it is time that we do the right thing by quickly confirming andrew lugar to make sure that minnesota has its highest law enforcement officer in place. i would also note that there is an opening in the iowa u.s. attorney's office. the judiciary committee also unanimously approved the recommendation -- the president's nomination for that position, and that person is also awaiting confirmation, and in fact i learned today that he is in one city and his family is in another city in iowa. they would like to be united, and that nomination is also pending. i want to thank senator grassl grassley, who has supported our nominee, as i have supported his in iowa, and i think senator grassley is also aware of some of the issues with the minnesota u.s. attorney's office, due to the fact that we have not had a full-time attorney for 888 days. he has been supportive of our efforts to quickly move mr. lugar's nomination. the position of u.s. attorney, madam president, is a law enforcement post that the founders regarded as so vital that they created it during the very first congress in the judiciary

the person i nominated to the president, andrew lugar who has the support of the republican congressmen near the cities, that person went through the committee without objection and deserves to be now voted on by this senate. operations brothers keeper, another example, successful investigation and prosecution of a rico case involving a regional 200-member gang which took 22 dangerous members off the street. operation mulverde, the prosecution of 27 defendants associated with the mexican drug cartel including the apprehension of the cartel's regional leader whose sentence is as high as 20 years in prison. the office also recently prosecuted a case involving a major synthetic drug seller in duluth, minnesota. this was a huge problem, a scourge in the community. they went after it, prosecuted the owner, they found $700,000 in plastic bags hidden in his bathroom and they won that case. these are a few of the major cases this office has worked on just over the last few years. after 890 days without a full-time boss in part because there was delay, as we all know, in filling the position of