[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19058]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CONFIRMATION OF RONALD CLARK

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, last night, the Senate confirmed its 79th 
and 80th judicial nominees, and its 65th and 66th nominees to the 
Federal district courts since the change in Senate majority and 
reorganization of the Judiciary Committee less than 15 months ago. In 
so doing, we have confirmed more judicial nominees than were confirmed 
in the first 15 months of any of the past three Presidents, and more 
nominees than were confirmed in the last 30 months that a Republican 
majority controlled the Senate. We have done more in half the time. We 
have achieved what we said we would by treating President Bush's 
nominees more fairly and more expeditiously than President Clinton's 
nominees were treated.
  Since the summer of 2001, we have held more hearings for more 
judicial nominees and more hearings for circuit court nominees than in 
any 15-month period of the six and one-half years in which Republicans 
last controlled the Committee. With our hearing last week, the 
Democratic-led Judiciary Committee has not held 25 hearings for 96 
district and circuit court nominees. This is approximately double the 
pace at which the Republican majority considered President Clinton's 
nominees. The Judiciary Committee has likewise voted on more judicial 
nominees, 83, and on more circuit court nominees, 17, than in any 
comparable 15-month period of prior Republican control. In fact, 
Democrats have given votes to more judicial nominees and, in 
particular, to nominees to the Courts of Appeals, than in 1996 and 1997 
combined, and than in 1999 and 2000 combined.
  Last night, the Senate voted on the nomination of Ronald Clark to the 
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. I was 
troubled by a number of aspects of Mr. Clark's background. Since 1997, 
Mr. Clark has been a Representative in the Texas State Legislature. His 
record as a State legislator is controversial, as he has taken 
positions that would, among other things, limit civil rights, consumer 
rights and women's reproductive rights. But he has never served as a 
judge, and he assured us that, as a judge, he would follow precedent 
and apply the law as written, without partisanship. I am hopeful that 
Mr. Clark will be a person of his word: that he will follow the law and 
not seek out opportunities to decide cases in accord with his private 
beliefs rather than his obligations as a judge.
  The confirmation of Mr. Clark last night made the 28th nominee that 
we have confirmed to fill a judicial emergency vacancy since the change 
in Senate majority last year, and the 21st judicial emergency vacancy 
that we have filled this year. Despite Republican claims about a crisis 
in the courts, this Administration has failed to nominate people to ten 
seats that have been declared judicial emergencies, seven vacancies on 
the Courts of Appeals and three vacancies on the District Courts.
  I would note that President Bush has nominated nine people to fill 
district court vacancies in Texas, and with yesterday's vote, we have 
already considered seven of them and confirmed six of them. Mr. Clark's 
confirmation made the 13th Texas nominee that we have confirmed and the 
second nominee that we confirmed to the District Court for the Eastern 
District. With his confirmation, there are no longer any vacancies on 
the district Court for the Eastern District of Texas. With our 
confirmations earlier this year of Randy Crane and Andrew Hanen to the 
District Court for the Southern District of Texas, we filled the 
remaining vacancies in that court as well. We have provided much needed 
help to the courts in Texas, which are facing large caseloads and some 
of the highest number of filings of criminal cases in the country.
  Under Republican control of the Senate, three Texas judicial nominees 
never received hearings or votes. The Republican-led Senate failed to 
provide any hearings on nominees to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth 
Circuit, which includes Texas, in the six years of their majority 
during the Clinton Administration. Moreover, they delayed action or 
gave no hearings to a number of district court nominees.
  It was not long ago when the Senate was under Republican control that 
it took 943 days to confirm Judge Hilda Tagle to the United States 
District Court for the Southern District of Texas. She as first 
nominated in August 1995, but not confirmed until march 1998. When the 
final vote came, she was confirmed by unanimous consent and without a 
single negative vote, after having been stalled for almost three years. 
I recall the nomination of Michael Schattman to a vacancy on the 
Northern District of Texas. He never got a hearing and was never acted 
upon, while his nomination languished for over two years. These are 
district court nominations that could have helped respond to increased 
filings in the trial courts if acted upon by the Senate over the last 
several years.
  Yesterday's confirmation of Mr. Clark serves as another example of 
the Democrats' proven record of action and fairness on this President's 
judicial nominees. Even though Mr. Clark is a conservative Republican, 
as the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I voted to report him out 
of Committee and I voted to confirm him yesterday, based on his 
testimony before the Committee and his written word. Far from payback 
for Republican actions in the recent past, the Democratic-led Senate 
continues to take action notwithstanding those wrongs and to help solve 
a vacancy crisis created solely by the Republican obstruction and 
defeat of more than 50 of President Clinton's nominees.
  Despite the right-wing and partisan din about blockades and 
obstructionism, Democrats are actually achieving almost twice as much 
as our Republican counterparts did to staff the Federal courts. But let 
me be clear. We would be even farther along if so many circuit court 
and district court nominees of the prior administration had not been 
purposely blocked and defeated, and if we received more timely reviews 
from the ABA, even a little cooperation from this unilateralist 
Administration and received the nominations of more moderate, 
mainstream judicial nominees.

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