Harkin Statement on the Confirmation of Elena Kagan

Statement

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) issued the following statement today after the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Today, I was proud to cast my vote to confirm Solicitor General Elena Kagan to our nation's highest court. As a student, she excelled at Princeton, Oxford and Harvard Law School. She has stellar legal credentials that have been recognized by liberal and conservative lawyers alike. And, throughout her career, including as a professor of law, as a key advisor to President Clinton, as Dean of Harvard Law School and as Solicitor General, she has demonstrated a great mind and intellect.

"Solicitor General Kagan will be an important and needed voice on the Court to ensure that appropriate respect and deference is given to Congress, and proper effect is given to our most important statutes, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, so all Americans receive the fullest protections of the law. And at the heart of her credentials is a strong sense of justice for those at the bottom of the economic ladder.

"And as the fourth woman to serve on the Supreme Court, her confirmation is a historic one, similar to her accomplishments as the first female Dean of Harvard Law School and first female Solicitor General. I congratulate her on this honor."

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