The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“Nomination of Jessica G.L. Clarke (Executive Session)” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the in the Senate section section on page S818 on March 16.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Nomination of Jessica G.L. Clarke
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Jessica G.L. Clarke to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Born in Akron, OH, Ms. Clarke received her B.A. from Northwestern University in 2001 and earned her J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 2008. She then clerked for Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr., on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio from 2008 to 2010.
Ms. Clarke began her legal career in 2010, as a trial attorney at the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division in the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section. During her 6 years investigating and litigating civil rights violations, Ms. Clarke gained significant litigation experience, including successfully trying a ``first-of-its-kind'' housing discrimination case and also securing the largest settlement of its kind in another housing discrimination matter. In 2016, Ms. Clarke went into private practice in New York City for 3 years, focusing on commercial litigation and affirmative civil rights work. Since 2019, she has served as the chief of the Civil Rights Bureau at the New York State Office of the Attorney General, supervising the Bureau's attorneys and staff in enforcing Federal, State, and local civil rights laws in New York.
The American Bar Association has unanimously rated Ms. Clarke
``qualified'' to serve on the Southern District of New York. Senators Schumer and Gillibrand strongly support her nomination as well.
I will be supporting this outstanding nominee, and I urge all of my colleagues to do the same.