Patrick Leahy: “Today the Senate is confirming Terrence McVerry to the United States District Court for the Western District of…”

“Today the Senate is confirming Terrence McVerry to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He is the 73rd judicial nominee of President George W. Bush to be confirmed by the Senate since July 20 last year. With today's vote, the Democratic-led Senate has already exceeded the number of circuit and district court nominees confirmed in the last 30 months of Republican control of the Senate, when 72 judges were confirmed in those 2 rac{1}{2} years. Democrats have done more than Republicans did in less than half the time. It is revealing that Republicans, with all of their misleading statistics, consistently fail to compare their actual results during their most recent period of control of the Senate with the progress we have made since the shift in the Senate majority. They do not want to compare their own record over the prior 6 rac{1}{2} years with our record of accomplishment in evaluating judicial nominees. They do not want to own up to their delay and inaction on scores of judicial nominees during the last administration. During the period of Republican control of the Senate, judicial vacancies rose from 63 to 110. Since the change in majority, the Democratic Senate has worked hard to help fill 73 of those vacancies.”