the -- miscon exceptions, and to set the record straight.he supreme court hearing for judge sonia sotomayor will begin july 13 but my consideration will not begin then. i began considering her the day she was announced because as a member of the judiciary committee i want to learn as much as i can about president obama's choice to fill one of the most important jobs in our country. even though there are many questions that will be asked and many areas that we will want to focus on, i would like to speak today about how judge sotomayor appears to me, based on my initial review. after meeting with after reading about -- reading her, i am positive about her nomination. she knows the law. she also knows america. i know americans have heard a lot of things about her, her background, her long career as a judge. it is important to talk about her -- what a solid nominee she is. we have to keep in mind that there have been accusations and statements made by people outside this chamber on television and cable. there have been some misstatements. it ca

so we want to take this opportunity to get the facts out, to correct any miscon exceptions, the supreme court confirmation hearings for judge sotomayor will begin on july 13. my consideration of her will not begin then. i began considering her the day she was announced, because of my membership on the judiciary committee, i wanted to learn as much as i can about this nominee. even though there are many questions that will be asked and many areas that we will want to focus on, i'd like to speak today about how judge solomon your appears to me at based on my initial review. after meeting with her and learning about her, i am very positive about the nomination. she knows the constitution. she knows the law. she also knows america. i know americans have heard a lot of things about her background, her long career. it is really important for us to talk about how she is a solid nominee. there have been statements made outside this chamber -- some misstatements. when i was in the airport in minnesota, a guy came up to me and said, do you know how you are voting on that woman? i said i will see

so we want to take this opportunity to get the facts out, to correct any miscon exceptions,