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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Sara Hill to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Ms. Hill has deep ties to Oklahoma. Born in Tahlequah, OK, she received her B.A. from Northeastern State University, cum laude, and her J.D. from the University of Tulsa College of Law. She then began working for the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, where she served as an Assistant Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Secretary of Natural Resources, and Attorney General. She also served as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma in Tulsa. Since leaving her role as Attorney General, Ms. Hill has worked as a solo practitioner at Hill Law, PLLC in Tahlequah. She also serves as a voting, at-large member of the Tribal Issues Advisory Group of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Ms. Hill has significant litigation experience in State, Federal, and Tribal court. Over the course of her career, she has tried 43 cases to verdict, and as Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation, she had constitutional responsibility for all litigation of the government and its businesses.

Ms. Hill is strongly supported by both of her home State Senators, as well as by the Oklahoma and Native American legal communities. The American Bar Association unanimously rated her as ``qualified'' to serve on the Northern District of Oklahoma. If confirmed, she will be the first Native American woman to serve as a Federal judge in Oklahoma.

When Senator Lankford introduced Ms. Hill at her confirmation hearing, he called her ``an exceptionally impressive nominee'' and said that he and his staff ``have found her to be one of the smartest people in the room in just about any room she walks in.'' I agree on both counts. I am proud to support this nominee, and I urge my colleagues to join me.

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