[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 14, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S1641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, this week the average price of a 
gallon of gas is $4. The national unemployment rate is 8.3 percent. If 
we include those who are so frustrated they have stopped looking for 
work altogether, of course, the unemployment rate is much higher than 
8.3 percent.
  With all of this, the Democratic majority is about to spend more of 
the Senate's time on another heavy-handed power play that will not get 
them anywhere. But it will make clear yet again how out of touch they 
are with the needs of the American people.
  First, we need to make clear what this is about and what this is not 
about. This is not about making sure the President's judicial 
nominations are being treated fairly. Despite what the majority would 
like us to believe, the President is doing quite well on that score, as 
is clear from both the facts and the admissions of our Democratic 
friends themselves.
  As Senator Alexander noted yesterday, the Senate has confirmed 76 out 
of 78 district court nominees whom President Obama submitted in his 
first 2 years. The President withdrew the other two. That is a 97-
percent success rate. Not bad.
  The Senate confirmed 62 of President Obama's circuit and district 
court nominations last year alone. If we look at President Bush's and 
President Obama's lower court confirmations when they both had two 
Supreme Court appointments for the Senate to consider, President Obama 
is doing much better than President Bush. President Bush had a total of 
120 lower court judges confirmed in 4 years, while President Obama 
already has 129 lower court judgeships confirmed in just 3 years. So 
President Obama has had more confirmations in a much shorter period of 
time.

  To the extent there is anyone here to blame, the Obama administration 
and Senate Democrats should actually look in the mirror. Of the 83 
current vacancies, over half of them--44--don't even have nominees. Let 
me say that again: Of the 83 current vacancies, over half of them--44--
don't even have nominees.
  As for the minority of the vacancies for which the President has 
actually submitted a name, almost half of those are still in the 
Judiciary Committee. So nearly three-fourths of the current vacancies--
61 of 83--are due either to the administration failing to nominate 
someone or the Democratic-controlled Judiciary Committee failing to 
move them out of committee.
  Given what we have to work with, it is no wonder the majority leader 
complimented Republicans--complimented Republicans--at the end of last 
year, noting that the Senate had, in fact, accomplished quite a bit on 
judicial nominations. That was the majority leader of the Senate just 
last year. The senior Senator from Minnesota, a Democrat on the 
Judiciary Committee, acknowledged the same thing.
  So this is not about making sure the President is treated fairly in 
his judicial nominations. In fact, this isn't even about judicial 
nominations at all. This is about giving the President what he wants 
when he wants it, and what the President wants is to distract the 
country from his failed policies that have led to soaring gas prices 
and high unemployment and instead try to write a narrative of 
obstruction for his campaign. He doesn't care if he eviscerates the 
Senate's advice and consent responsibility to do so.
  What the majority should do is work with us to move these lifetime 
appointments in an orderly manner as we did 62 times last year and as 
we have already done 7 times this year. As I suggested yesterday, we 
could get to the bipartisan jobs bill this week and process some 
judicial nominations as well. The jobs bill passed the House by a vote 
of 390 to 23--390 to 23--and the President says he supports it as well. 
While we are working on a bill to get people back to work, we can make 
progress on other judicial nominations.
  So I encourage the majority to work with us on both legislation and 
nominations and not to go off on a partisan, unprecedented path that 
would not get us anywhere and would not solve the problems Americans 
care about.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Alabama.

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