Patrick Leahy: “we have before us the nomination of United States District Court Judge Dennis Shedd of South Carolina to the Court of…”

“we have before us the nomination of United States District Court Judge Dennis Shedd of South Carolina to the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Judge Shedd's nomination was reported out of the Judiciary Committee last Thursday on a voice vote. Nine Democratic Senators, including myself, voted against him. As I noted before, I told Senator Thurmond I intended to bring this matter to a vote by the committee this year. My concern at the penultimate meeting, the meeting before last week, a meeting we held in October, was that we had very little time to debate this controversial nominee and that threatened to prevent a committee vote on 17 other of the President's judicial nominees before the committee. Incidentally, those 17 district court nominees and 2 circuit court nominees were confirmed by the Senate last week. Those 17 district court nominees were on the Senate Calendar because the Senate Judiciary Committee was able to report those nominees despite unparalleled personal attacks by Republicans on me as chairman. Those attacks have included everything from saying I am not bringing up nominees--although I am and we are at a record rate that far outpaces the Republican rate during their six and one-half years of control--to even attacks in these recent months on my religious beliefs as well as the religion of several of the members of the Democratic majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee.”