On the recordMarch 19, 1997
I am glad to hear that nobody wants to delay Merrick Garland. I would only point out that his nomination first came before us in 1995, and he was voted out of committee, I believe unanimously, by Republicans and Democrats alike, in 1995. We are going to vote, I hope, very soon to confirm him. But if that is not delay, I would hate like heck to see what delay would be around here. He was nominated in 1995, got through the committee in 1995 and will finally get confirmed in 1997. I understand other members say they would be perfectly willing to help out on the district court; we need help. We have Judge Colleen Killar-Kotelly who is still waiting, nominated very early in 1996, has yet to come through, even though in 1996 alone the criminal case backlog increased by 37 percent. We talk about getting tough on criminals. We certainly will not send the judges that might do it.
Source
govinfo.gov
