Nomination of Sharon Prost to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

I would like to take just a moment to talk about an extraordinary woman who is before us today as a nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, who also happens to serve as the Republican Chief Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee: Sharon Prost. Let me first thank the Chairman, Senator Leahy, for taking the extraordinary step of calling a hearing during the August recess for Sharon and a few other nominees. Thank you.

Sharon grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home, where the values of faith, family, and country were instilled in her. Simply put, Sharon embodies the American dream. Her parents were concentration camp survivors who arrived in this country from Poland in 1948. The pursuit of their own educations was derailed by the war, but they nonetheless emphasized to Sharon the importance of education and hard work in achieving success – advice Sharon has followed throughout her life.

Tragically, Sharon’s father died when she was only 13 years old. Upon his death, she had to support herself, and worked her way through high school and college. But despite the obstacles life placed before her, Sharon persevered. She became the first in her family to graduate from high school, and went on to attend an Ivy League University. Perhaps one of the best-educated individuals ever to have worked in the Senate, Sharon holds four degrees, including a bachelor of science, a law degree, an LLM in tax, and an MBA. She got three of her degrees at night while working full-time.

A labor lawyer at heart, Sharon first came to work for me twelve years ago, after serving as Acting Solicitor of the NLRB. I sought Sharon out to work for me on the Senate Labor Committee and handle ERISA issues, because I learned of her intellect, her exceptional combination of legal skills, her knowledge of tax law, and her background in finance. In her role as my Chief Counsel on the Judiciary Committee, she has been responsible for everything on the Committee agenda, including matters of antitrust and patent law.

Sharon truly is something of a modern Renaissance woman, with a breadth and depth of knowledge in a variety of areas. Her background and education make her uniquely suited for service on the Federal Circuit, which, as you know, handles myriad issues ranging from veterans matters to patent cases to employment cases.

It has been said that "[t]he value of government to the people it serves is in direct relationship to the interest citizens themselves display in the affairs of state." Sharon has proved herself to be a valuable asset to our nation, having devoted much of her life to public service.

I know that Sharon holds the other members of this Committee in the highest regard, and that those who have worked with her have the utmost respect for her as well. Sharon has been the primary counsel working for me on a number of bipartisan initiatives, including the Violence Against Women Act, as well as the Religious Liberty bill that was passed last year. And, Sharon has worked closely with Senator Kennedy’s staff over the years on Labor Committee and Immigration issues.

I would be remiss in talking about Sharon Prost and her many accomplishments without mentioning the role she considers most important of all: that of being the mother of her terrific sons, Matthew and Jeffrey. And if we have been in Sharon’s office, we have seen the pictures of Matthew with President Clinton and Senator Kennedy, and know that Sharon heads a bipartisan household. Yes, Matthew is a Democrat, despite my best efforts.

But more seriously, let me close by noting that Sharon is not only an able counsel and wonderful mother, but she is a person with a good heart. As Robert Traver wrote more than four decades ago, "Judges, like people, may be divided roughly into four classes: judges with neither head nor heart – they are to be avoided at all costs; judges with head but no heart – they are almost as bad; then judges with heart but no head – risky but better than the first two; and finally, those rare judges who possess both head and a heart." Thankfully for all of us, we know that Sharon will serve this country as a judge with head and a heart.

Thank you Sharon for your service to this me, to this Committee and to this nation. I look forward to your confirmation. Thank you Mr. Chairman.


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