Political Quotes

“Madam President, let me refer to the nomination that is before us. I know the distinguished senior Senator from Ohio will speak after me. Today the Senate will vote on the nomination of Jeffrey Helmick to fill a judicial emergency vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. I commend Senator Brown and Senator Portman for their diligence in securing a vote on this nomination. Mr. Helmick has the strong bipartisan support of his home State Senators. His nomination was voted out of the Judiciary Committee nearly 3 months ago by a bipartisan majority. I thank the majority leader for his work in bringing this nomination up for a final vote. This is one of the nominations that I noted on Monday had been skipped, when we confirmed another district court judge. I look forward to working with Senator Kyl and Senator McCain to secure a vote on the nomination of Justice Andrew Hurwitz to fill a judicial emergency vacancy on the Ninth Circuit, working with Senator Menendez and Senator Lautenberg to secure a vote on the nomination of Judge Patty Shwartz to fill a vacancy on the Third Circuit, and with Senator Graham and Senator DeMint to set a vote on the nomination of Mary Lewis to fill a vacancy in South Carolina. I spoke on Monday about a recent Congressional Research Service report on judicial nominations. The report demonstrates what I have been saying for some time, that the time that nominations are being delayed from a final Senate vote is extraordinary.…”