order of police, lodge number 3, i write in letter in extreme opposition to the appointment of paula xinis as united states district judge in the federal district court system. while on paper ms. xinis appears to be highly qualified criminal attorney, our membership is urgently concerned about her obvious disdain for the law enforcement professional, as expressed time and again through the various court appearances in which she has represented citizens claiming harm caused by police personnel. in fact, her current partnership in the baltimore firm of murphy, falcon, and murphy itself is a concern, as this is a firm well-known in our area for hostility toward our profession and our members and, as a result, we question the ability of ms. xinis to remain impartial in any federal cases involving law enforcement." "senators, we respectfully request that you give consideration to our request to deny the appointment of paula xinis to the federal bench at this time." also, a letter from the maryland state lodge of the fraternal order of police, president ismael canals. he writes that quks as pres

the one that i just sought unanimous consent for, paula xinis of the district of maryland and 19 others. at this point, a year and a half into this congress, only 17 months have been confirmed into district courts in the united states and last year the senate matched a record for confirming the fewest judicial nominees in more than half a century, 11 the entire year. what i am most concerned about is its impact on the operations of the courts of the united states. as a member of the judiciary committee, i'm frustrated and concerned. we have 24 nominees waiting for a hearing in the committee as well. seven of these nominees are to courts of appeals, including rebecca ross whard nominated to serve on the third circuit, the appellate court covering my home state of delaware. then of course there are ongoing concerns about the vacancy on the supreme court. it's been 55 days since president obama nominated chief judge merrick garland, a consensus candidate who was previously confirmed to his seat on the d.c. circuit by a bipartisan majority of a previous congress to our nation's highest cour

eastern for general speeches followed by debate on the nomination of paula xinis to be u.s. district judge in maryland with a confirmation vote at 5:30. later we will see work on military construction and funding for zika virus research. you can follow the senate live on c-span 2. >> in the coming week the house takes up the $610 billion defense authorization bill. the bill that sets penguin programs and program -- pentagon and pentagon programs. we are joinled by john donnelly. what are some of the highlights in the bill that we will see

i rise to speak in support of the nomination of paula xinis to serve on the district court of maryland. i know senator cardin will be coming to the floor shortly to also comment on ms. xinis' nomination. senator cardin and i recommended ms. xinis to president obama with the utmost confidence in her abilities, talent, and competence for the job. she is a brilliant litigator, a dedicated public servant. the judiciary committee agreed with us because they also voted her out of the committee unanimously. i want to thank senator mcconnell, the majority leader, for scheduling this vote and for senator grassley for moving this nomination, and to my very good and dear friend, senator leahy, the vice chairman of the committee, who's been a strong advocate not only for this nomination but for moving all nominations forward as voted out by the committee in a prompt way. as i talk about ms. xinis, i want you to know, mr. president, that i've recommended several judicial nominees for district and appellate courts. and i take my advise and consent responsibility very seriously. when i recommend to t

eastern for general speeches followed by debate on the nomination of paula xinis to be u.s. district judge in maryland with a confirmation vote at 5:30. later we will see work on military construction and funding for zika virus research. you can follow the senate live on c-span 2. >> in the coming week the house takes up the $610 billion defense authorization bill. the bill that sets penguin programs and program -- pentagon and pentagon programs. we are joinled by john donnelly. what are some of the highlights in the bill that we will see debated? >> you will see a lot debated. this is a bill that authorizes spending for not just the defense department but also for nuclear weapons programs and the energy department, and a few other scattered programs here and there. it doesn't actually contain dollars. it authorizes the spending. it sets policy. the money is appropriated separately. and but it obviously runs the gamut. i guess the most significant thing is something that the authorizors, the armed services committee has tried to do this year to add more money for defense spe