ms. stabenow: mr.ident? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are in a quorum call. ms. stabenow: i would ask that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. ms. stabenow: mr. president, i understand we are in the process of putting together a series of votes, but while we have a moment i'd like to ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. ms. stabenow: thank you very much. first, i do want to thank our leaders on this important agriculture bill and the chairman who i appreciate so much all of his hard work. we have a great bill in front of us. and the ranking member from kansas. i want to actually speak for a moment about legislation that the ranking member, senator brownback, and i have been working on now for some time. it's the first piece of it has proven to be extremely effective, despite the

ms. stabenow: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan is recognized. ms. abenow: thank you, mr. president. first, i'm so pleased to be here with the senior senator from minnesota, and have appreciated her wonderful words about judge sotomayor, as well as her advocacy on behalf of minnesota we have a lot in common between minnesota and michigan and so it's always a pleasure to be with the senator from minnesota. mr. president, i rise today to strongly support the confirmation of judge sonia sotomayor as the next justice of the supreme court. over 230 years ago alexander hamilton called experience that best oracle of wisdom. and his words continue to ring true today. judge sotomayor has over 17 years of experience on the federal bench. she will be the most experienced supreme court justice in over 100 years. our lifetime. but it isn't just her years of experience that will make her a great justice. it will be the experience of a uniquely american life. the american dream. she was raised in a south bronx housing project where her families instilled in her valu