Patrick Leahy: “one of our most important constitutional responsibilities is to provide advice and consent on the scores of judicial…”

“one of our most important constitutional responsibilities is to provide advice and consent on the scores of judicial nominations sent to us to fill the vacancies on the federal courts around the country. Today we made some progress. We confirmed 16 new judges. For that I thank the Democratic leader and the majority leader, my counterpart on the Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch, and all those who worked with us to achieve Senate action on these judicial nominees. The Senate has finally begun to consider the judges needed to serve the American people in our federal courts. But before any Senator thinks that our work is done for the year, let us take stock: We are only one-third of the way to the number of judges nominated by a Republican President and confirmed by a Democratic majority in 1992, and only half way to the levels of confirmations achieved in 1984 and 1988. Today we finally passed the level of 17 confirmations achieved in 1996, the year before I became the Ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. That low water mark is no measure of success, however. Today we face more judicial vacancies than when the Senate adjourned in 1994. That means there are more vacancies across the country than when the Republican majority took controlling responsibility for the Senate in January 1995. Over the last six years we have gained no ground in our efforts to fill longstanding judicial vacancies that are plaguing the federal courts.”