Political Quotes

“today, the Senate will finally vote on the nomination of Judge Cathy Bencivengo to fill a vacancy on the the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, where she has served as a Magistrate Judge since 2005. An experienced judge and lawyer, with 17 years in private practice before becoming a Magistrate Judge, Judge Bencivengo received the highest possible rating from the ABA's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, unanimously ``well qualified.'' Her nomination, which has the strong support of her home state Senators, Senators Feinstein and Boxer, was reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee on October 6. Yet, despite the support of every Member of the Judiciary Committee, Democratic and Republican, and despite vacancies across the country in nearly one out of every 10 Federal judgeships, it has taken over 4 months for Senate Republicans to consent to a vote on Judge Bencivengo's nomination. I thank the Majority Leader for securing today's vote. There is no reason or explanation why the Senate Republican leadership will not consent to vote on the other 18 judicial nominations waiting for final Senate action. All but three of them were reported by the Judiciary Committee without opposition, just like Judge Bencivengo's nomination. Earlier this week I urged Senate Republicans to join with Democrats and take long overdue steps to remedy the serious vacancies crisis on Federal courts throughout the country.…”