[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 108 (Monday, July 13, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5002-S5003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MORNING BUSINESS
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PENDING NOMINEES TO THE U.S. COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has been
referred to as the ``keeper of the Nation's conscience'' and ``the
people's court.'' This court was created by Congress approximately 160
years ago and embodies the constitutional principle that individuals
have rights against their government. As President Lincoln has said,
``It is as much the duty of Government to render prompt justice against
itself, in favor of citizens, as it is to administer the same between
private individuals.'' That is what this court does. It allows citizens
to seek prompt justice against our government.
The court's jurisdiction is authorized by statute, and it primarily
hears monetary claims against the U.S. Government deriving from the
Constitution, Federal statutes, executive regulations, and civilian or
military contracts. The fact that the Court of Federal Claims is an
article I court, as opposed to an article III court, does not render
any of the cases that it hears any less significant.
For example, the court has presided over such important cases as the
savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and the World War II internment of
Japanese Americans. It also presides over civilian and military pay
claims and money claims under the Fifth Amendment's takings clause.
The takings clause under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
provides: ``nor shall private property be taken for public use without
just compensation.'' As a result of this court's jurisdiction over
takings' claims, it considers cases such as the auto bailout suits
against General Motors and Chrysler--companies who were required to
terminate agreements with franchisees as a condition of receiving
Federal bailout money. The court also resolves disputes that critically
impact the environment and our economy, such as those involving the
taking of wetlands to create solid waste landfills and disputes over
water and drainage rights by agricultural landowners.
Last week, the chief judge of the court sent a letter informing the
Senate that despite the court's shortage of
[[Page S5003]]
judicial officers, its caseload continues unabated. She wrote that
``[t]he statutory requirements dictating deadlines for certain types of
cases unique to our court, including government contract disputes--some
of which involve national defense and national security--remain in
effect. The dollar amounts in dispute in our currently pending cases,
which are often an indication of the complexity of the underlying
issues, are in the billions of dollars. At least three different cases
on the court's pending docket reflect a demand for damages greater than
forty billion dollars.''
This is no ordinary court. The Senate Republicans' insistence on
delaying the confirmation of qualified nominees to the Court of Federal
Claims harms its ability to resolve issues of national importance in a
timely and just manner. Since February 2013, the U.S. Court of Federal
Claims has been operating with several vacancies. Only 11 of the 16
seats on the court are occupied by active judges.
We could have a court working at full strength if we confirm the five
pending on the Senate Executive Calendar. All five of them were all
nominated more than a year ago and have twice been voted out of the
Judiciary Committee by unanimous voice vote. I have heard no objections
to any of the five nominees to this court. There is no good reason to
delay filling these vacancies.
This is especially the case because the nominees before us are
superbly qualified. One of the nominees, Armando Bonilla, would be the
first Hispanic judge to hold a seat on the court. He is strongly
endorsed by the Hispanic National Bar Association. He has spent his
entire career--now spanning over two decades--as an attorney for the
Department of Justice. He was hired out of law school in the
Department's prestigious Honors Program, and has risen to become the
Associate Deputy Attorney General in the Department.
Armando Bonilla's story is that of the American dream. The son of a
Cuban immigrant and Cuban-American father, Armando Bonilla has told the
story of his mother's flight from Havana with his aunt and his
grandmother. He has told the story of his ``Ti Mario,'' who eventually
disappeared trying to help other exiles. And he has told the story of
his father, who dropped out of high school but would subsequently serve
the country by joining the Marines and would ultimately take on several
jobs to support Armando and his sister. As Mr. Bonilla has beautifully
described, his father ``exemplified the most outstanding qualities of
the Hispanic culture and Hispanic people: the selfless sacrifice, the
steely resolve and unbridled optimism and the genuine pride in an
honest day's work--all toward the cause of improving the lives of the
next generation.'' Mr. Bonilla should be confirmed without further
delay.
Another nominee, Jeri Somers, retired with the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. She spent over two decades serving first
as a judge advocate general and then as a military judge in the U.S.
Air Force and the District of Columbia's Air National Guard. In 2007,
she became a board judge with the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract
Appeals and currently serves as its vice chair.
Armando Bonilla and Jeri Somers are just two of the five nominees
that Senate Republicans have been obstructing. These are two
individuals that have done right every step of the way in their careers
and are willing to serve on this important court. They have dedicated
the majority of their careers in service to our Nation. They deserve
better than the treatment they are receiving now.
During the Bush administration, the Senate confirmed nine judges to
the Court of Federal Claims--with the support of every Senate
Republican. So far during the Obama administration, only three CFC
judges have received confirmation votes. That is nine CFC judges during
the Bush administration to only three so far in the Obama
administration.
Unfortunately, the disparity in treatment of these nominees by Senate
Republicans is not surprising. More than half a year into this new
Congress, the Republican leadership has scheduled votes to confirm only
five district and circuit court judges. This is in stark contrast to
the 25 district and circuit court judges confirmed by July 13, 2007,
when the shoe was on the other foot and Democrats had regained the
Senate majority in the seventh year of the Bush administration. That is
25 district and circuit court judges under a Democratic majority
compared to 5 under the Republican majority. That is five times as many
judges confirmed under a Democratic majority with a President of the
opposite party than today's Senate Republican majority.
It is up to the majority leader now to treat President Obama's
judicial nominees fairly. I ask that he schedule votes this week on the
five Court of Federal Claims nominees pending on the Senate Executive
Calendar.
I ask unanimous consent that a recent post to The Hill's Congress
Blog by Professor Carl Tobias on the need to fill the vacancies on U.S.
Court of Federal Claims be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From The Hill, July 9, 2015]
Fill the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Vacancies
(By Carl Tobias)
The United States Court of Federal Claims was the most
important federal court that many Americans had never heard
of until last month. That is when Judge Thomas Wheeler of
this court ruled that Hank Greenberg and AIG shareholders had
proved that the federal government exceeded its authority by
demanding an eighty percent equity stake in AIG during the
great recession but that plaintiffs were not entitled to
damages because they suffered no economic loss.
More critical than this high profile case is the fact that
the court has experienced vacancies in five of its judgeships
for more than a year, while the well qualified, consensus
nominees whom President Barack Obama first tapped for those
openings in 2014 have languished awaiting confirmation.
Because the Court of Federal Claims needs its full complement
of judges to deliver justice and each nominee is highly
qualified and uncontroversial, the Senate must expeditiously
provide the nominees floor debates, if warranted, and up or
down votes.
This tribunal is the court in which citizens seek redress
against the federal government for monetary claims. These
include claims that the U.S. has taken private property
without just compensation under the Fifth Amendment, claims
pursued by veterans who seek disability payments for injuries
received in combat and claims for compensation filed by
persons who allege vaccines injured them. The tribunal's
recent caseload has increasingly encompassed complex, high-
dollar cases and high profile disputes in fields, such as the
1980s savings and loan crisis and Second World War internment
of Japanese Americans by the United States.
On April 10, 2014, Obama nominated Judge Nancy Firestone
for reappointment and Thomas Halkowski to fifteen year terms,
while on May 21, the White House nominated Armando Bonilla,
Patricia McCarthy and Jeri Somers. Obama first nominated all
five of the candidates more than one year ago, and they
received Judiciary Committee hearings nearly a year ago. The
panel unanimously reported all five out of committee rather
soon after the hearings. Unfortunately, the Senate accorded
none of the nominees a final vote before the 114th Congress
adjourned.
Therefore, the White House renominated the five candidates
in early January 2015. The Judiciary Committee in turn
unanimously approved the nominees without substantive
discussion in February. The five nominees have since
languished on the floor over four months awaiting debates and
yes or no ballots. In a June 24 Congressional Record
statement, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the Judiciary
Committee Ranking Member, urged swift votes: ``We have heard
no opposition to any of these nominees, yet they have been in
limbo for months and months because the Republican Leader has
refused to schedule a vote.''
Now that the Senate has returned from its July 4 recess,
one of the chamber's first items of business must be debates
and votes on the five Court of Federal Claims nominees. The
tribunal needs all of the judges whom Congress has authorized
to dispense justice for members of the public who seek
redress because they claim that the federal government has
injured them.
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