Political Quotes

“I am concerned at the continuing lack of any real, strong effort to confirm Federal judges this year compared to the situation in the last year of President Bush's term in office with a Democratic controlled Senate. We confirmed 66 judges--actually confirmed judges and had hearings right through September. Now we have very, very few hearings. While I am glad to see the Judiciary Committee moving forward with a few of the many qualified judicial nominees to fill the scores of vacancies that continue to plague our Federal courts, I am disappointed that there were no nominees to the Court of Appeals included at this hearing. I have said since the beginning of this year that the American people should measure our progress by our treatment of the many qualified nominees, including outstanding women and minorities, to the Court of Appeals around the country. The committee and the Senate are falling well short of the mark. With 21 vacancies on the Federal appellate courts across the country, and nearly half of the total judicial emergency vacancies in the Federal courts system in our appellate courts, our courts of appeals are being denied the resources that they need. Their ability to administer justice for the American people is being hurt.”