Louise Slaughter: “for far too many Americans, justice delayed is justice denied in our Federal Court system. Regrettably, today's Federal…”

“for far too many Americans, justice delayed is justice denied in our Federal Court system. Regrettably, today's Federal courts find themselves without the resources to adjudicate the cases in a timely fashion. Compliance with the Speedy Trials Act of 1974 must seem like an unachievable goal to judges all across this Nation, that struggle to keep our Federal court systems functioning. Mr. Speaker, the rule before us is a restrictive rule that allows for 1 hour of general debate on this bill to create 47 new Federal district judge positions and add 11 circuit judgeships to the Federal bench. It allows consideration of only two of six amendments offered in the Committee on Rules last night. Mr. Speaker, I agree that adding new judgeships would help address the backlog in the Federal courts; however, to do so without addressing the congestion in the Federal Bankruptcy Courts is analogous to trying to stop a hemorrhage with a Band-Aid. It is worth noting that the other body's version of this bill would create 34 bankruptcy judge positions. It is also worth noting that one of the rejected amendments offered by our colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), in the Committee on Rules last night would have created 36 new permanent and temporary bankruptcy judgeships.”