Arlen Specter: “I join the Senator from Louisiana in his request to have a hearing and then proceed with an up-or-down vote. I have…”

“I join the Senator from Louisiana in his request to have a hearing and then proceed with an up-or-down vote. I have reviewed the record of the nominee. It appears to me that the nominee is qualified for the position. In his service as a U.S. attorney, he has already had Senate confirmation. But the basic proposition of having a hearing and a vote, I think, is very fundamental to so many pending nominees beyond the nominee addressed by the Senator from Louisiana today. I have discussed this issue on a number of occasions with the senior Senator from Louisiana, and she has been of the view that she ought not to return the blue slip, and I respect her decision. But I also respect the position of Senator Vitter in trying to move forward. It would be my hope that we could come to some accommodation, that we could find some way to set a timetable for a hearing, at least on that.”