[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 7, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S362-S363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I see the distinguished Senator from
Oklahoma and I know he is waiting to go and I appreciate his courtesy
that I might go first. Let me speak in my capacity as chair of the
Judiciary Committee.
Two weeks ago, when the Senate confirmed only 1 of the 19 judicial
nominations on which votes were delayed from last year, I urged Senate
Republicans to join with Democrats and take long overdue steps to
remedy the serious vacancies crisis on Federal courts throughout the
country. Nearly 1 out of every 10 Federal judgeships is vacant.
Nonetheless, Senate Republicans refuse to consent to votes on consensus
nominees who could fill many of those vacancies without further delay.
These are well-qualified judicial nominees who were reported
unanimously by the Judiciary Committee many months ago; there has been
no explanation for the delay in their confirmation. During the last 2
months, Senate Republicans have consented to votes on only 2 of the 23
judicial nominees ready for final Senate action.
Of the 19 judicial nominations now awaiting a final vote by the
Senate, 16 were reported by the Judiciary Committee with the support of
every Senator on the Committee, Democratic and Republican. No Senator
can or should have any reason to oppose these nominees in the Senate.
But, month after month and year after year, Senate Republicans find new
reasons and new tactics to delay confirmation of consensus judicial
nominees for no good reason. I have never seen anything like this.
These delays are a disservice to the American people. They prevent the
Senate from fulfilling its constitutional duty. And they are damaging
to the ability of our Federal courts to provide justice to Americans
around the country.
Regrettably, the last 2 weeks evidences more of the same, a
continuation of the delaying tactics we have seen for years, as Senate
Republicans continue their across-the-board obstruction of President
Obama's judicial nominations. For the second year in a row, Senate
Republicans refused to consent to votes on judicial nominations before
the end of the Senate's session in December. At the end of 2011, they
again refused to follow Senate's traditional, longstanding practice of
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voting to confirm consensus nominations before the end of the Senate
session, a practice followed by Democrats and Republicans with
Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton and George W. Bush.
Their tactics have worked, to the detriment of the Federal courts and
the American people. By nearly any measure we are well behind where we
should be. Three years into President Obama's first term, the Senate
has confirmed a lower percentage of President Obama's judicial nominees
than those of any President in the last 35 years. The Senate has
confirmed just over 70 percent of President Obama's circuit and
district nominees, with more than one in four not confirmed. This is in
stark contrast to the nearly 87 percent of President George W. Bush's
nominees who were confirmed, nearly nine out of every 10 nominees he
sent to the Senate.
We remain well behind the pace set by the Senate during President
Bush's first term. By this date in President Bush's first term, the
Senate had confirmed 170 Federal circuit and district court nominations
on the way to 205, and had lowered judicial vacancies to 46. By the
time Americans went to the polls in November 2004, we had reduced
vacancies to 28 nationwide, the lowest level in the last 20 years. In
contrast, the Senate has confirmed only 125 of President Obama's
district and circuit nominees, and judicial vacancies remain over 85.
The vacancy rate is double what it was at this point in the Bush
administration.
I wonder when I hear some Republican Senators claim credit for
progress on nominations and point to what they like to call ``positive
action''--how they can ignore the 19 judicial nominations being blocked
for no reason. I wonder how they can claim progress for the American
people when judicial vacancies remain well above 80 more than 3 years
into President Obama's first term. In this setting, after years of
delay and lack of real progress, it is troubling to hear Senate
Republicans already talking about how they plan to resort to the
Thurmond Rule to shut down all judicial confirmations for the rest of
the year. Their obstruction has already resulted in the Senate having
confirmed 45 fewer judicial nominations after 3 years of the Obama
administration than after 3 years of the Bush administration. We still
have a long way to go to catch up and to lower judicial vacancies
before anyone talks about a confirmation shutdown.
I wish Senate Republicans would abandon their rhetoric and do as
Senate Democrats did when we worked to confirm 100 of President Bush's
judicial nominees in 17 months. In fact, we continued to work to reduce
judicial vacancies by considering and confirming President Bush's
judicial nominations late into the Presidential election years of 2004
and 2008, reducing the vacancy rates in those years to their lowest
levels in decades.
The cost of this across the board Republican obstruction is borne by
the American people. More than half of all Americans, nearly 160
million, live in districts or circuits that have a judicial vacancy
that could be filled today if Senate Republicans just agreed to vote on
the nominations that have been reported favorably by the Judiciary
Committee. It is wrong to delay votes on these qualified, consensus
judicial nominees. The Senate should fill these numerous, extended
judicial vacancies, not delay final action for no good reason.
The result of the Senate Republicans' inaction is that the people of
New York, California, West Virginia, Florida, Nebraska, Missouri,
Washington, Utah, the District of Columbia, Nevada, Louisiana, and
Texas are without the judges they need. The result is that judicial
emergency vacancies in Florida, Utah, California, Nevada and Texas
remain unfilled.
Our courts need qualified Federal judges, not vacancies, if they are
to reduce the excessive wait times that burden litigants seeking their
day in court. It is unacceptable for hardworking Americans who seek
their day in Federal court to suffer unnecessary delays. When an
injured plaintiff sues to help cover the cost of medical expenses, that
plaintiff should not have to wait for 3 years before a judge hears the
case. When two small business owners disagree over a contract, they
should not have to wait years for a court to resolve their dispute.
With one in 10 Federal judgeships currently vacant, the Senate should
have come together to remedy the serious judicial vacancies crisis on
Federal courts around the country.
This Republican obstruction began long before President Obama's
recent recess appointment of a handful of Executive branch nominees
needed for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National
Labor Relations Board to function. Indeed, despite 3 years of delays
and across the board obstruction of his judicial nominations, President
Obama has not recess appointed a single judicial nominee. That is
something President Bush did, not President Obama. Senate Democrats
that year consented to consider noncontroversial judicial nominations,
confirming a total of 205 circuit and district court nominations in
President Bush's first term and lowering judicial vacancies
dramatically. In fact, the Senate proceeded to an up or down vote and
confirmed 1 of the judicial nominees President Bush had recess
appointed, William Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit.
Senate Republicans have been blocking votes on 18 of the President's
judicial nominees since last year. Eight of the judicial nominations
Republicans are blocking were reported unanimously by the Judiciary
Committee in September and October last year. Another 5 nominations
were reported in November, and 4 in December. All of these judicial
nominations could and should have been considered by the Senate last
year. Indeed, when Republicans held up scores of nominees in December,
including these judicial nominees, they did so to ``punish'' the
administration for not assuring them that the President would not use
his recess appointment power. That delay, now of more than 2 months,
has already taken a measure of revenge. They continue to hurt the
country by engaging in more obstruction and delay now to seek a double
measure of retaliation.
Instead of exacerbating the conflict, Senate Republicans should
reconsider their tactics and moderate their use of filibusters and
stalling. This President has reached out to work with Senators from
both parties with respect to judicial nominations. Every one of the 19
judicial nominations awaiting final Senate action has the support of
his or her home State Senators, Republican as well as Democratic. There
is no excuse for continued stalling of President Obama's consensus
judicial nominees. The courts and the country cannot afford another
year of across the board delays of President Obama's judicial
nominations. I urge votes on Jesse Furman for the Southern District of
New York, Cathy Bencivengo for the Southern District of California,
Gina Groh for the Northern District of West Virginia, Margo Brodie for
the Southern District of New York, Adalberto Jordan for the Eleventh
Circuit, Beth Phillips for the Western District of Missouri, Thomas
Rice for the Eastern District of Washington, David Nuffer for the
District of Utah, Stephanie Thacker for the Fourth Circuit, Michael
Fitzgerald for the Central District of California, Ronnie Abrams for
the Southern District of New York, Rudolph Contreras for the District
of Washington DC, Susie Morgan for the Eastern District of Louisiana,
Jacqueline Nguyen for the Ninth Circuit, Gregg Costa for the Southern
District of Texas, David Guaderrama for the Western District of Texas,
and Brian Wimes for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
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