Political Quotes

“I thank the majority leader for scheduling this confirmation vote today. I have been talking about this nomination since last year. Amy Jackson is one of four nominees to the vacancies that have plagued the District Court for the District of Columbia, this Nation's Capital, for some time. This is another of the nominations that could--and in my view should--have been considered and confirmed last year. Instead, it was one of two nominations to that court unnecessarily returned to the President without final Senate action, despite the nominee's qualifications and the needs of the American people to have judges available to hear cases in the Federal courts. The President has had to renominate Ms. Jackson, the Senate Judiciary Committee has had to reconsider her and now, finally, the Senate is being allowed to consider her. I have spoken about the vacancies in the District of Columbia on numerous occasions, including during the last 2 weeks. I have noted the criticism from Chief Judge Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Chief Judge Lamberth wrote to Senate leaders last November urging action by the Senate to fill the vacancies that exist on the District Court for the District of Columbia. We could and should have acted before adjourning last year in response to his request. All four nominations were reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee last year. They were needlessly delayed.…”