Orrin Hatch

Isn't it true we passed the FDA revitalization bill back in 1989 to create this central campus where we could have the best state-of-the-art equipment? We had 48 different locations where FDA was located all over the greater Washington…

The important thing here is it was a bipartisan filibuster against a nominee by both parties, and in these particular cases, these are leader-led partisan filibusters led by the other party. Mr. McCONNELL. I thank my colleague.

He did. But what happened was there was one cloture vote, and it was not invoked. But even if you consider it a filibuster, the fact is, it was not a leader-led filibuster. It was a nomination that was filibustered--if it was a…

One last thing. As to the 13, 12 of them are sitting on the bench. The 13th that they mentioned was the Fortas nomination. In that case, there was the question of whether there was or was not a filibuster. But let's give them the benefit…

Advocating the step that we should invoke cloture and give these people a vote up or down? Mr. McCONNELL. Precisely.

So they were hardly filibusters in that sense? Mr. McCONNELL. They were not. They were situations which do occur, from time to time, where a nominee has some objection. And around here, if anybody objects, it could conceivably end up in a…

And spend a lot of time on the Senate floor. Mr. McCONNELL. Yes. It does not mean the nomination is on the way to nowhere. It could mean the nomination is on the way to somewhere because you invoke cloture and then you get an up-or-down…

So the cloture votes in those instances were floor management devices to get to a vote so we could vote those nominations to the bench? Mr. McCONNELL. For the purpose of advancing the nominations, not defeating them.

One last point. The 13 illustrations that the Democrats on the other side have given that they have said are filibusters, if I recall it correctly, 12 of those 13 are now sitting on the Federal bench, as you have said; is that correct? Mr…

Well, Senators had the right to speak, and they could speak. Mr. McCONNELL. Absolutely.

Not quite right because the filibuster rule did not come into effect until 1917. Mr. McCONNELL. No. The ability to stop the filibuster did not come about until 1917. The ability to filibuster came about in 1806.

But the Executive Calendar involves nominations through the nomination power granted by the Constitution to the President of the United States, and the Senate has the power to advise and consent on that nomination power, is that right, to…

Right. Mr. McCONNELL. During the 20th century, the same party controlled the executive branch and the Senate 70 percent of the time. Seventy percent of the time, in the 20th century, the same party had the White House and a majority in the…

The legislative calendar is the main calendar for the Senate, and it is solely the Senate's; is that correct? Mr. McCONNELL. That is correct.

Just to make it clear, there are two calendars in the Senate. One is the legislative calendar and the other is the Executive Calendar; is that correct? Mr. McCONNELL. That is correct.

Let me just make this point. We confirmed, in 6 years of Republican control of the Senate, 377 judges for President Clinton. That was five less than the all-time confirmation champion Ronald Reagan. All of these people who are up have…

OK. I want the FBI to get the information they need. I also want people to feel secure in conducting legal business in the country.

In fact, you've hardly used that power so far.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

So looking in libraries is not a relatively new thing.

We have language in this issue which would mitigate what I believe are unintended effects of this amendment. Under this modified language, all payments where ``misconduct, fraud, or mismanagement'' is present are prohibited. This language…

The purpose of the Family Movie Act is to empower private individuals to use technology to skip and mute material that they find objectionable in movies, without impacting established doctrines of copyright or trademark law or those whose…

That understanding is correct. As long as the person to whom authority is delegated would herself be eligible to serve on the entity, there is no reason to centralize all functions in one office. Nor is there any limit or requirement as to…

Yes. Anyone with knowledge of capital cases--not just someone who has litigated capital cases--can now serve on the entity. Most importantly, this includes members of the bench. It could also include law professors with knowledge of…

Absolutely. This a matter that is properly left up to the States, and we have so left it.