[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 1077]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE SOLOMAN BLATT, JR.

 Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and 
salute a dear friend of mine and tireless servant of the American 
people for his long and distinguished service on the Budget Committee 
of the Judicial Conference of the United States. After 25 years of 
service, the Honorable Soloman Blatt, Jr., Senior Judge for the United 
States District Court for the District of South Carolina, will step 
down as a member of the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference.
  Effective January 20, 2003, the longest tenure of any current member 
of any Judicial Conference Committee, as well as one of the longest 
tenures during any era, will come to an end and both the judiciary and 
the Congress will have lost a tremendous resource.
  Ever mindful of the fiscal realities facing Congress and the 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and State, the 
Judiciary, and Related Agencies, Judge Blatt has always demonstrated 
the unique ability to strike a balance, articulating well the most 
critical needs of the judiciary while recognizing and appreciating the 
competing demands the subcommittee faces within its vast jurisdiction. 
During Judge Blatt's more than 25 years of service on the Budget 
Committee, the judiciary's budget grew from $438.5 million in fiscal 
year 1978, to a request of approximately $5 billion for fiscal year 
2003. But perhaps on of his greatest achievements during his tenure on 
the Budget Committee was revising the role of the committee from that 
of simply assembling or adding up the resource requirements coming from 
the substantive committees of the Judicial Conference, to that of 
formulating a budget request that was fiscally responsible and 
politically acceptable outside the judiciary, while also addressing the 
immediate needs of the judiciary's burgeoning workload.
  Judge Blatt is an honest broker. Appropriations Subcommittee 
allocations get tighter and tighter each year, pitting the needs of 
executive branch agencies against the needs of the judiciary. But I 
always knew when Judge Blatt came to me concerned about a particular 
aspect of the Federal courts, it was real, and I would do my best to 
accommodate his request.
  Mr. President, the judiciary, and indeed the Congress, will always be 
indebted to Judge Blatt for his years of service on behalf of the 
Federal court system. I know that I will miss his input and candor 
during our deliberations on funding for the Federal judiciary within 
the annual Commerce, Justice and State, the Judiciary, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations bills.

                          ____________________