[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9935]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  IN SUPPORT OF JUSTICE PRISCILLA OWEN

  (Mr. MARCHANT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. MARCHANT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of Justice 
Priscilla Owen, Presidential nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for 
the Fifth Circuit.
  Since her nomination in May of 2001, the Democrats have continuously 
threatened to use the filibuster to block a vote on her nomination, and 
she is unable to be confirmed. All judicial nominees deserve a fair up-
or-down vote on the Senate floor. This judicial obstruction is 
unprecedented.
  I personally know Justice Priscilla Owen. Her record on the Supreme 
Court of Texas is outstanding and she deserves the opportunity to serve 
on the U.S. Court of Appeals. Justice Owen has had broad bipartisan 
support, including the support of three former Democratic judges on the 
Supreme Court and a bipartisan group of 15 past Presidents of the State 
Bar of Texas.
  If the Senate employs the constitutional option, it will not be 
changing the rules; it will simply be restoring the precedent and a 
200-year tradition. Justice Owen deserves a fair up-or-down vote, as do 
all of President Bush's judicial nominees.

                          ____________________