Orrin Hatch: “one of my colleagues was recently quoted as saying that facts are stubborn things. The facts are that the majority has…”

“one of my colleagues was recently quoted as saying that facts are stubborn things. The facts are that the majority has virtually shut down the judicial confirmation process. Some say that the process always shuts down in a Presidential election year, so I checked every one since I was first elected. By today, April 10, in each of those Presidential election years, the Judiciary Committee had held hearings for multiple appeals court nominees. But this year, only one appeals court nominee has had a hearing, and there is not another one on the schedule. The Judiciary Committee held no confirmation hearing at all last month, and last week's hearing was yet another one with no appeals court nominee. The facts are just as stubborn when we look at the entire 110th Congress. Since I was first elected, there have been seven Congresses like this one that included a Presidential election year. During each of these Presidential election Congresses, the Judiciary Committee held hearings for an average of 25 appeals court nominees. But today, more than 15 months into the 110th Congress, the Judiciary Committee has held a hearing for only five appeals court nominees. This amounts to just one-fifth of the average for previous Presidential election seasons.”