Political Quotes

“I rise today to urge the Senate to confirm Judge George Levi Russell, III, of Maryland to be a United States District Judge for the District of Maryland. The nomination of Judge Russell was reported out of the Judiciary Committee on February 16 by a voice vote, as the Acting President of the Senate knows. Judge Russell currently sits as a trial judge in the Baltimore City Circuit Court. I take seriously the obligation of the Senate in terms of the advice and consent role we play. I am concerned that our judicial confirmation process in the Senate has broken down due to partisanship, particularly for noncontroversial judges. Judge Russell's nomination now joins a long list of backlogged, noncontroversial judicial nominations that are stuck on the Senate floor. As of yesterday, the Senate calendar contained 20 judicial nominations approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee which are still awaiting a final vote. Fifteen of these nominees have been pending since last year, and 18 of them have received strong bipartisan support from the Senate Judiciary Committee. These are noncontroversial nominees that are due the up-or-down vote on the floor of the Senate, and there is no justification for the delay in the Senate's carrying out its constitutional responsibilities. The Senate is responsible for the rising vacancy rate in our Nation's article III courts.…”