James walter green, who has been nominated by the president to serve as u. S. Attorney for the middle district in louisiana. I was very pleased to recommend mr. Green to the president for his consideration. I strongly urge my colleagues to vote with me to confirm him today. He has served our country in a variety of capacities, most notably 20 years in military service. He has been involved in multiple deployments as the recipient of numerous military awards, including Defense Meritorious Service award, navymarine corps commendation medal, and the Iraq Campaign medal. Not only is he a strong patriot and Extraordinary Service to our country, but in addition, he has also served for 15 years in a variety of capacities in this office, supporting their work through republican and democratic administrations. He comes highly recommended by a broad Cross Section of individuals in my state, and im just really pleased the caliber of person that i was able to recommend, this kind of caliber, highcaliber person, to continue to serve now in the full capacity as u. S. Attorney. So ill submit the rest of my statement for the record but, again, senator durbin, thank you for your courtesies and i just wanted to put in a strong word to all of my colleagues, he is supported both by senator vitter and myself and hope that well get a strong vote on him today. And i suggest the absence of a quorum. Im sorry. The time will be equally divided time between the majority and minority. And suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley before we vote on the barron amendment, i want to make sure my colleagues know the white house continues to keep the senate in the dark. Yesterday i called on the white house to state once and for all whether it has provided to the senate any and all materials written by this nominee on the Drone Program. The white house refuses to answer that simple question. One hour after i spoke, the White House Press secretary refused for a third time to confirm that the senate has been provided all of this nominees writings on the Drone Program. Why is that . Why wont this white house give us a simple, straightforward answer . We still dont know how much more is out there on this subject that this nominees been involved with. So after this vote, my colleagues cant tell their constituents that the white house has provided all of this nominees materials on the Drone Program because we simply dont know that that is true. Finally, i want to emphasize one more point about this court that court order requiring the administration to make a redacted copy of one memo public. Senators should know that the court also ordered the trial court to take a second look at the other additional secret documents to see whether any of those additional documents should be made public and in redacted form. If some of these documents were written by this nominee and if the court orders them to be made public, your constituents are going to ask why you didnt stand up today to get that information. Your constituents are going to ask why you didnt stand up to this white house and demand to see any and all memos this nominee wrote on this subject before this vote. I yield the floor. A senator madam president . The presiding officer all time has expired. Mr. Paul madam president , could i ask unanimous consent for five minutes . The presiding officer without objection. The senator from kentucky. Mr. Paul i rise today to oppose the nomination of anyone who advocates for the executive branch killing american citizens not involved in combat without trial. I strongly believe that any nominee who rubber stamps and grants such power to the president is not worthy of being placed one step away from the supreme court. It isnt about seeing the memos, its about what they say and how they disrespect the bill of rights. Due process cant exist in secret. Checks and balances cant exist in one branch of government. Whether it be upon the advice of one lawyer or 10,000 lawyers, if they all work for one man, the president , how can that be anything but a verdict outside the law . A verdict that could conceivably be subject to the emotions of prejudice and fear, a verdict that could be wrong. The nomination before us is about a nominee who supports killing american citizens not engaged in combat without a trial. These memos dont limit drone executions to one individual, they become historic precedent for killing citizens abroad. Barrons arguments for extrajudicial killing of american citizens challenge over a thousand years of jurisprudence. Its actually quite simple. An accusation is different from a conviction. Due process is different from internal deliberations. The executive can accuse, it cannot try. It cannot convict someone. Critics will argue that these are evil people who plot against and plot to kill americans. I understand that. My first instinct is like most americans to immediately want to punish these traitors. The question is how do we decide guilt . Arent we in a way betraying our countrys principles when we relinquish the right to trial by jury . Due process cant exist in secret. Checks and balances cant exist within one branch of government. If we cant defend the right to a trial by jury, for the most heinous crimes, then where will the slippery slope lead us . Critics say how will we try these people when theyre overseas . The constitution holds the answer. They should be tried for treason. If they refuse to return home they should be tried in be a sten sh. The method of punishment is not the issue. The issue is and always has been the right to a trial. The presumption of innocence and the guarantee of due process to everyone, no matter how heinous the rhyme criem. For these reasons i cannot support david barron. I cannot and will not support a lifetime appointment for someone who believes it is okay to kill american citizens not involved in combat without a trial. Thank you, madam president. I yield back my time. The presiding officer the presiding officer the clerk will the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of david barron of massachusetts to be United States circuit judge for the First Circuit, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of David Jeremiah barron of massachusetts to be United StatesCircuit Court judge for the First Circuit shall be brought to a close . The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators wishing to vote or change their votes . If not, the yeas are 52, the nays are 43, and the motion to invoke cloture is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk david barron of massachusetts to be United States circuit judge for the First Circuit. The presiding officer under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration of the following nominations which the clerk will report. The clerk privacy and Civil Liberties oversight board, elizabeth Elisebeth Collins cook of virginia to be a member of the Civil Liberties oversight board. Department of justice, james Walter Frazer green of louisiana to be United States attorney for the middle district. Deteriorate ra m. Daly of connecticut to be United States attorney. Dierdre m. Daly of connecticut to be United States attorney. Damon Paul Martinez of new mexico to be United States attorney. The presiding officer under the previous order, there are two minutes of debate prior to a vote on the cook nomination. Without objection all time is yielded back. The question is on the nomination. All in favor say aye. All opposed, nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. There are now two minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote on the green nomination. Without objection, all time is yielded back. The question is on the nomination. All in favor say aye. All opposed say nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. Now two minutes of debate equally divided on the daly nomination. Without objection, all time is yielded back. The question is on the nomination. All in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. There are now two minutes of debate prior to a vote on the martinez nomination. Without objection, all time is yielded back. The question is on the nomination. All those in favor say aye. All opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is agreed to. Confirmed and agreed to. Under the previous order, the motions to reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senates action. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senator from new jersey. Mr. Menendez madam president , a year ago, the Senate Judiciary committee reported out a piece of legislation that would do more than increase the Gross Domestic Product, do more than reduce the deficit, do more than promote prosperity and do more than create jobs. It passed legislation that would take 11 Million People out of the shadows in america, prevent anyone from becoming a secondclass citizen in this country, and finally establish comprehensive, commonsense Immigration Reform, and today one year later it sits languishing in the house of representatives and 11 Million People wait and wait and wait. And while they wait, while they hope that we come to our senses in government as we should, the toll from inaction compounds. Families suffer. Children suffer. Deportations continue and injustice prevails. Madam president , there is a cost to our inaction, a cost that those in the house of representatives who are forcing upon us as we wait for them to act accrues every day. They claim they offer fiscal responsibility, and yet their inaction is costing us each year on average 80 billion of real g. D. P. , 40 billion in higher deficits, 40,000 stem grads who earn masters or ph. D. In stem fields from u. S. Universities, 50 billion in the Social Security trust fund, almost 50,000 fewer jobs and 13. 5 billion in lost revenue. Now, i hope that our republican colleagues in the house understand exactly what the cost of inaction is. I hope they understand that every minute that we waste passing commonsense Immigration Reform is costing american taxpayers more and more and the cost is on them and the losses i view as republican losses. The fact is republicans are acting as if nothing is at stake, as if there is no cost, as if the lives of people and families are not in the balance and they could not be more wrong. Beside the Economic Cost of inaction, there is a very real human cost. Franklin roosevelt once said, citing dante, that better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference. Let us not be frozen in the ice of our own indifference. Let us act, let us govern. I call on my republican colleagues to warm their hearts and think about the costs of inaction, not only in dollars and cents but in the lives of families and the future of this nation. The legislation that we are waiting for is a comprehensive way to tackle our immigration problem. We are on the verge of historic change. Im proud to have been part of the gang of eight that hammered out a strong bipartisan effort, that passed this institution with 67 votes. Thats not usual these days for questions of great controversy. And now i say to my friends in the other body do the right thing for america, and by the way for your own party. Find common ground. Lean away from the extreme. Opt for reason and govern with us. In my view, the leadership in the other body has a chance to be american heroes, a chance to bring both sides together in an alliance that will ensure passage of this bill, and i believe based upon poll after poll that a vast majority of americans want Immigration Reform to pass will thank them for doing the right thing, and i hope that they have the political will, i hope they have the political courage to unite the nation and send this bill to the president s desk. I hope that they will pass pass a bill that will increase the Gross Domestic Product, reduce the deficit, promote prosperity and create jobs. Now, as i have pointed out on this floor many times, this chart shows cumulative economic gains of the legalization process over ten years after passage of this legislation. Fixing the broken immigration system would increase americas Gross Domestic Product by over 800 billion over the next ten years. It would increase the wages of all americans by 470 billion over ten years and increase jobs by 121,000 per year for ten years. Thats over 1. 2 million jobs. Now, what do we ever get to do here that increases the Gross Domestic Product, reduces the deficit and raises the wages of all americans and creates 120,000plus jobs per year . Very little. This legislation does that, not just simply because i say it but because the Congressional Budget Office said many of these figures were, in fact, the reality. Immigrants will start Small Businesses, they will create jobs for american workers, and its time to harness that economic power. The c. B. O. Report also tells us that we reduce direct spending and the deficit by 158 billion over the next decade and by another 685 billion more from 20242033. Lets remember were talking about almost 1 trillion in deficit spending that we can lift off the backs of the next generation. Exactly what our republican friends demand, and yet they are balking in the face of achieving one of their very fundamental principles. What other single piece of legislation increases g. D. P. , growth, increases wages, increases jobs and lowers the deficit . The center for American Progress found that fixing the broken immigration system would increase wages of all americans by 470 billion over ten years and increase jobs by 121,000 per year. What we realize now and what the numbers tell us is that giving 11 Million People a clear and defined earned pathway to citizenship is in effect an Economic Growth strategy that lowers the deficit and creates jobs, and thats exactly what were looking to do to move this economy forward. New americans who follow this pathway we lay out will have to play by the rules, will have to pass criminal background checks. They will have to pay a fine. They will have to pay their taxes. But if they do, there will be no obstacle they cannot overcome to the day when they raise their right hand and pledge allegiance to the United States and become a naturalized citizen. Now, too many families have waited too long for that day. Too many have waited too long to say those words that will change their lives forever. They changed my mothers life and in turn gave me a chance to stand here today and vote for a pathway to citizenship that changed the lives that can change the lives of millions of others. But its not just the economics of the legislation that creates the urgency of now. Its the human toll, the toll of millions living in the shadows. Madam president , that can be pretty dark and frightening. Last year, over 150,000 people were deported just for paperwork, paperwork violations. Hundreds of thousands have been deported despite having u. S. Citizen children. They are not criminals. They are hardworking families trying to make ends meet. For many years, i have asked the administration to stop deporting fathers and mothers, stop separating families, stop taking away parents from their u. S. Citizen resident child. Let me tell you about one of these cases, the case of Carlos Oliva Guillen who was about to be deported away from his three u. S. Citizen children including his 7 month old infant son who is suffering from a lifethreatening disorder. The baby was on the verge of a coma and facing potential brain damage while his dad was in detention, about to be deported. The doctors needed to do a blood test on carlos, the babys dad, to see if the babys illness is genetic. Now, thank god that carlos was released and brought back to new jersey so that doctors could pursue these lifesaving tests and treatment. These tragedies continue as long as we do not have comprehensive Immigration Reform. With all of these economic benefits and the tremendous human suffering at stake, what are we waiting for . Were waiting for the house leadership to stand up to a minority, to a minority. Were waiting for Speaker Boehner to schedule a vote. Were waiting for reason to prevail for our republican friends in the other body to once and for all do whats right and think about the cost of inaction, not only in dollars and cents but in the lives of the famil