mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask consent that my remarks begin at this moment and not at minute or so ago. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, we have -- we all know we have a constitutional obligation as u.s. senators to provide advice and consent to a president's nominee. it's not advice and rubber stamp. it's advice and informed consent. i do my best to scrutinize each nominee on the merits regardless of party, decide whether they deserve a lifetime appointment to a federal bench. and during my 44 years in the senate, i've actually voted for more republican-nominated judges than almost all but one or two republican senators in this body today. the simple fact, though, if you you've that standard, you must give informed consent, you run into a situation with thomas farr. given mr. farr's track record of working to systematica

senator leahy: thank you. mr. leichty: senator leahy, i think our colleagues articulated the question quite right and i don't have anything else to add to that. senator leahy: but what i'm saying is we are a country where the constitution really speaks for all of us ultimately. i realize the supreme court can interpret the constitution, but we do have, as a person foremost -- the constitution, do we not? mr. leichty: we do. that's our keystone. all branches of government -- the president, the congress, the federal judiciary, are all obligated to follow it. mr. ranjan: senator leahy, i agree with mr. leichty, our constitution is our load star. i think we're guided by the constitution. all braveragets must follow the constitution. as citizens we look to the constitution for our rights. if i'm' fortunate enough to be confirmed, if people have constitutional issues brought before the courts, i will do my best to faithfully apply the precedents that deal with that issue. senator leahy: i'll go to this. if you're confirm

quorum call: quorum call: mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: i ask consent that the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, this friday, november 30, at noon, vermonters will be gathering to see a large crane carefully hoist a carved statue of the god he is of agriculture atop the newly gilded dome of the vermont statehouse in montpelier. i was born in montpelier, and i am proud of this because it is going to be a great moment for our state, for everyone involved in the project which has captured not only the attention of vermonters but those who have been following the project from great distances with the help of social media. the new version of this statue replaces the original statue that was removed last april after too many severe vermont weather took a toll on the wood figure. since that time, vermont artists jerry williams and chris miller have been hard at work creating the new siris. they chiseled the final mah

leigh -- mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: i want to commend the senior senator from florida. throughout my career i've been so impressed and so grateful for his strong voice on the environment. he's the only member of this body who's seen earth from space. and, mr. president, i thank my dear friend, the senior senator, senator grassley who is going to speak so that i could go ahead and i will. i will be brief, mr. president. i just want to say in the 44 years i've served the united states senate, i've never been so concerned about the state of press freedom around the world, including i deeply regret to say in our own country. i was brought up in a family that owned a weekly newspaper, owned a printing business, spoke of the first amendment as being the most important part of our constitution because it promised freedom of speech, promised diversity of religion, and that promise is a democracy. but the premeditated murder and dismemberment of jamal khashoggi by saudi authorities and then their ridiculous, ridiculous, tr

mr. chair. >> chairman grassley, ranking member leahy and senate colleague, thanks for being here on a cold, wet monday americaning american morning to voice my support for james cane who was nominated to be the united states district judge of the western district of louisiana. >> he has the qualifications and experience required and he's joined today by his wife angie with whom he'll be celebrating 25 years of marriage. mr. cane has two daughter, juliana, a junior at the university of texas and a freshman at smu. mr. cane attended lake charles on a full basketball scholarship, where and i think this is the most interesting thing about mr. cane. he was roommates with future nba star joe dumorris. after getting his degree in economics and finance for mcnice he went on to attend law school at southern university law school? baton rouge where he graduated cum laude. mr. cane has had an outstanding legal career and he clerked for the honorable judge henry overton in the louisiana third circuit court of appeals and he received valuable experience in the d.a.'s office in the parish and he's been admit

mr. president. i yield the floor. >> senator from vermont. >> consents to speak up for up to ten minutes. >> let me thank senator leahy for his leadership on this resolution at a time when many are coming together around an issue of enormous concern and also one of the leaders in the other 17 cosponsors of this resolution. mr. president, in a half-hour or so are we going to be casting one of the most important foreign-policy votes that we have cast in recent years? is a vote to demand that the humanitarian crisis in yemen be addressed. it's a vote that will tell the dictatorship in saudi arabia that we will no longer be part of the destructive military adventurism and a vote senator of the just mentioned that says the senate respects the constitution of the united states and understands the issue of homemaking putting our young men and women's lives at stake is something determined by the u.s. congress, not the president of the united states. it is a congressional decision, not a presidential decision. whether that president is a democrat or republican. in march of 2015 under the leadership of th that of the thi defense minister and now th

mr. chair. >> chairman grassley, ranking member leahy and senate colleagues, thanks for being here on a cold,et monday morning to allow me to voice my support for louis

mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, we have a -- excuse me, mr. president. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask consent that my remarks begin at this moment and not at minute or so ago. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, we have -- we all know we have a constitutional obligation as u.s. senators