Sotomayor Nomination

Floor Speech

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Republican Senate leader Senator McConnell has just completed his leadership statement. I would like to respond to two or three of his points.

I am not surprised that he opposes Sonya Sotomayor, the President's nominee to the Supreme Court. He has stated that earlier, that he does not believe she should take this important position. I disagree. Sonya Sotomayor comes to us having first been nominated for a Federal judgeship under Republican President George H.W. Bush and then was nominated for a promotion to the circuit level, the next higher bench, by President Clinton. So she has enjoyed bipartisan support in her judicial career. In fact, she brings more experience on the bench to the Supreme Court if she wins the nomination, if it is approved by the Senate, than any nominee in modern memory. So there is no question she was qualified both under a Republican President and a Democratic President. Now she brings that accumulated experience in this effort to be part of the Supreme Court.

I have met her. She has met personally with over 80 Senators and talked to them, answering every question they had about her background, her approach to the law. She is an outstanding candidate.

Her life story is one that is inspiring to all. She was raised in public housing in the Bronx, NY. There has been some mention of the fact that she was a volunteer attorney for the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund. It is a fact that she is of Puerto Rican national descent. When she was 9 years old, her father passed away. Her mother, a very strong-willed and energetic person, raised her and her brother. Her brother is a medical doctor. She is an accomplished attorney. She went to Princeton University and graduated with one of the highest academic honors and then went on to Yale Law School, where she also was acknowledged as being one of the most outstanding law students in her class.

This is a person who comes to this job with a resume that, as a lawyer myself, I look at with a great deal of envy. She is an extraordinarily gifted person. There could be questions raised about any judge's ruling on any case. But the fact is, I believe she has a record that is unparalleled in terms of judicial experience. So I hope those who listened to Senator McConnell's remarks will also reflect on the fact that Judge Sotomayor is an extraordinarily talented and gifted person. If Senator McConnell is going to oppose her nomination--it sounds as if he will--I hope some on his side of the aisle will join us in a bipartisan effort to make her part of the U.S. Supreme Court.

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