Political Quotes

“last week, Congress failed to act to avoid indiscriminate across-the-board cuts from sequestration. These automatic cuts are in the tens of billions of dollars at a time when our economy is finally recovering but remains fragile. Among those who will have to endure these cuts are the overburdened Federal courts already suffering from longstanding vacancies that number almost 90 and have remained near or above 80 for almost 4 years. Budgetary cuts will mean more difficulty for the American people to get speedy justice from our Federal justice system. Two senior district judges, one appointed by President Reagan and one appointed by President Clinton, wrote last week in U.S. News and World Report that sequestration will ``devastate the judicial branch.'' They wrote: ``[C]ourts may need to close periodically, furlough employees, and cut security, thereby, delaying proceedings. These realities, combined with a reduction in supervision of persons on bond and convicted felons who are released from prison, compromise public safety.'' They conclude: ``[Our Federal courts provide access to justice, protect against abuses of power, and defend the Constitution. Failure to avert sequestration by March 1 undermines the ability of the Federal courts to fulfill this Constitutional mandate.'' I ask unanimous consent that this article be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my statement.…”