John Cornyn: “I want to respond first to an argument made earlier this morning. This is in the category of we can disagree about…”

“I want to respond first to an argument made earlier this morning. This is in the category of we can disagree about matters of opinion and matters about policy, but we should not disagree about the facts, when the facts are so plainly there before us and evident. Richard Paez, a nominee of President Clinton, has been held up as perhaps one of the examples of our side treating a Democratic President's nominee unfairly. As this chart aptly demonstrates, if we would agree to treat Priscilla Owen exactly the way that Paez was treated, then Priscilla Owen would be sitting on the Fifth Circuit today, just as Judge Paez is now serving on the circuit court in the Federal judiciary. In other words, this is not an example justifying the actions being taken against this President's nominees. This is an example of why the obstruction we have seen is wrong and unfair. All we are asking for in this debate is a simple up-or-down vote for this President's nominees. Priscilla Owen has been waiting 4 years for that simple up-or-down vote, which is all we are asking for. As I said, 4 years ago, Priscilla Owen was nominated to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She serves currently and has served on the Texas Supreme Court, where I had the honor of serving with her. She is an exceptional jurist, a devoted public servant, and an extraordinary Texan. Yet after 4 years, she still awaits an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor. This is the irony of where we find ourselves.…”