[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 21, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11102-S11103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, for several months, many of us have been 
concerned about the Senate's continuing delays in acting on President 
Clinton's nominees to the federal courts. Since the Senate convened in 
January, we have confirmed only 17 judges and 43 are still waiting for 
action. These delays can only be described as an abdication of the 
Senate's constitutional responsibility to work with the President and 
ensure the integrity of our federal courts.
  At the current rate it will take years to confirm the remainder of 
the judicial nominees currently pending before the Judiciary Committee. 
This kind of partisan, Republican stonewalling is irresponsible and 
unacceptable. It's hurting the courts and it's hurting the country. 
It's the worst kind of ``do nothing'' tactic by this ``do nothing'' 
Senate.
  The continuing delays are a gross perversion of the confirmation 
process that has served this country well for more than 200 years. When 
the Founders wrote the Constitution and gave the Senate the power of 
advice and consent on Presidential nominations, they never intended the 
Senate to work against the President, as this Senate is doing, by 
engaging in a wholesale stall and refusing to act on large numbers of 
the President's nominees.
  Currently, there are 61 vacancies in the federal judiciary, and 
several more are likely to arise in the coming months, as more and more 
judges retire from the federal bench. Of the 61 current vacancies, 22 
have been classified as ``judicial emergencies'' by the Judicial 
Conference of the United States, which means they have been vacant for 
18 months or more.
  The vast majority of these nominees are clearly well-qualified, and 
would be confirmed by overwhelming votes of approval. It would be an 
embarrassment for our Republican colleagues to vote against them. It 
should be even more embarrassing for the Republican majority in the 
Senate to abdicate their clear constitutional responsibility to do what 
they were elected to do.
  The delay has been especially unfair to nominees who are women and 
minorities. Last year, two-thirds of the nominees who waited the 
longest for confirmation were women or minorities. Already, in this 
Congress, the Senate is on track to repeat last year's dismal 
performance. Of the 11 nominees who have been waiting more than

[[Page S11103]]

a year to be confirmed, 7 are women or minorities. On the 50th 
anniversary of President Truman's appointment of the first African 
American to the Court of Appeals--Judge William Hastie--the Republican 
leadership should be ashamed of this record, particularly given the 
caliber of the distinguished African American, Latino, and female 
nominees waiting for confirmation.

  For example, Marsha Berzon, Richard Paez, and Ronnie White have 
waited too long--far too long--for a vote on the Senate floor. Ms. 
Berzon is an outstanding attorney with an impressive record. She has 
written more than 100 briefs and petitions to the Supreme Court, and 
has argued four cases there. When she was first nominated last year, 
she received strong recommendations and had a bipartisan list of 
supporters, including our former colleague, Senator Jim McClure, and 
Fred Alvarez, a Commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission and Assistant Secretary of Labor under President Reagan. Her 
nomination is also supported by major law enforcement organizations, 
and by many of those who have opposed her in court.
  Ms. Berzon was first nominated in January 1998--20 months later, the 
Senate has still not voted on her nomination.
  The Senate is also irresponsibly refusing to vote on two other 
distinguished nominees--Judge Ronnie White, an African American Supreme 
Court judge in the state of Missouri, and California District Court 
Judge Richard Paez. Judge White was nominated to serve on the District 
Court for the Eastern District of Missouri more than two years ago. 
Judge Paez was first nominated three years ago--three years ago--to 
serve on the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
  It is true that some Senators have voiced concerns about these 
nominations. But that should not prevent a roll call vote which gives 
every Senator the opportunity to vote ``yes'' or ``no.'' These nominees 
and their families deserve a decision by the Senate. Parties with 
cases, waiting to be heard by the federal courts deserve a decision by 
the Senate. Ms. Berzon, Judge White, and Judge Paez deserve a decision 
by this Senate.
  While Republican leaders play politics with the federal judiciary, 
countless individuals and businesses across the country are forced to 
endure needless delays in obtaining the justice they deserve. Justice 
is being delayed and denied in courtrooms across the country because of 
the unconscionable tactics of the Senate Republican majority.
  It is long past time to act on these and other nominations. I urge my 
Republican colleagues to end this partisan stall and allow the 
President's nominees to have the vote by the Senate that they deserve.

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