I am delighted to rise in strong support of the confirmation of William Kayatta of Maine to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Mr. Kayatta was originally nominated to this position more than 1 year ago. He was approved by the Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan vote last April. Unfortunately, despite his exceptional qualifications, his nomination was stalled by election-year politics. That is finally behind us, and I am pleased the President renominated Mr. Kayatta in January. I wish to thank the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, my colleague from Vermont Senator Leahy; the ranking member Senator Grassley; and, indeed, all the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee for acting promptly and positively in favor of Mr. Kayatta's renomination. Let me also express my gratitude to the two leaders, Senator Reid and Senator McConnell, for moving his nomination so quickly to the Senate floor. Mr. Kayatta is an attorney of exceptional intelligence, extensive experience, and demonstrated integrity. I cannot tell you how highly regarded he is in Maine's legal circles. In fact, if you ask virtually any attorney, judge, prosecutor, law professor or anyone involved in the legal profession in Maine, they will tell you the President could not have made a better choice than Bill Kayatta. He graduated magna cum laude from both Amherst College and Harvard University Law School, where he served as a member of the Law Review.…
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