Political Quotes

“for 2 years, President Obama's five eminently qualified nominees to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims have been awaiting a vote. This court has been referred to as the ``keeper of the nation's conscience'' and ``the People's Court.'' It was created by Congress approximately 160 years ago and embodies the constitutional principle that individuals have rights against their government. As President Lincoln said, ``It is as much the duty of Government to render prompt justice against itself, in favor of citizens, as it is to administer the same between private individuals.'' That is what this Court does: it allows citizens to seek prompt justice against our government. Yet 2 years of obstruction by a single Senator, the junior Senator from Arkansas, has forced the court to operate without one-third of its allotted judges. While these five nominees have been waiting for a vote, another judge retired, leaving the court with only 10 judges for 16 seats, or a vacancy rate of 38 percent. This takes Senate Republican obstruction of judicial nominees to a new level. The court's jurisdiction is authorized by statute, and it primarily hears monetary claims against the U.S. Government deriving from the Constitution, Federal statutes, executive regulations, and civilian or military contracts. For example, the court has presided over such important cases as the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and the World War II internment of Japanese-Americans.…”