Nominaton Of Elena Kagan

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleagues, Senators Stabenow and Klobuchar, in supporting the nomination of Elena Kagan to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. However, before addressing the nomination of Elena Kagan, I wish to echo the remarks of Senator Stabenow about the need to look at the legislation that is going to come before us in a few minutes.

My colleague, Senator Barrasso, talked about wanting to help those people who are most in need of health care. One of the best ways we can do that is to pass the legislation pending before this body which includes an extension of Medicaid benefits, which is so important to States and to the people who are most in need, who have the least ability to get health care. I hope that as our colleagues are thinking about how they can support health care for Americans, they will support this legislation and make sure we extend Medicaid benefits for people throughout the States.

Turning to the Elena Kagan nomination, I am extremely pleased that President Obama has selected a woman with such impressive and unique credentials to serve on the Nation's highest Court. I had the good fortune to meet Solicitor General Kagan a number of years ago when both of us were at Harvard. I was at the Kennedy School as the director of its Institute of Politics, and she had just become dean of the Harvard Law School. It didn't take her very long to get a reputation there as someone who was loved by the students and the faculty, who was able to get everyone to work together. It comes as no surprise to me that she has continued her impressive accomplishments.

My favorable impression of Elena Kagan was confirmed after a recent meeting with her in my Senate office, spending more time really looking at what her record has been with the law. I wish to focus my remarks this morning on Elena Kagan's record that has prepared her to be a Justice.

A number of my colleagues from across the aisle have implied or stated directly that the Solicitor General lacks sufficient range of professional experience. A number of Senators are concerned that Elena Kagan does not have judicial experience. To address this point, it is worth noting that 41 of the Court's 111 Justices have joined the Court without any previous experience as a judge. Among these 41 are some of the most notable jurists of the last century: Justices Louis Brandeis, Felix Frankfurter, William Douglas, Byron White, and Lewis Powell. Chief Justices Harlan Stone, Earl Warren, and William Rehnquist were also chosen for the Court without prior judicial experience. The Presidents who nominated these Justices and the Senators who confirmed them were right to recognize that experiences other than being a judge can prepare one to serve on the Supreme Court with distinction. Elena Kagan certainly has had that experience. She has traveled a path of extraordinary accomplishment. I am confident she will continue that trend once she is elevated to the bench.

With more than 24 years of legal experience in a range of settings, she will bring a distinct perspective to judging that will serve both the Court and Americans well. Without a doubt, Ms. Kagan has been a lifelong student of the Supreme Court. As we heard from Senator Stabenow, she began her career as a clerk in the chambers of two highly regarded jurists, including the legendary Thurgood Marshall. These formative years early in Ms. Kagan's career instilled in her an appreciation of the impact of judicial decisions on people and gave her an ability to zero in on critical facts and issues in cases.

After 3 years in private practice in Washington, Ms. Kagan became a professor of law at the University of Chicago. She focused there on scholarship and constitutional law, particularly the first amendment. She quickly became known as a powerful advocate for individual constitutional rights.

She served as an Associate White House Counsel and later Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council during the Clinton White House. These positions forced Elena Kagan to tackle difficult public policy matters while analyzing the limits of executive branch power.

Later, as dean of the Harvard Law School, Ms. Kagan is credited with making immense progress toward uniting a fractious faculty of very powerful opinions and intellects. She built bridges across academic and political groups.

A recent letter from the deans of law schools across the country describes Ms. Kagan as ``a superb and successful dean'' who ``revealed a strong and consistent aptitude for forging coalitions that achieved smart and sensible solutions, often in the face of insoluble conflict.''

Harvard professor Charles Fried captured the thoughts of many of Ms. Kagan's Harvard colleagues when he described her as someone who had a ``masterful'' ability to work well with diverse faculty.

Ms. Kagan's intellect and work ethic caught the attention of President Obama when she was tapped to serve as Solicitor General. She is the first woman to hold this position which is often referred to as the 10th Justice of the Court. During her tenure, Solicitor General Kagan has filed 66 briefs and has argued numerous times before the Court. I can't imagine better training for a position on the Court than the experience gained by a Solicitor General. Elena Kagan has publicly demonstrated her ability to critically analyze the law and advocate forcefully at the level demanded by our Nation's highest Court.

Elena Kagan has dedicated her life to legal study. She has excelled as a clerk, a teacher, administrator, counsel, and advocate. I know these experiences have given her a full understanding and appreciation of the Supreme Court's role in our democracy. Elena Kagan has built a career that shows she has the technical skills, the intellectual aptitude, and the personal judgment to be an extremely effective Justice. I look forward to the swift confirmation of a very impressive individual and urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support her nomination.

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