[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2631-S2632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
immediately proceed to executive session to consider the following 
nominations on the executive calendar: Calendar Nos. 39, 40, 61, and 
62.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, this 
involves two appointments to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review 
Commission, a nominee to be a U.S. district judge for the District 
Court in DC, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, and Rose Ochi to be Director, 
Community Relations Service, Department of Justice.


               nomination of judge colleen kollar-kotelly

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, last night we finally broke through the 
stall and the Senate confirmed the nomination of Merrick Garland to be 
a judge on the United States Court of appeals for the District of 
Columbia Circuit. During that extended debate on a nomination that had 
been delayed too long, I urged the Republican leadership to take up the 
nomination of Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to the U.S. District Court 
for the District of Columbia.
  I am encouraged that those who schedule matters in the Senate have

[[Page S2632]]

heard our plea and are finally willing to consider this nomination, as 
well. When we confirm Judge Kollar-Kotelly, we as a Senate will 
literally double the number of judges we have confirmed this year--from 
one to two. Unfortunately, there will still be 68 vacancies on the 
district courts around the country and a record 24 vacancies on the 
Federal courts of appeals.
  Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's nomination was first received from the 
President in March 1996 and was previously reported to the Senate in 
September 1996. This nomination was not acted upon before the 
adjournment of the 104th Congress. She was renominated on the first day 
of this Congress. her nomination was re-reported again without a single 
dissent from the Judiciary Committee 2 weeks ago. During that time 
there has been an anonymous Republican with an unspecified concern that 
has prevented this nomination from being considered. In other words, 
there is an unspecified hold.
  Over the last 5 years, the District Court for the District of 
Columbia has been at full strength with 15 active judges for only about 
6 months. The court has been operating with three vacancies for over a 
year and another judge is currently absent due to illness. I understand 
that the vacancies have been contributing to a rise in the backlog of 
civil and criminal cases pending before the court.
  The criminal case backlog increased by 37 percent in 1996. So much 
for getting tough on criminals. We are fortunate to have senior judges 
who were willing and able to pitch in during these vacancy periods. 
Indeed, senior judges recorded one-third of the total court time spent 
by all judges in this district from July 1995 to June 1996. In the 
words of the court's chief judge: ``The Court cannot continue to rely 
on senior judges to bear this much of the caseload.'' I agree.
  I thank the majority leader for agreeing to proceed to Senate 
consideration of Judge Kollar-Kotelly's nomination. And I thank 
Chairman Hatch of the Judiciary Committee for pressing forward with 
this important nomination.
  The Senate has not been doing its job when it comes to considering 
and confirming nominations for judicial vacancies. I asked last night 
what justified the unconscionable delay in taking up Judge Garland's 
nomination, what fatal flaw in his character or fairness the 
Republicans had uncovered? I ask those questions again with respect to 
this nominee, a hard-working woman who has been serving on the superior 
court bench here in the District of Columbia for the last 13 years, 
having been appointed by President Ronald Reagan. The answer is the 
same: There is no explanation why she was not confirmed before now. She 
is another of the unlucky victims of the majority's shutdown of the 
confirmation process last year.
  With respect to this nominee, I note that the ABA Standing Committee 
unanimously found her well qualified for this position, thereby giving 
her the ABA's highest rating. She has been an associate judge of the 
Superior Court of the District of Columbia since 1984 and has served as 
the deputy presiding judge of the Criminal Division.
  Before that she was the chief legal counsel at Saint Elizabeths 
Hospital here in the District. She served as an attorney in the 
appellate section of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice 
for almost 3 years.
  She is a distinguished graduate of Catholic University and its 
Columbus School of Law. She clerked for the Honorable Catherine B. 
Kelly on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. She has been active 
in bar associations and on numerous committees of the Superior Court.
  I thank all Senators for confirming this nominee as a judge on the 
United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
  Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I am not going to object to the 
unanimous consent for the confirmation of the nomination of Colleen 
Kollar-Kotelly to be U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia, 
but I would like it recorded that if we had conducted a rollcall vote 
on the nominee, I would have voted in the negative.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the nominations 
be confirmed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, any 
statements relating to the nominations appear at the appropriate place 
in the Record, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's 
action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The nominations were confirmed as follows:


                             the judiciary

       Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, of the District of Columbia, to be 
     U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia.


                         department of justice

       Rose Ochi, of California, to be Director, Community 
     Relations Service, for a term of 4 years.


            federal mine safety and health review commission

       Mary Lucille Jordan, of Maryland, to be a Member of the 
     Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission for a term 
     of 6 years expiring August 30, 2002. (Reappointment)
       Theodore Francis Verheggen, of the District of Columbia, to 
     be a Member of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review 
     Commission for a term expiring August 30, 2002.

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