Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, I am pleased to support the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan as Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. By any objective standard, Elena Kagan offers a well-rounded combination of academic legal expertise and real world application of law and public policy. The President has nominated Ms. Kagan to a job she may hold for three decades or more, and in which she will have the opportunity to touch the lives of Americans in countless ways. So just being an intelligent and hard-working public servant is not enough for this vital position. That is why I have taken my time and my responsibility seriously, to thoroughly review her record before deciding to support her.

Decisions by the Supreme Court have immediate impacts on the lives of everyday Americans when the rulings are handed down. These decisions may continue to play a role in the lives of Americans for generations. Considering my vote on a Supreme Court nominee, a task I will perform soon for the second time in my brief Senate career, is a duty I take very seriously.

I approach this decision from the perspective of a government chief executive. It is the constitutional role of the President to nominate Supreme Court justices. In the case of a nominee to the Federal courts, especially to the Supreme Court, this choice is not about a President's ability to carry out a stated agenda. Rather, justices on the highest court in the land are there to protect and interpret the Constitution, so the highest standards must be applied.

In my meeting with Solicitor General Kagan, I found her to be intelligent and engaging, and open to hearing my thoughts on what is important to Alaskans. I listened as Ms. Kagan described the way she approached legal issues, and heard from her an approach to the law and the Constitution that indicated she will not be an activist judge. I agree with my colleague from South Carolina, Senator LINDSAY GRAHAM, who said the job of a senator is not to second guess the President's judgment in selecting Supreme Court nominees, but to determine if the candidate is qualified, of good character and understands the difference between being a judge and a politician. Ms. Kagan is such a person.

For me as an Alaskan, there were some issues I needed to make front and center in our discussion, especially the rights we enjoy and which the Supreme Court has recently spoken to under the second amendment of the Constitution.

Alaskans take their second amendment rights very seriously. In a State where the daily life for many includes subsistence hunting, personal protection and basic survival, our right to keep and bear arms is not an academic question. It is a fundamental part of our lives. The State of Alaska has gone so far as to pass laws requiring firearms be kept in survival gear carried in private airplanes. Unlike much of the ``Lower 48,'' the wilderness in Alaska is reachable within minutes from even our largest cities. Even in the greater Anchorage area encounters with wildlife are commonplace and serious injuries occur regularly. That is why firearm ownership and use in Alaska transcends the debates in Washington over what the second amendment means.

Much of the opposition to Ms. Kagan's nomination has focused on what some charged was her alleged lack of support for second amendment rights. Some oppose Ms. Kagan's nomination because she worked for Justice Thurgood Marshall and President Bill Clinton. When she was asked by Judiciary Chairman Leahy if, after the Supreme Court's decisions in Heller and McDonald that the second amendment secures an individual's fundamental right to own a firearm and use it for self-defense, Ms. Kagan's response could not have been more clear: ``There is no doubt, Senator Leahy. That is binding precedent and entitled to all respect to binding precedent in any case. That is settled law.'' Instead of second-guessing or making assumptions about her views, I am taking Ms. Kagen at her word.

Even before the Court's decision in McDonald applied the reasoning of Heller beyond the District of Columbia, Ms. Kagan was clear about the fundamental nature of the rights protected by the Second Amendment. During her confirmation hearing to be Solicitor General, Ms. Kagan responded to a question about the meaning of Heller from Senator Grassley: ``There is no question, after Heller, that the second amendment guarantees Americans the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.''' In subsequent questioning, Ms. Kagan responded regarding Heller that she would give that decision and its reasoning ``the full measure of respect that is due to all constitutional decisions of the Court.''

What Elena Kagan said about the second amendment, especially in light of the Heller and McDonald decisions that I supported, cannot be considered anti-gun, or anti-second smendment.

In our meeting, I also asked Ms. Kagan about unique status of Alaska Native people and issues. I pointed out that Alaska is home to nearly half the 562 federal recognized tribes in the United States and that Alaska Natives comprise nearly 20 percent of our State's population. Ms. Kagan admitted to being no expert in ``Indian law,'' but expressed a willingness to learn about the challenges and opportunities facing Alaska Native people. She also expressed support for encouraging the courts to adopt procedures making it easier for people whose first language may not be English to understand court proceedings.

Another significant issue for Alaskans is the Supreme Court's decision in the Exxon Valdez case. Thousands of Alaskans were damaged by that oil spill, yet Exxon took every possible advantage in the U.S. court system to delay payment of damages as long as they could. As a result, an estimated 20 percent of those damaged by the spill died before they could collect any compensation. Ms. Kagan agreed with the tragedy of that case and expressed frustration with it dragging on so long.

Mr. President, because of what I have learned in looking at the career and record of Ms. Kagan, and reviewing her statements and testimony on matters that are important to the people of Alaska I am privileged to serve, I am pleased to confirm Elena Kagan as an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

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