the clerk: the judiciary, brian c. buescher of nebraska to be united states district judge for the district of nebraska. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: i have 12 requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have been approved by the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. cornyn: mr. president, earlier this week the administration and house democrats reached a bipartisan budget deal to deliver on the president's priorities and prevent a funding crisis this fall. as our armed forces continue their global engagements, this agreement importantly secures the funding necessary to maintain readiness and modernize the force. it provides increased defense spending to recover from a depressed military readiness rates of the previous administration and provides our men and women in uniform with the resources, equipment, and training they need in order to defend our freedoms. i know congress deals with a lot of different topic

the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, brian c. buescher, of nebraska, to be united states district judge for the district of nebraska. the presiding officer: the question is on the nomination. a senator: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: change -- the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to change their vote? the nomination is confirmed. 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 senate's actions. mr. merkley: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. hoeven: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: madam president, i ask that my fellow dan bas

i rise today to voice my support for brian c. buescher, president trump's nominee to serve on the united states district court for the district of nebraska. near the end of 2017, both myself and senator sasse were given notice that chief judge laurie smithcam would assume senior status on nebraska's federal bench. many people may not know this, but the case docket for the u.s. district court for the district of nebraska is among the busiest dockets in the nation. in recent years the district has carried some of the highest per judge criminal caseloads in the country, which surpasses judicial districts that include new york city, chicago, and los angeles. this is why it is critical to both nebraska and our nation that the senate delivers an exceptional judge to fill this vacancy without further delay. in this spirit, both senator sasse and i worked quickly to begin the open application process. nebraska is the proud home of many brilliant legal minds, and we thoroughly studied every application and interviewed qualified candidates. after a