worst hate crimes in recent memory have occurred in the military and that is why it is appropriate to consider this amendment as part of the Defense Authorization bill. Senator Smith said that in many cases states do not have the appropriate authority to pursue criminals who commit hate crimes against gays and lesbians. He said that this amendment does not punish thought, as many of his colleagues may argue, but because in some situations criminal conduct is more heinous because of the evidence around it, proponents of these crimes should be appropriately punished. The Senator also said that voting for this amendment does not indicate that you are endorsing certain lifestyles, but simply that you are protecting Americans. For text of the Smith Amendment, click here.
2:31:06 PM
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The Senate has recessed until 2:15 for its weekly policy lunches.
1:03:05 PM
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The Senate voted 42-55 on Senator Kennedy's amendment.
1:00:01 PM
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Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma has returned to the floor to say that he yields his time to Senator Kennedy. Senator Kennedy began with clarifying that his amendment concerns only mini nucs and Bunker Busters, not with the safety of stockpiles. He is concluding with asking why go ahead with nuclear proliferation that could place our country in more danger.
12:11:53 PM
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Senator John Cornyn is voicing his opposition to Senator Kennedy's amendment on nuclear weapons, stating that it is necessary to engage in research on robust nuclear earth penetrators. Saying he detects a hint of old cold war mentality, he is saying that he thinks supporters of the amendment may feel that we are in an arms race.
12:05:32 PM
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Senator John Warner, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, is speaking about the amendment that he offered last year to the Department of Defense Authorization bill that would have clarified language about nuclear weapons programs testing.
12:01:43 PM
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Beginning with stating that he agrees with a number of the arguments raised by Senators Kennedy and Feinstein, Senator Bob Bennett is voicing his opposition to Senator Kennedy's amendment and is mentioning an amendment he will be offering that would make it clear that no nuclear testing will be allowed under the guise of a study.
11:59:26 AM
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Saying that it makes no sense to limit our technology, Senator Pete Domenici is voicing his opposition to Senator Kennedy's amendment and is saying that he supports smaller and more flexible stockpiles of nuclear weapons. He is claiming that we cannot ignore the developing nuclear threat that exists.
11:57:00 AM
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A co-sponsor of Senator Kennedy's amendment, Senator Dianne Feinstein is saying that we should not be practicing nuclear proliferation while telling others to stop. She is refuting comments by her colleagues and others who oppose the amendment by saying that it is just funding a study by saying that it would lead to engineering which would lead to production of a new nuclear warhead. She is claiming that the Administration knows that the funding would not be for only a study and is pointing out that a study would not cost $485 million.
11:51:10 AM
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Senator Byron Dorgan came to the floor to talk about the responsibility of the United States as a world leader concerning nuclear weapons. He is stating that we should be stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and should be safeguarding the stockpiles that already exist.
11:35:10 AM
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Senator Wayne Allard spoke in opposition to Senator Kennedy's amendment, saying that it is wrong to strip funding for a robust nuclear weapons program. He is saying that the money is necessary because it would allow us to study the strenngth of our country's enemies.
11:32:55 AM
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Senator Kennedy came to the floor to speak about his amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill.
11:26:55 AM
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Senator Tom Daschle spoke earlier this morning about the need to fully fund veterans health care, stating that the present budget request falls $4.1 billion short.
11:25:24 AM
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Following a Joint Meeting of Congress with President Karzai of Afghanistan, the Senate will convene at 10:30 and resume consideration of S.2400, the Department of Defense Authorization bill. Debate will begin this morning with consideration of Senator Kennedy's amendment on nuclear weapons, and a vote on this amendment is expected prior to when the Senate breaks for its weekly policy lunches.
9:24:28 AM
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