National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2015
Floor Speech
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Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, ``judicial emergency'' is an official term that refers to a vacancy in our court system for a court that carries a heavy caseload or a vacancy that has remained open for an extended period of time.
In the United States, we now have dozens of judicial emergencies. Why are there so many judicial emergencies? Why are there so many vacancies in courts that have heavy caseloads? Why are there so many long-term vacancies? Well, the reason is simple. When it comes to confirming judges, Senate Republicans simply refuse to do their jobs. Their view seems to be very simple. If government isn't working for them or their rich friends or their rightwing allies, then they will simply refuse to let it work for anyone.
Yesterday the Senate confirmed one judge, Brian Martinotti, to sit on the district court in New Jersey--one judge, one noncontroversial nominee for a noncontroversial job who had been waiting for a vote for over a year. The Republicans who control the Senate seem to think that is reasonable. It is not.
Sixteen district court judges have been investigated, gone through hearings, been voted out of committee, and are pending on the Senate floor right now. One circuit court nominee is also on this list for a vacancy that has remained vacant for more than 6 years. Fourteen States have judges on this list. About half of these nominees have been sitting for nearly a year or more.
These courts do an enormous amount of work. Their work is not political. Democratic and Republican Senators have worked with the President to select these nominees to fill vacancies on these courts, and those nominees deserve votes. Right now, there is no indication that they are going to get votes. And in a few days, the Republicans who control the Senate are planning to pack up their things and shut down the Senate for most of the rest of the year. This is ridiculous. No other workers in America get to walk off the job before the job is done, and the same should be true for the U.S. Congress. We shouldn't leave until we do our work.
The Senate can act right now to confirm these 17 nominations, all of whom have bipartisan support.
Mr. President, I rise today to ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 359, 362, 363, 364, 459, 460, 461, 508, 569, 570, 571, 572, 573, 597, 598, 599, and 600; that the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nominations in the order listed; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nominations; that any related statements be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume legislative session.
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Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, we do not have a process that is working.
The Nation faces a judicial vacancy crisis. Ten percent of the district court judgeships in this country are empty. We face nearly twice as many judicial emergencies as President Bush faced in 2008 or President Clinton faced in 2000. Cases are piling up, and courts are starved for help. The Supreme Court of the United States sits paralyzed, unable to deal with some of its most challenging cases. But the majority whip is going to pack up and go home, leaving 18 judgeships vacant because--well, that is the process?
This isn't a game. There is no scoreboard. You don't get to ignore a national crisis because you care more about scoring political points than keeping government functioning.
President Obama's job is to nominate judges to fill vacancies, and the Republicans' job here is to lead us to confirm those judges to fill those vacancies. Do your job.
So if you won't confirm all of the pending judicial nominees who have been voted out of committee and are currently waiting on the Senate floor, then before you leave town for months, let's at least confirm the 13 judges on that list who were nominated last year to fill district court vacancies.
359, 362, 363, 364, 459, 460, 461, 508, 569, 570, 571, 572, and 573; that the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nominations in the order listed; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nominations; that any related statements be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume legislative session.
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Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, this has been going on now for a year and a half. The Republicans have delayed and delayed and delayed and delayed until we face dozens of judicial emergencies. There is always an excuse not to take up even noncontroversial appointments.
We can't get the 17 who were voted out of committee and are currently pending on the floor, we can't get the 13 who were nominated in 2015 so how about this deal. There are four district court nominees who have been waiting around for a year or more. They are from Tennessee, New Jersey, New York, and California.
When President Reagan was in office, almost no uncontroversial nominees took longer than 100 days to confirm. Let us at least give these four nominees who have been waiting nearly a year or more for their vote. The Senate can do this, it can do it quickly, and we will be done. There is bipartisan support for every one of them.
359, 362, 363, and 364; that the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nominations in the order listed; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nominations; that any related statements be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume legislative session.
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Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, it would take no time to confirm these judges. These are all people who have been examined by the committee, who have passed out of committee, who are pending on the floor, and who have bipartisan support. These are judges from Tennessee, New Jersey, New York, California, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Utah, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Louisiana, and Indiana. Fourteen States will be left without vital judges because of the Republican blockade.
At a certain point, reasonable people have to ask: Why are Republicans actually doing this? Is it so that if Donald Trump is elected President, he will be able to nominate more judges? What in this world has Donald Trump ever said or done that makes the majority whip so enthusiastic about his judicial appointments? Is it Trump's enlightened views on the judiciary? Donald Trump is a guy who just a few weeks ago race-baited a Federal judge--attacked a judge who spent years defending America from the terrors of murderers and drug traffickers. Trump attacked him simply because the judge refuses to bend the law to suit Trump's personal financial interests.
And where do you think Donald Trump got the idea he can attack the integrity of Federal judges with impunity? He got it from you--from the Republicans in the Senate and their decision to turn scores of highly qualified, nonpartisan judicial appointees into political footballs.
Talk is cheap. If Republicans really do disagree with Donald Trump's approach to judges, then do something about it. Confirm these highly qualified noncontroversial judges. Do it now before shutting off the lights and leaving town.
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