Patrick Leahy: “I congratulate the nominee and his family on his nomination and on what is soon to be his confirmation by the Senate and…”

“I congratulate the nominee and his family on his nomination and on what is soon to be his confirmation by the Senate and appointment by the President to the United States District Court for South Carolina. I thank all members of the Judiciary Committee for their attention to this nomination and thank the majority leader for his help in scheduling this vote. Since July 2001, when the Senate was allowed to reorganize and the committee membership was set, we have maintained a strong effort to consider judicial and executive nominees. With the confirmation of Judge Wooten, we reach additional milestones. Judge Wooten is the 17th judicial nominee we have confirmed since July. That is more total judges this year than were confirmed in 1989, the first year of the first Bush administration, and as many as were confirmed in all of the 1996 session. Of course, in 1996, the Senate majority at that time did not proceed on a single nominee to a Court of Appeals and limited itself to confirming only 17 judges to the District Courts. We have this year already confirmed four nominees to the Courts of Appeals.”