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Floor Speech

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Madam President, I rise in support of Laura Provinzino's nomination to serve as the next U.S. district court judge for the District of Minnesota.

I want to thank Senators Durbin and Graham for working with me and both of them for supporting her and to move her nomination through the Judiciary Committee. I want to thank Leader Schumer for making the time and Leader McConnell for the Senate to consider her nomination and also to thank my friend and colleague Senator Smith for her work in support of this nomination.

We jointly had a committee made up of esteemed members of the bar that made recommendations to the White House. Ms. Provinzino is a distinguished public servant who has served the people of Minnesota as a Federal prosecutor. As an assistant U.S. attorney, she has led efforts to prosecute violent crime, human trafficking, child trafficking, and crimes against Native American women.

Through her devotion to justice and the rule of law, she has earned the respect and support of attorneys and law enforcement across our State. That is why she received a bipartisan vote in the Judiciary Committee and why I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will support her.

Public service runs deep in her family, and her family roots stretch across all corners of our State, from the Iron Range up north to the small rural town of Melrose, where her great-grandparents ran the local paper, to the Twin Cities metro area.

Like her father, she was born and raised in St. Cloud, MN. After graduating from St. Cloud Technical High School, she earned her B.A. at Lewis & Clark College and was a Rhodes Scholar. She then went on to receive her J.D. at Yale.

She then returned home to Minnesota to clerk for Judge Diana Murphy on the Eighth Circuit and joined the U.S. Attorney's Office in 2010.

As an assistant U.S. attorney, she has prosecuted over 500 cases and has served as the Deputy Chief of Violent and Major Crimes. Her work has earned the respect and support of law enforcement. The largest police organization in Minnesota wrote in strong support of her confirmation and praised her ``exceptional legal skills, unwavering integrity, and commitment to upholding the rule of law.''

She has also received support from former law enforcement officials who worked closely with her. These officers and case agents wrote that she ``is highly respected in the law enforcement community.''

And 19 former colleagues at the U.S. Attorney's Office, including President Trump's U.S. attorney, Erica MacDonald, have likewise praised her for her ``sharp legal mind, integrity, professionalism, dedication to service, and devotion to enforcing the law.''

Given her extensive experience, it is no surprise that she has received commendations and awards from groups such as the Duluth Police Department to Women in Federal Law Enforcement, who honored her with the 2023 Top Prosecutor Award.

The U.S. Department of Justice honored her with the David Margolis Award for Exceptional Service. This is the Justice Department's highest recognition for service, and she earned it for her work dismantling a massive international sex trafficking criminal organization that forced hundreds of women to engage in commercial sex across the United States.

Her efforts in this case are considered a model for prosecutors across the country and are used to train Federal and State law enforcement on how to pursue international sex trafficking and money laundering investigations. Given her leadership on this issue, human trafficking prevention groups have strongly supported her confirmation.

Her work goes beyond women and children and her nationally recognized human trafficking work. She has also led the work of our State's U.S. Attorney's Office on the Project Safe Childhood Program, which is the Justice Department's effort to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

And, today, she serves as one of only five ``missing and murdered indigenous persons'' U.S. attorneys nationwide as part of the Justice Department's efforts to prevent the kidnapping, murder, and trafficking of indigenous people. Her area of responsibility covers 22 States. She is ready to serve on the bench. The ABA served her with its highest ranking of ``well qualified.'' I know she will make an outstanding Federal district court judge for the District of Minnesota.

I ask my colleagues to support her confirmation. Again, I thank Senator Durbin for his leadership of the committee and all who worked to support her.

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