Patrick Leahy: “I began this year challenging the Senate to maintain the pace it set in the last weeks of the last session in which it…”

“I began this year challenging the Senate to maintain the pace it set in the last weeks of the last session in which it confirmed 27 judicial nominees in 9 weeks. Instead, the Senate has confirmed only 31 nominees so far this year--instead of the 54 it should have if it had maintained last year's pace. I reissue my challenge for the remaining 10 weeks of this session: The Republican Senate can confirm another 30 nominees by the end of the session if it will just work at the pace it achieved in connection with the President's radio address last year. I thank the Majority Leader for calling up the nominations of Howard Matz and Victoria Roberts. With their confirmations, and I do believe that they should and will be confirmed, the Senate will have acted on only 33 federal judges at a time in which the federal judiciary has experienced 103 vacancies, many of longstanding duration. Indeed, Ms. Roberts would fill a judiciary emergency vacancy. We will have 45 judicial nominations still pending before the Senate or the Judiciary Committee, some which were first received over three years ago. There are currently nine other qualified nominees on the Senate calendar having been reported favorably by the Judiciary Committee. I deeply regret that the entire Senate Executive Calendar is not being cleared and the Senate is not being given the opportunity to vote on all 11 nominees awaiting Senate action.”