[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S5251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we awoke today to see news of a breakdown 
in negotiations to end the so-called nuclear confrontation that some 
Republicans are driving this body toward.
  I want to take a minute to thank our leader, Senator Reid, who I 
believe is really doing his best to preserve the tradition and the 
precedent of the Senate through good-faith negotiations. He put forth a 
good-faith compromise proposal only to see it rejected out of hand. 
This breakdown really marks a sad day for this body.
  More than 200 years ago, the Senate was created as part of the Great 
Compromise, and for the balance of those 200 years, compromise has been 
central to any and all of the great work that has been completed by the 
Senate. The rules are set up here to assure that the Senate serves as a 
center for Government compromise. We have a system of checks and 
balances, with the Senate checking the President through advice and 
consent and the President checking the Congress with the use of the 
veto. And all the while we have an independent judiciary that is 
empowered to balance out the system. Those checks and balances were put 
in place for a reason. They promote compromise, they promote 
preservation of minority rights, and they ensure that our system of 
government works for all of the people. Unfortunately, the goal of some 
becomes clearer each passing day in this body that they are not 
interested in compromise on the so-called nuclear option. If this 
Senate does remove the last check in Washington against an abuse of 
power, the majority will be able to appoint to lifetime seats on the 
Supreme Court and the Federal bench anyone they want.
  The American people have rejected court packing before and I believe 
they will again. We are united against the abuse of power known as this 
nuclear option. We believe that Senators were sent here to serve all 
Americans, not to promote political agendas of one faction. Mr. 
President, Democrats will join responsible Republicans to fight this 
abuse of power and get back to the real work of the American people.

                          ____________________