[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 176 (Monday, December 7, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8441-S8443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, 
which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read the nomination of Travis Randall 
McDonough, of Tennessee, to be United States District Judge for the 
Eastern District of Tennessee.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, there will be 30 
minutes of debate.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today we will vote on the nomination of 
Travis McDonough to be a Federal district judge in the Eastern District 
of Tennessee. He was nominated over a year ago, and his nomination was 
voted out of the Judiciary Committee by unanimous voice vote nearly 5 
months ago. Despite having the support of his home State Republican 
Senators, Mr. McDonough's nomination has nevertheless been held up by 
Republican leadership for no good reason.

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  I will further note that, while Mr. McDonough's vote is long overdue, 
Republican leadership has skipped over Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo--who 
is ahead of Mr. McDonough on the Executive Calendar. I recall 
Republican leadership promising regular order when they took over the 
majority, so they should explain how skipping over a consensus and 
eminently qualified nominee with bipartisan support is following 
regular order.
  Judge Restrepo was nominated to a judicial emergency vacancy in the 
third circuit over a year ago. If confirmed, he would be the first ever 
Hispanic judge from Pennsylvania on the third circuit. Judge Restrepo 
has the strong support of the Hispanic National Bar Association and has 
bipartisan support from his home State Senators, Senator Toomey and 
Senator Casey. Senator Toomey has said not only that he strongly 
supports Judge Restrepo's confirmation, but that he also recommended 
him to the President. I cannot explain why Senate Republicans are not 
allowing Judge Restrepo to be confirmed today.
  As we approach the end of the year, the Senate Republican majority is 
coming closer and closer to matching the record for confirming the 
fewest number of judicial nominees in more than half a century. While 
most Senators I have served with over the last 40 years would shudder 
at this fact, the current Republican leadership seems content to 
accomplish as little as possible when it comes to confirming nominees 
to our third branch of government.
  In the 11 months that Republicans have controlled the Senate, only 11 
judges will have received a confirmation vote, including today. When 
Senate Democrats were in the majority during the seventh year of the 
Bush Presidency, we had already confirmed 36 judges by this point. We 
should take action right now and hold confirmation votes on the 19 
other judicial nominees pending on the floor. Confirming the remaining 
19 nominees would fulfill a basic duty of the Senate and would result 
in a total of 30 judicial nominees confirmed this year. That number is 
still short of the 36 nominees that Senate Democrats confirmed at the 
same point of the George W. Bush administration, but it would mark a 
significant effort by this Senate to reduce vacancies. There is no 
reason not to do this. All 19 of the nominees were voted out of the 
Judiciary Committee by voice vote, but Republicans still refuse to 
bring them up for a vote.
  This obstruction has resulted in needless delays for hard-working 
Americans who seek justice in our Federal courts. Currently pending on 
the Senate floor are nominees who would fill judicial emergency 
vacancies in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Minnesota, New Jersey, Iowa, New 
York, and California. Senate Republicans have not responded to the 
urgent needs of those States to the detriment of their own 
constituents.
  Throughout his tenure, President Obama has worked with Senators to 
have the Federal judiciary better reflect the people they serve. Today 
there are more women and minorities than ever before on the Federal 
bench. This is an accomplishment that helps ensure the public's 
confidence in their court system. Unfortunately, that meaningful 
progress has slowed down under the Senate's Republican control. Today, 
several nominees of color with outstanding qualifications are being 
held up for no good reason, including Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo.
  Senate Republicans are also holding up four exceptional African-
American district court nominees and an exceptional Hispanic district 
court nominee. Two of the African-American nominees--Waverly Crenshaw 
and Edward Stanton--have been nominated to district court positions in 
Tennessee. Both have the support of their home State Republican 
Senators and were unanimously approved by the Judiciary Committee by 
voice vote; yet they continue to wait for the majority leader to 
schedule their votes. The three other nominees of color being held up--
Wilhelmina Wright to the District of Minnesota, and John Vazquez and 
Julien Neals to the District of New Jersey--are all nominated to 
judicial emergency vacancies. They also all have the support of their 
home State Senators and were voted out of the Judiciary Committee by 
voice vote.
  In addition to the article III nominees, five nominees to the U.S. 
Court of Federal Claims, who were all nominated more than a year ago, 
continue to be held up by a single Republican Senator--the junior 
Senator of Arkansas. The Court of Federal Claims has been referred to 
as ``the People's Court'' because it allows citizens to seek prompt 
justice against our government. Of the five nominees, one is a Cuban 
American who has devoted his entire career to public service at the 
U.S. Department of Justice; another is an African-American woman who 
spent over two decades serving as a judge advocate general and as a 
military judge. All five were voted out of the Judiciary Committee by 
unanimous voice vote, but Senator Cotton continues to object to any of 
them receiving an up-or-down vote. He claims to have concerns with the 
caseload, but a recent letter from the chief judge of the Court of 
Federal Claims to the Judiciary Committee has indicated that only one 
of the nine senior judges is willing to be recalled for full-time duty, 
and the other three would only agree to be recalled on a limited basis. 
Moreover, the court's overall caseload has increased 9 percent over the 
last year. There are no good reasons for Senator Cotton to continue 
blocking these nominees. They deserve to have their confirmation votes 
scheduled. Senators can vote for or against them, but they should not 
be denied a simple up-or-down vote.
  In a letter dated December 2, 2015, from the American Bar Association 
to Majority Leader McConnell, the president of the ABA states that 
``our courts are unfortunately worse off today than they were at the 
start of this Congress.'' The letter urges the majority leader to 
schedule votes on the confirmation of all the article III judicial 
nominees currently pending on the Executive Calendar. I ask unanimous 
consent that a copy of this letter be printed in the Record at the 
conclusion of my remarks.
  The process of confirming judges is about ensuring that the American 
people have a fully functioning judiciary. Because of Republican 
obstruction, judicial vacancies have increased by more than 50 percent 
since they took over the majority, and caseloads are piling up in 
courts throughout the country. Judicial emergencies have more than 
doubled since the beginning of this year.
  I am concerned that the Republican leadership's refusal to confirm 
judicial nominations this year is undermining the judicial branch and 
harming the American people who seek justice. I urge Senate Republicans 
to conclude this year by showing leadership and by scheduling 
confirmation votes on the remaining judicial nominees pending on the 
Executive Calendar.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                     American Bar Association,

                                    Chicago, IL, December 2, 2015.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     Senate Majority Leader, Capitol Building,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Harry Reid,
     Senate Democratic Leader, Capitol Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Democratic Leader Reid: 
     On behalf of the American Bar Association, I write to urge 
     you to schedule votes on the confirmation of 15 nominees 
     pending on the Senate floor before the Senate recesses for 
     the year. Seven of the pending nominees have the backing of 
     their Republican home-state senators and all 15 have been 
     reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by unanimous 
     voice votes. Most importantly, if confirmed, nine of the 
     pending nominees would fill vacancies that have been declared 
     judicial emergencies by the Administrative Office of the U.S. 
     Courts. Courts with emergency vacancies have too few judges 
     to handle their workload effectively and deliver timely 
     justice.
       Regardless of how one views confirmation data comparisons 
     among recent presidents or the fact that the vacancy rate has 
     not reached crisis proportion, our courts are unfortunately 
     worse off today than they were at the start of this Congress. 
     There are 22 more vacancies (with three more in the pipeline 
     this month) and more than twice the number of judicial 
     emergencies today than there were this past January. In some 
     of our courts with judicial emergencies, litigants have to 
     put their businesses or private lives on hold indefinitely 
     while waiting for their day in court. This is unnecessary and 
     unfair.
       Action on the 15 pending nominees has proceeded slowly to 
     date. Most of them received their nominations over 200 days 
     ago and had to wait over 4 months to be voted out of 
     committee without objection.
       Even though we appreciate the Senate's full agenda and the 
     short amount of time remaining in the session, we urge you to 
     give

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     every pending nominee a floor vote before you leave for your 
     recess. Absent legitimate concerns over a nominee's 
     qualifications, we believe that this can best be accomplished 
     over the next few weeks by voting on multiple nominees at a 
     time.
       We know from the daily experience of our more than 400,000 
     members that vacancies must be filled promptly so that courts 
     have the resources to deliver timely, impartial justice. By 
     putting politics aside, an opportunity is provided for the 
     Senate to use its time in the next two weeks to afford 
     considerable relief to the federal courts.
       Thank you for the opportunity to present the views of the 
     American Bar Association.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Paulette Brown,
                                                        President.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.