Steve Daines: “I thank the junior Senator from Alaska, and I appreciate him joining me in this most important effort and also for the…”

“I thank the junior Senator from Alaska, and I appreciate him joining me in this most important effort and also for the leadership he has demonstrated on this issue. As the junior Senator from Alaska knows, the Ninth Circuit Court is broken. It is overburdened and is unable to provide quality service and expeditious justice for the Americans it is supposed to serve. When we offer the Pledge of Allegiance, we close with ``and justice for all.'' As I frequently tell my staff, we in public service are ultimately in the customer service business. As U.S. Senators, our No. 1 job is to represent and to serve the people in our States. Our courts should reflect the same serving mentality as they uphold their responsibility to justice, but when our courts are overburdened and overworked, it is the American people who are left underserved and waiting far too long for justice. Unfortunately, under the current structure, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is unable to provide Americans in the West the service they deserve. Take a look at this chart behind me. At 64.4 million people served, the current Ninth Circuit is the largest circuit by population as well as the largest land area. As the junior Senator from Alaska will sometimes remind us, if they divide Alaska in two, Texas is the third largest State in the Nation. It is not just about the geographical size of the West. Look at the number of people who are served in the Ninth Circuit.…”