[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19655]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as the year draws to an end, Republicans are 
doing high fives and celebrating as if they hit a home run when they 
haven't even singled.
  Republicans are seeing a distorted image of reality. All their talk 
of productivity and progress overlooks many facts and ignores their 
constitutional duty to provide advice and consent on President Obama's 
nominations--any President's nominations. Republicans are balking at 
fulfilling their constitutional role.
  The job of Congress is to pass laws and to confirm nominations. By 
that measure, this Congress has been the least productive ever. The 
total number of bills passed and nominations confirmed this Congress is 
lower than any Congress in decades. This Republican majority has 
confirmed fewer nominations than any Congress in decades. Because of 
Republicans' obstruction, qualified nominees are prevented from serving 
the American people.
  Yesterday the Senate skipped over the confirmation of Judge Luis 
Felipe Restrepo and confirmed just the 11th judge this session. There 
are 18 more judicial emergencies than when the Republicans took control 
of the Senate. What is a judicial emergency? It means they have more 
work than the judge can do. Instead of making progress in judicial 
backlogs across the Nation, we are falling even further behind and 
creating more emergencies. One of those judicial emergencies is Judge 
Restrepo. He is a talented Federal district judge from the State of 
Pennsylvania, and he is a talented Latino nominated for the Third 
Circuit.
  The junior Senator from Pennsylvania--who is responsible for delaying 
this good man for more than 6 months in the committee--finally engaged 
on the nomination. On Monday the junior Senator said: I am sending a 
letter to Senator McConnell requesting a vote on his confirmation. I 
don't know why he couldn't say to the Republican leader: Will you bring 
this up for a vote? Why the letter? Where has Senator Toomey been since 
July when this nomination was first reported out of the committee 5 
months ago? Why has this nomination been pending for more than a year? 
I wonder if it is because election time is here. Senate Democrats have 
waited months to confirm this good man. He should be confirmed now, 
today. Sadly, though, Republicans are blocking every Latino judicial 
nominee currently being considered.
  Here is a partial list: Judge Restrepo--I already talked about him; 
Armando Bonilla, who is the first Latino ever nominated to the Court of 
Federal Claims; John Michael Vazquez, nominated to the District of New 
Jersey; Dax Eric Lopez, nominated to the Northern District of Georgia, 
who would make history as the first Hispanic appointed Federal judge in 
that State. Georgia has a large number of Hispanics in that State.
  Because of this obstruction, last night the Senate skipped over Judge 
Restrepo--I mentioned that earlier--leaving another judicial emergency. 
Instead, the Senate confirmed Travis Randall McDonough as district 
judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. After confirming Judge 
McDonough, 19 judicial nominees remain on the Executive Calendar who 
were all voted out of committee unanimously.
  Yesterday's confirmation marks only the 11th judicial confirmation 
this entire Congress. At this point in 2007, Democrats worked with 
President Bush to confirm 36 judicial nominees--11 compared to 36. It 
is obvious why they are doing it; they hope Donald Trump will be 
elected President and Hillary Clinton will not be. Yesterday's 
confirmation marks the 11th judicial confirmation of this Congress. If 
the Republican Senate keeps up this pace, many of their 
recommendations--from Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, and many other States--
are at risk of not being confirmed. These are Republican selections. 
The American people are paying the price.
  Since the Republicans took control of the Senate, the number of 
judicial emergencies around the country has more than doubled. During 
this session of Congress, we have only confirmed one circuit judge. 
Because of the Republicans slow-walking, the Senate is currently on 
pace to confirm the lowest number of judges in a comparable session in 
half a century.
  As William Gladstone said, ``Justice delayed is justice denied.'' 
That is true. More than 30,000 people across the country have been 
waiting for more than 3 years for a resolution to their court case.
  Judge Lawrence O'Neill, who was nominated by President George W. Bush 
to the Eastern District of California, is fed up with the staggering 
delays in his court. Here is what he said:

       Over the years I've received several letters from people 
     indicating, ``Even if I win this case now, my business has 
     failed because of the delay. How is this justice?'' And the 
     simple answer, which I cannot give them, is this: It is not 
     justice. We know it.

  The judge is right. What is happening with our judiciary is damaging 
our country and the litigants depending on a way to get to court to go 
to trial.
  The Republican leader has the power to alter the destructive path 
Senate Republicans have charted. Before we leave for the holidays, the 
Senate should act to schedule votes on the dozens of judges who have 
been denied a vote. Where we have the judicial emergencies, the 
criminal cases are allowed to go forward but not the civil cases, 
involving people's businesses. They can't have their day in court. 
There are too few judges who have to take care of all of the criminal 
cases first. The civil cases wait--damaging to our economy and 
certainly damaging to people's lives. Thousands of Americans waiting 
for years deserve their day in court without further delay by 
Republicans, which is outrageous.
  Mr. President, I see no one on the floor. Will the Presiding Officer 
announce to the Senate the work of the day.

                          ____________________