[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 6, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1401-S1402]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            RICE NOMINATION

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to urge my 
colleagues to vote in support of Thomas Rice. He has been nominated to 
serve as the next Federal judge for the Eastern District of my home 
State of Washington.
  Mr. Rice is a distinguished attorney who has dedicated his 
professional career to serving the public in the U.S. Attorney's 
Office. In that time he has earned the respect of Federal judges, 
opposing defense attorneys, his fellow prosecutors, and local law 
enforcement officials.
  Mr. Rice has a deep connection to eastern Washington and its legal 
community. He graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in 
accounting, and then he returned on a full scholarship to earn his law 
degree. After earning that degree, Mr. Rice moved directly into public 
service as a trial attorney with the Department of Justice in 
Washington, DC. He then returned to the Eastern District to work in the 
U.S. Attorney's Office, climbing the ranks to become the first U.S. 
attorney responsible for the management of the Spokane office, and he 
is currently the highest ranking career DOJ official in the Eastern 
District.
  Over his 20 years of practice, Mr. Rice has tried over 1,000 criminal 
cases dealing with nearly every area of Federal law. He has gone above 
and beyond his duties, volunteering additional hours at the office, 
taking on extra cases, and establishing the local Antiterrorism 
Advisory Council, which brings together representatives from every law 
enforcement agency in the Eastern District.
  As the assistant U.S. attorney, he has earned the reputation of being 
tough on crime but also levelheaded and fair in the conduct of his 
prosecutions. Mr. Rice clearly meets the

[[Page S1402]]

standards of fairness, evenhandedness, and adherence to the law we 
expect of our Federal judges.
  I know I speak on behalf of so many in the Washington State legal 
community in supporting his nomination today. Mr. Rice's nomination was 
the product of a bipartisan selection commission we use in the State of 
Washington, and he received strong endorsements from both sides of the 
aisle.
  We continue to use our bipartisan selection process in Washington 
State, despite the fact that it does take more time and a lot of 
effort, because it works to select judges of the highest quality and 
because it is intended to remove partisanship in the selection of our 
judges. You would think someone such as Thomas Rice would be able to 
move through this process very quickly and get to work on the court. 
Unfortunately, some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
have slowed down and delayed this vote. Mr. Rice's nomination was 
actually reported unanimously out of the Judiciary Committee in October 
of last year, with strong bipartisan support--almost 4 months ago. But 
his nomination has sat on the Executive Calendar because some Senate 
Republicans refuse to consent to debate and vote on nominations just 
like his. I have not heard any objections from Republicans about Mr. 
Rice's qualifications, nor have I heard any Republican claim they have 
been unfairly blocked from any process. This delay is the result of an 
unprecedented effort by Senate Republicans to delay and block all of 
President Obama's judicial nominees.

  There are now 20 judicial nominations reported favorably by the 
Judiciary Committee that are still sitting in wait on a final Senate 
vote. Fourteen of those nominations have been pending since last year 
and should have been confirmed before the end of last year. Eighteen of 
those nominations received strong bipartisan support from the Judiciary 
Committee. They deserve to move through this process in a fair way and 
get a vote here on the floor of the Senate--especially when both sides 
have agreed they are going to pass--because even though Republicans are 
making this about politics here in DC, this does have a real impact on 
our families and the court system throughout America. Nearly 10 percent 
of the Federal judgeships remain vacant right now, and 130 million 
Americans live in districts or circuits that have a vacancy that could 
be filled today if the Republican obstruction would end on nominations 
that have been vetted, considered, and favorably reported by the 
Judiciary Committee, including families in the Eastern District of my 
home State. This kind of obstruction is not good for our country. It 
hurts families' ability to access the courts in a timely fashion, and 
it puts politics ahead of our judicial system.
  I urge all of our colleagues today to vote in support of Thomas Rice. 
He is a great lawyer, and he is a community leader who I believe will 
make an exceptional Federal judge.
  I really come today to also call on Republicans to end their 
obstruction and allow us to move forward quickly on debates and votes 
on these judicial nominations that have been backlogged for far too 
long.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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