[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 3, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H2746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          CONSTITUTION OPTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, for several years now, President Bush's 
judicial nominees have been filibustered, including those who would 
fill four vacancies in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals located in my 
district in Cincinnati, Ohio. This is unprecedented.
  Some would have us believe blocking judicial nominations is a long 
and revered tradition. Nothing could be further from the truth. Never 
before have judicial nominees with clear majority support been denied 
the courtesy of an up-or-down vote. Not once.
  The filibuster is not part of the Constitution. It is not even part 
of the old Senate rules. While it is a useful tool when considering 
legislation, and should remain as such, we cannot allow filibustering 
of judicial nominations. Each time a nominee is denied an up-or-down 
vote, the impact is vast. Not only is our Federal judiciary weakened, 
but our Constitution becomes more vulnerable; and as chairman of the 
Subcommittee on the Constitution, let me emphasize that these actions 
are unprecedented and should be abhorrent to those of us who are bound 
by oath to uphold our country's most sacred document, the United States 
Constitution.

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