Water Resources Development Act of 2016 - - Motion to Proceed - - Continued

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, before I returned home for the August recess, I came to the floor to call on the Senate to take up pending judicial nominations. Once again, today I join my colleagues in calling for action on the crisis that is facing our Federal courts.

We had an unusually long recess--what is called the August recess, but it actually started in mid-July. We have a brief period of time when we are back in session before we are about to have yet another recess prior to the elections. I understand the Senate has been in session fewer days than the Senate has been in session in some decades--60 years.

I feel it necessary that we step up and deal with this crisis in the Federal courts and do our jobs. I call on my colleagues in the majority to do our jobs.

The obstruction that we have seen with regard to filling judicial vacancies is harming our Federal courts and our Nation, our economy, and individuals who come before those courts to seek justice.

In this current Congress, only 22 judges have been confirmed by the Senate. As we have discussed today, we currently have 90 vacancies on the Federal courts. Thirty-two--one-third--have been declared judicial emergencies. Yet before the Senate right now, we have Presidential nominees for these vacancies--27 in number--that are available for our consideration. Each of those names has garnered a bipartisan majority from the Judiciary Committee. A bipartisan majority has supported those Presidential nominees. Each and every one of them deserve a vote in the full Senate. The American people fully deserve a functioning Federal judiciary--whether the Supreme Court, our circuit courts, or the district courts.

From my home State of Wisconsin, we have a longstanding vacancy on the Seventh Circuit Court. This longstanding vacancy is absolutely unacceptable. This traditional Wisconsin seat on the Seventh Circuit Court has been vacant for more than 6 years. This is the longest Federal circuit court vacancy in the country. Today marks the 2,435th day--that is 6 years and 8 months--of this vacancy. The people of Wisconsin and our neighbors in Illinois and Indiana deserve a fully functioning court of appeals.

During this long vacancy, the Seventh Circuit has been considering issues that face people of our State as well as our country. These issues include women's health, labor rights, campaign finance, marriage equality, and, most recently, voting rights. These are important issues, and the people of Wisconsin deserve better than an empty seat when judgments are being made on such consequential issues.

We have a highly qualified nominee for this seat. Don Schott was nominated by the President on January 12. He has strong bipartisan support. Both Senator Johnson and I have returned our blue slips, a part of the process to advance one of these nominees. A bipartisan majority of the Wisconsin judicial nominating commission recommended and supported his consideration by the President.

Don Schott also received the support of a bipartisan majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee when they voted to advance his nomination. Don Schott is very well qualified. He has the experience and the temperament to be an outstanding Federal court judge on the circuit court, and his nomination deserves a vote. The people of the State of Wisconsin deserve to have this traditionally Wisconsin seat filled.

Nine judicial nominees who have been previously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee prior to Don Schott still haven't had their up-or-down vote either by the Senate, and they deserve it. As is the tradition of this body, we vote on these nominees in the order they appear in the Executive Calendar. As such, I will request that the Senate Republican leader schedule votes on each of these nominees, as well as on Don Schott.

359, 362, 363, 364, 459, 460, 461, 508, 569, 570, 571, 572, 573, and 597; 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.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source