mr. koh's views on the first amendment again portray a desire to make american law subservient to international law. in his stanford law review article, the title which was on american exceptionalism, koh stated that our first amendment gives -- and i'm quoting now -- protections for speech and religion far greater emphasis and judicial protection in america than in europe or asia. and he opined -- and again i'm quoting -- that america's "exceptional free speech from tradition can cause problems abroad." furthermore, he stated that the way for the sphrok moderate these conflicts -- and i'm quoting -- is by applying more consistently the transnationallist approach to judicial interpretation. this is breathtaking. is it even consistent with an oath to protect and defend the constitution? should we now begin to dismantle a founding principle of our democracy in order to appease the so-called international community, as mr. koh advocates? if the founding fathers have h followed this add vierks this

mr. koh's supporters claim that the allegations that had been voiced against him, such as undermining the constitution, are unjustified. however, mr. koh's own writing suggests otherwise. for example, in 2004 -- in a 2004 law review, an article titled "international law as part of our law," mr. koh states -- and i quote -- "u.s. domestic courts must play a key role in coordinating u.s. domestic constitutional rules with rules of foreign and international law. not simply to promote american aims, but to advance the broader development of a well-functioning international judicial system. in justice blackmun's words, u.s. courts must look beyond narrow u.s. interests to the mutual interests of all nations in a smoothly functioning international legal regime and whenever possible, should consider if there is a course of action that furthers rather than impedes the development of an ordered international system. certainly we want good relations to countries all over the world, and we're looking at

i recognize that mr. koh may be headed for confirmation, but i would ask those who may have previously voted for cloture to go to this nomination, think about what he said about congress, about the work that we've done here and about what he has said about america. are you comfortable having him as a legal adviser to the state department after what he said about america being part of the axis of disoh, bead snens are you comfortable with what he said about those of us who voted for the war resolution, about those of us who voted for the fisa amendments act? i'm certainly not. if he is confirmed, i would hope that for his and our country's sake, if he returns to the state department, his legal advice will be based on facts rather than political rhetoric. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. kaufman: i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without obj

mr. koh, mr. harold koh has a long and distinguished history of serving this country and the legal profession. during the reagan administration -- a republican president's administration -- he was a career lawyer in the office of legal counsel at the department of justice. in 1998, unanimously confirmed as the u.s. assistant secretary. mr. koh's academic credentials are amazing. a marshal scholar at oxford, a graduate of harvard law school, editor of the harvard law review and he went on to be a clerk at the supreme court across the street, which is about as good as it gets going out of law school. since 2004 harold koh was a dean at a law school. he's been awarded 11 honorary degrees and 30 human rights awards. i don't know that you could present a stronger resume for a man who wants to serve our country to be involved in public service and step out of his professional life as a lawyer in the private sector and with law schools. he's been endorsed by leaders, legal scholars from both political par

for example, mr. koh has said repeatedly, including at his confirmation hearing, that he believes the congressionally authorized 2003 u.s. invasion of iraq -- and i quote -- "violated international law" because the united states had not received -- and i quote -- "explicit united nations authorization" beforehand. he's also said that the united states supreme court should -- quote -- "tip more decisively toward a transnationallist jurisprudence." as opposed to basing their decisions on the united states constitution and laws made pursuant to it. his views on the second amendment are also extremely worrisome. in a speech called "a world drawing in guns," which was given at fordham university law school in 2002 and later published in their law review, he explains why he believes there should be a global gun control regime and admits that -- and i quote -- "we are a long way from persuading government to accept a flat ban on the trade of legal arms." he concludes his speech with this statement: "when i left

mr. koh who was just nominated and confirmed to the chief counsel of the u.s. state department, mr. koh is quite open about it, shockingly, really. i suggest if we become transnational we suffer two blows to our legal system. first the laws we are subject to would not be laws made by us. this would remind us of the boston tea party. the colonies objected to paying taxes but not just any taxes. they objected because the taxes were being imposed on them by the british parliament and they didn't have a voice in it. the complaint was taxation without representation. thus, the moral power of the american law to compel obedience arises from the people's choice to enact it in the first place, that moral authority is undermined when we allow foreign law we had nothing to do with to impact our law. that is a pernicious thing, i suggest. secondly, it is not ever going to work in our good way. most countries don't have law, the truth be known. they have politics masquerading as law. trying to merge our system based on truth, the law and the evidence with these political legal systems will only

mr. president, there is no doubt in my mind that dean koh will candidly and objectively advise the secretary of state on existing law while ensuring she receives competent and objective and honest advice. i thank the chair and yield the floor. mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that four law clerks from our staff: christina campbell, nick roscoe and row bettera valenzuela be granted floor privileges throughout this session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: i rise to speak against the nomination of harold koh to be legal advisor to the state department. i had a chance to explain some of those yesterday. and for the benefit of our colleagues, i'd like to cover those and some additional concerns as well, with a little more detaeufplt there's no question that dean -- detail. there's no question that dean koh is a brilliant lawyer, and he has been a charming advocate for his promotion to this important position. but i've concluded that he is not the right person for this job. because he has stated what

mr. kerry: as if read in full. dean koh has been questioned about supporting suits against the bush administration involved in abusive techniques. dean koh had no personal involvement in the law against john yuw. the state department's legal advisor is not charged with srelgs of allegations of war crimes. that's the job of the justice department and the defense department. finally we've heard questions about dean koh's respect for the role that congress has paid in crafting legislation relating to our national security. dean koh said at his confirmation hearing -- quote -- "the constitution's framework, while defining the powers of congress in article 1 and the president in article 2, creates a framework in which the foreign affairs power is a power shared. checks and balances don't stop at the water's edge. it is both constitutionally required and is also smart in the sense that the president makes better decisions when congress is involved. if they are in at the takeoff, they tend to be more supportive all the way through

mr. enzi: might i inquire what the status is? the presiding officer: we are in executive nomination of harold koh. mr. enzi: are there time restrictions? the presiding officer: we're in postcloture which requires debate on the pending matter. mr. enzi: mr. president, i'd ask unanimous consent i be allowed to speak as if in morning business for such time as i might consume. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. enzi: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to speak on the need to reform our nation's health care system. if we're to be successful we must undertake this effort with the greatest of care and deliberation. when it comes to health care reform we've started down this road before. last congress i proposed legislation called ten steps to transform health care in america in an effort to provide a blueprint from which we could begin to address the challenge of improving our health care system. i might mention that the way that came about is that senator kennedy was the chairman of thee health, education, labor and pensions committee and i was ranking member and he and i worked t

mr. president, before i begin, are we in morning business or are we on the koh matter? the presiding officer: the senator is correct, we are in morning business. mr. leahy: i thank the distinguished presiding officer and my friend. i also want to thank senator menendez and senator schumer for their outstanding statements in the senate today. they spoke about judge sonia sotomayor, and i could not help but think as i reviewed judge sotomayor's record in preparation for her confirmation hearing on july 13, a review that i would assume all senators are doing, i was struck by her extraordinary career and how she's excelled at everything she's done. i know how proud her mother, selina, a registered nurse, is of her accomplishments. and i was delighted to -- this goes across political lines. i was delighted to hear laura bush, the foreman first lad they recently too she's proud president obama nominated a woman to serve on the supreme court. you know, i -- i recall that justice ginsburg said she was cheered by the announcement and that she's glad she's no longer going to be th

mr. president, i have sought recognition to speak on behalf of dean harold koh, dean of the yale law school, for confirmation to the position of legal advisor to the department of state. i know dean koh personally, have known him for more than a decade while he has taught at yale and been the dean of the yale law school. he spoke at a class reunion. i was in the yale law school class of 1956 and hosted a reunion here in the capitol on june the 6th of 2008. he was greeted by a number of prominent members of the united states senate at that time. and i make these comments about my personal association with him in the interest of full disclosure. but the thrust of my recommendation is based upon his extraordinary record. harold koh graduated from the harvard law school -- from harvard college, also from harvard law school. but he graduated from harvard college summa cum laude in 1985. he was a marshall scholar at oxford university, where he got a master's degree in 1977. he graduated cum laude from the harvard law school in 1980, where he was developments editor of the "harvard law review." he

mr. president, i rise to speak on the nomination of harold koh whom the president nominated to be legal adviser at the state department. this is a relatively obscure, but very important position at state department and the legal adviser operates frequently behind-the-scenes but on such important issues as international relation, national security, and in other areas. one area that's very important is that the real leel adviser is the -- the legal adviser is often the last word of state department on questions regarding treaty interpretation, that is, international agreements between countries. a legal adviser often gives legal advice to the secretary of state and the president of the united states during important negotiations with other nations. we also know that from experience the legal adviser can be a very important voice in diplomatic circles especially if he or she views america's obligations to other nations and multilateral organizations in a particular way, particularly if they have strong views. professor koh has an impressive academic resume and a professional background. he's an ac

mr. attorney general, you had exchanges with senator graham and feinstein and koh will the issue of prolonged detention and i chaired a hearing on this topic last week and would simply urge you and the department to consider the various legal and policy concerns that are involved. any system of indefinite detention raises those kind of issues. i would say even with the kind of due process protections that you discussed. i do think this done a -- could be a very big mistake, especially because of how such a system could be perceived around the wormed, frankly after some of the progress that the administration is making to the president's good work in our relationships around the world. another topic, i wrote to the president on monday about my continued concern that the administration has not formally withdrawn legal opinions, including the january, 2006, white paper that provided legal justifications for the bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program. and the letter was prompted in part by a recent speech that i'm sure you're aware of by the director of national intelligence. and w

so i oppose mr. koh's nomination for many reasons and really most importantly of these is my tbleef if of ited that he'll -- is my belief that if confirmed, he'll greatly undermine the principles of sovereignty that i believe all americans expect of our federal government. let me talk a little bit about his role, what that would be if he's confirmed as the legal advisor to the state department. according to the state department's web site, the legal advisor will furnish and i quote, "advice on only legal issues domestic and international arising in the course of the department's work and negotiate, draft, and interpret international agreements involving peace initiatives, arms control discussions, and private law conventions on subjects such as judicial cooperation in recognition of foreign judgmen judgments." on a daily basis, mr. koh will also advise our government on a variety of federal legal issues that he believes affect international law in our foreign

mr. president, the nomination of harold koh concerns me for a number of reasons. primarily his view that international law should guide u.s. law. and his criticism of our first amendment right to freedom of speech, and his opposition to the solomon amendment which conditions federal funding to educational institutions on allowing military recruiting on campus. the state department legal advisor helps formulate and implement u.s. foreign policy, advises the justice department on cases with international implications, influences u.s. positions on issues considered by international bodies, and represents the u.s. at treaty negotiations and international conferences. in short, this position requires the utmost deference to the constitution of the united states. mr. koh is a proponent of transnationalism, the belief that americans should use foreign law a

koh as legal advicer to the -- adviser to the state department. i yield the floor and reserve the balance of my time. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. cornyn: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, we would yield back the remainder of our time. madam president, i would ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the question is on the confirmation of the nomination of -- the yeas and nays have been ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: