shepherd -- under the matthew shepherd and james byrd hate crimes enactment, including crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, crimes motivated by who a person loved. during her confirmation hearing, she committed to using the department of justice tools to investigate and investigate and prosecute hate crimes where they happened and use its bully pulpit to prevent hate from festering around the country. the plain truth is that vanita gupta is the right person at the right time for this job. the senate should confirm her as supremely qualified for this eminently important assignment and it should do so swiftly with bipartisan support. thank you, madam president, i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: 1 mr. thune: madam president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: madam president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: