[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 16443-16444]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Senate has the privilege of considering 
the nominations of many exceptionally talented individuals for a 
variety of jobs. This week the Senate has already approved three 
qualified and dedicated nominees--including Richard Griffin, to serve 
among the people's watchdogs against labor abuses, and Tom Wheeler, to 
lead the body that oversees the Nation's telecommunications industries. 
This week we will consider five other fine public servants for a 
variety of crucial roles in the executive branch. So when one nominee's 
personal story and professional dedication stands out in this 
distinguished crowd, it is remarkable. And it is remarkable when we 
talk about a woman by the name of Patricia Millett.
  Ms. Millett has been chosen by the President to be a nominee to serve 
on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. She graduated at the top of her 
class from the University of Illinois and then attended Harvard Law 
School. She clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and served 
as an appellate attorney in the Justice Department's civil division. 
She then served as assistant to the Solicitor General under Democratic 
President Bill Clinton as well as Republican President George W. Bush. 
Ms. Millett then was chosen to lead the Supreme Court practice at the 
prestigious law firm of Akin Gump, and has argued more than 32 cases 
before the U.S. Supreme Court. This is a stunning number that rarely 
anyone ever reaches. I am sure there are others who have reached this 
number, but the two who come to my mind are the Chief Justice of the 
Supreme Court who argued many cases, and a long-time friend, the late 
Rex Lee, who was Solicitor General for President Reagan. Prior to, 
during his tenure as Solicitor General, and after he argued many cases 
before the Supreme Court. But 32 arguments before the Supreme Court is 
a stunningly high number.
  Patricia Millett's professional credentials are matched by her 
personal integrity and determination. She is a military spouse, mother 
of two children, who argued a case before the Supreme Court while her 
husband, who serves in the Navy, was deployed in Kuwait. Ms. Millett 
has been a literacy tutor for more than two decades, and volunteers at 
her church's homeless shelter. She has the support of law enforcement 
officials, legal professionals, and military organizations from across 
the political spectrum. Her colleagues have called her fair-minded, 
principled, and exceptionally gifted, with unwavering integrity. So it 
is truly a shame that some Republicans would filibuster this 
exceedingly qualified nominee for unrelated political reasons.
  Patricia Millett is nominated to what many call the second most 
important court in the land--the D.C. Circuit. This court reviews the 
complicated decisions and rulemakings of Federal agencies, and since 
September 11, 2001, has handled some of the most important terrorism 
and detention cases in the history of our country.
  This is what former D.C. Chief Judge Patricia Wald said about the 
court's caseload:

       The D.C. Circuit hears the most complex, time-consuming, 
     labyrinthine disputes over regulations with the greatest 
     impact on ordinary Americans' lives: clean air and water 
     regulations, nuclear plant safety, health-care reform issues, 
     insider trading and more. These cases can require thousands 
     of hours of preparation by the judges, often consuming days 
     of argument, involving hundreds of parties and interveners, 
     and necessitating dozens of briefs and thousands of pages of 
     record--all of which culminates in lengthy, technically 
     intricate legal opinions. . . . The nature of the D.C. 
     Circuit's caseload is what sets it apart from other courts.

  Unfortunately, today the court is functioning far below its full 
complement of judges. The number of judges was chosen legislatively a 
long time ago. Today, only 8 of the 11 seats on the D.C. Circuit are 
full. The three remaining vacancies are due in part to Republican 
obstruction of qualified nominees such as Caitlin Halligan, an 
extremely qualified woman. Twice she was defeated.

[[Page 16444]]

  Republicans claim that filling these three remaining vacancies on the 
D.C. Circuit would amount to court packing. This is ridiculous. We are 
not changing any law. We are filling vacancies. Circuit court nominees, 
including nominees for the D.C. Circuit, have waited seven times longer 
for confirmation under President Obama than they did under the last 
President Bush. So it is no mystery why we have a judiciary crisis in 
America. Making nominations to vacant judgeships is not court packing. 
It is the President's job.
  I repeat, filling vacant judgeships is the President's job. It has 
nothing to do with court packing.
  Senate Republicans were happy to confirm judges to the D.C. Circuit 
when President Reagan and President George W. Bush were in office, but 
now that a Democrat serves in the White House, they want to eliminate 
the remaining three D.C. Circuit seats, although the court's workload 
has actually grown since President Bush was in office.
  Republicans are using convenient but flawed political arguments to 
hamstring our Nation's court and deny highly qualified nominees such as 
Ms. Millett a fair up-or-down vote. But she deserves better. She 
deserves a return to the days when all Senators--including 
Republicans--took their duty to advise and consent seriously.
  I am cautiously optimistic that enough Republicans understand their 
responsibilities and will allow us to move forward on this very 
important nomination. She deserves a return to the days when qualified 
nominees were guaranteed a full and fair confirmation process to avoid 
the political games. It is basically fairness.

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