[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 118 (Monday, July 22, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H4656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IMPROVING ACCESS TO OUR COURTS ACT

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(S. 227) to amend title 28, United States Code, to provide an 
additional place for holding court for the Pecos Division of the 
Western District of Texas, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 227

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Improving Access to Our 
     Courts Act''.

     SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PLACES FOR HOLDING COURT.

       (a) Pecos Division of the Western District of Texas.--
     Section 124(d)(6) of title 28, United States Code, is 
     amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (7), by inserting 
     ``and Alpine'' after ``Pecos''.
       (b) Western District of Washington.--Section 128(b) of 
     title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``Mount 
     Vernon,'' after ``Tacoma,''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Issa) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material on S. 227.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans depend on the Federal court system to protect 
their rights and obtain relief when their rights are violated. It is 
also where criminals are prosecuted, highlighting the importance of 
making our communities safer. That is why improving and ensuring 
accessibility to courts for our citizens is so important.
  This important bill adds four words to the United States Code to save 
thousands of Americans in Texas and Washington from having to make 
long, burdensome trips just to reach the nearest Federal courthouse.
  The bill authorizes Federal courts in the Western District of Texas 
and Western District of Washington to hold court in Alpine, Texas, and 
Mount Vernon, Washington, respectively.
  Both Alpine and Mount Vernon already have existing facilities 
necessary to hold court, so the cost of the bill is little or nothing. 
By authorizing these districts to utilize their locations already 
built, we will reduce the administrative burdens on the court system 
and logistic burdens on which businesses count.
  For example, the Judicial Conference of the United States has noted 
that Americans in the Western District of Texas must drive as far as 
100 miles to reach the courthouse in Pecos, Texas.
  The Judicial Conference identified a similar hardship for Americans 
in the Western District of Washington. That is why I support this 
commonsense, bipartisan legislation and urge both sides of the aisle to 
do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the Improving Access to Our Courts Act would amend title 
28 of the United States Code to provide an additional place for holding 
court in the Western District of Texas and in the Western District of 
Washington.
  These additional courthouses are needed to better serve the 12.2 
million people who call these two districts home.
  Both districts are comprised of wide areas of land. The Western 
District of Washington takes up half of Washington State and the 
Western District of Texas covers the western 68 counties of the State, 
which is over 92,000 square miles and is so large that it is in two 
separate time zones.
  Consequently, the citizens of these two districts often need to 
travel for hours to access the courthouse doors. On paper, our basic 
rights do not change depending on where we live, yet in practice that 
is exactly what is happening.
  It makes no sense that just because someone lives in a more rural, 
expansive district, they should incur dramatically increased travel 
time and administrative costs to seek justice. Adding courthouses is a 
small step in the right direction toward making the judicial system 
accessible to all Americans no matter where they live.
  The Judicial Conference has recommended the addition of these two 
courthouses, a recommendation that grew even more urgent after the 
Western District of Washington's Bellingham facility had part of its 
roof collapse.

                              {time}  1700

  This country cannot have a flourishing justice system when its 
buildings are falling apart, its staff are underpaid, and there is a 
perpetual shortage of judges to fairly administer the laws.
  This bill will not fix all of these problems, but it will take a 
small step to help millions of Americans gain equal access to justice, 
and I think it is a step worth taking.
  We previously passed the House version of this legislation, and I 
look forward to once again voting in favor of this important 
legislation, this time to send it to President Biden's desk.
  Finally, I thank Representatives Tony Gonzales, Rick Larsen, and 
Suzan DelBene in the House and Senators Cornyn, Murray, Cruz, and 
Cantwell in the Senate for working on a bipartisan basis to introduce 
this legislation to improve the lives of the residents of Texas and 
Washington.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation makes a modest but important change to 
help improve access to justice for millions of Americans. I thank the 
sponsors, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleague from New York in urging 
that this bipartisan bill be passed.
  Mr. Speaker, I will close simply by saying it is seldom that people 
come before this body saying: I have something that will cost the 
government little or nothing but will save Americans a great deal.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support and yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Weber of Texas). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 227.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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