Randy Lariar, our President emeritus from 2007-2008, asked me to help out a friend of his and, by extension, Harold Koh, Dean of the Yale Law School. He was nominated to be Legal Advisor at the State Department and, while his nomination is due to come to the floor on Wednesday, June 24, his confirmation is in doubt.
I'm asking you to please make a phone call, or send an email, to the senators listed at the bottom, asking them to cast yes votes for cloture and on Dean Koh's nomination.
The script is below, and the list of senators to contact is at the bottom of the email: "I am calling to urge the Senator to cast yes votes supporting cloture and confirmation for the nomination of Dean Harold Hongju Koh as Legal Adviser to the State Department. Both votes will be coming up later this week. Dean Koh is eminently well qualified, and he has been endorsed by both Theodore Olsen and Kenneth Starr. His nomination has been pending for more than three months, and his nomination deserves cloture and confirmation as soon as possible."
Included is the original email from Kim Lewis '08 seeking our help:
''I'm not sure if you are aware of what's been going on, but in summary, Dean Harold Koh of Yale Law School has been nominated to be Legal Advisor to the State Department under Hillary Clinton. His nomination was confirmed by the Foreign Relations Committee and was held up in the Senate because Senator Reid wouldn't set a date. There were several rounds of calls and Reid finally set Wednesday, June 24th, to petition for cloture and confirmation on Harold's nomination. Dean Koh, who is more than qualified for this position and without a doubt would do a stellar job has been forced to endure too long of a waiting period.
The instructions and the specific senators that need to be contacted are listed below. Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions. As a reminder, since the vote is Wednesday, time is of the essence!
Thanks in advance for your help.
Best,
Kimberly Lewis, '08
Hello Friends- Great news.
All of your calling and hard work has paid off. Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a petition for cloture on Harold's nomination, and both floor votes (cloture and confirmation) will take place in the Senate this coming Wednesday (June 24). The motion for cloture needs 60 votes to pass; the motion for confirmation needs 50 votes to pass.
However, you should know that an anti-Koh robo-calling campaign has already begun - Senate staffers have reported receiving a new batch of anti-Koh calls today.
There is a chance that Sens. Byrd and Kennedy will be unable to vote for health reasons. So Harold needs at least 3 Republican votes for cloture. We need everyone to vote, as the travel bill that did not achieve cloture Monday (today) had only 53 voting in favor.
The decisive votes will most likely come from the Republican Senators listed below. Please both call and email as many of these Senators as you can before wednesday - This is the **final push** for getting this nomination through.
You can adapt the following script: I am calling to urge the Senator to cast yes votes supporting cloture and confirmation for the nomination of Dean Harold Hongju Koh as Legal Adviser to the State Department. Both votes will be coming up later this week. Dean Koh is eminently well qualified, and he has been endorsed by both Theodore Olsen and Kenneth Starr. His nomination has been pending for more than three months, and his nomination deserves cloture and confirmation as soon as possible.
Here are the swing vote Senators:
1. Richard Lugar (Ind.) (202) 224-4814 Email: <http://lugar.senate.gov/contact/>
2. Mel Martinez (Fla) (202) 224-3041 email: <https://martinez.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorMartinez>
3. Susan Collins (Me) (202) 224-2523 Email: <http://collins.senate.gov/public/continue.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorCollins.EmailIssue>
4. Olympia Snowe (Me) (202) 224-5344 Email: <http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.Email>
5. George Voinovich (Ohio) (202) 224-3353 Email: <http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm>
6. Orrin Hatch (Utah) 202) 224-5251 Email: <http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Contact>
7. Bob Bennett (Utah) (202) 224-5444 Email: bennett.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email
8. Lamar Alexander (Tenn) (202) 224-4944 Email: <http://alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home>
9. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) (202) 224-6665 Email: <http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactMe.EMailLisa>
10. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) (202) 224-5922 Email: <http://hutchison.senate.gov/contact.cfm>
11. Mike Enzi (Wyoming) (202) 224-3424 Email: <http://enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactInformation.EmailSenatorEnzi>
12. Mike Crapo (Idaho) (202) 224-6142 Email: <http://crapo.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm>
13. Thad Cochran (Miss) (202) 224-5054 Email: <http://cochran.senate.gov/email.html>
14. Mike Johanns (Nebraska) (202) 224-4224 Email: <http://johanns.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorJohanns>
Here are the Democratic senators that did not show up to vote today, preventing cloture on today's travel bill. Please call and email to encourage them to show up for the Koh votes on Wednesday:
Mark Begich (AK) (202) 224-3004 email: <http://begich.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm>
Robert Byrd (WV) (202) 224-3954 Email: <http://byrd.senate.gov/contacts/>
Edward Kennedy (MA) (202) 224-4543 Web Form: <http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/contact.cfm>
Arlen Specter (PA) (202) 224-4254 Email: <http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm>
Jon Tester (MT) (202) 224-2644 Email: <http://tester.senate.gov/Contact/index.cfm>
Ron Wyden (OR) (202) 224-5244 Email: <http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/>
If your home state Senators are Democrats, please call and urge them to make sure to vote for cloture and for the nomination on Wednesday. You can find their information here: <http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm>