Patrick Leahy: “we end the 2007 legislative session as we began it, by making significant progress confirming the President's…”

“we end the 2007 legislative session as we began it, by making significant progress confirming the President's nominations for lifetime appointments to the Federal bench. At the Judiciary Committee's first business meeting of the year, held less than 2 weeks after the Republican caucus agreed to the resolutions organizing the Senate, I included on our agenda five judicial nominations. On January 30, the Senate confirmed the first two judicial nominations of the session. Today's confirmation of John Daniel Tinder to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will be the 40th, including 6 of this President's nominations to powerful circuit courts. I thank the members of the Judiciary Committee for their hard work all year in considering these important nominations. I thank especially those Senators who have given generously of their time to chair confirmation hearings throughout the year. Given the work of the Senators serving on the Judiciary Committee, we will have exceeded the yearly total in each of the last 3 years when a Republican majority managed the Senate and the consideration of this Republican President's nominations. Indeed, with the confirmation today of Judge Tinder to replace Judge Daniel A. Manion, like that of Reed O'Connor who was confirmed last month to the Northern District, we are proceeding to fill vacancies before they even arise.”