Political Quotes

“again we are moving forward under the regular order and procedures of the Senate. This year we have been in session for about 37 days, including today. During that time we will have confirmed 15 judges. That is an average of better than one confirmation for every 2\1/2\ days we have been in session. With the confirmations today, the Senate will have confirmed nearly 75 percent of President Obama's article III judicial nominations. Despite this progress, we still hear complaints about the judicial vacancy rate. We are filling those vacancies. But again, I would remind my colleagues that of the 82 current vacancies, 50 have no nominee. That is over 60 percent of vacancies with no nominee. Another complaint we hear, which is a distortion of the record, is the so-called delay in confirming nominees. Those who raise this complaint only focus on the time a nominee is reported out of committee until confirmation. But the confirmation process is more than just Senate floor action. For those who may not be familiar with the confirmation process, let me review. Once a nomination is received, the committee takes an appropriate amount of time to review the nominee's Senate questionnaire and background and review written materials. The Committee holds a hearing on judicial nominees and then holds the record open for additional written questions. Of course there is debate on the nomination in committee, then the nomination is reported to the floor. All of this takes time.…”