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

Floor Speech

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Mr. BOOKER. Judge Julien Neals has been waiting since February of 2015. He is someone who came out of the committee with bipartisan support and someone who has deep qualifications. In addition to this, he is suggesting that we skip another judge named Ed Stanton, who is the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.

I bring out those two judges who are next on the list. They are the two longest waiting judges for the district court--one from May and one from February. I single those two out not just because one of them is from New Jersey but, if you look at the list of the next 15 judges, these are the only two African Americans on the list. The two longest waiting district court judges and the only two African Americans are the two who are being singled out, among others, to be skipped over in what the Republican leader is suggesting.

I know that for my colleagues in the Republican Party this is not a conscious thing. I know this is a coincidence and that it is not intentional that the two longest waiting judges--the only two African- American judges on this list of 15--are being skipped over, but I do feel it is necessary to point out this fact. At a time when this Nation is looking at this judicial system as needing to confront judicial bias, at a time when judicial organizations of all backgrounds are pointing out the need for diversity on the Federal court, what is being suggested right now is that we come up with a bargain to skip over the two longest waiting district court judges, who happen to be the only two African Americans on the list of the next 15. That, to me, is unacceptable, especially when you look at the qualifications of these two judges and especially if you look at their wide bipartisan support within the Judiciary Committee. The perception alone should be problematic to all of us in this body.

So I would like to object to this offer, especially given the tensions that exist right now in our country, the urgency for diversity on the bench, and the clear qualifications of these men, and, finally, the fact that they have been waiting since May and February of 2015.

Thank you.

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Mr. BOOKER. Yes, there is objection.

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Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I rise again to continue the plea to move forward when it comes to fulfilling the vacancies now pending in our courts. I don't know about the Constitution saying anything about a tit-for-tat--what one President got another should get--but to me the obligation of the Senate is clear, and that is, we have an obligation to do our job and to fill vacancies.

During this Presidency, significantly more vacancies have come up because of retirements and other reasons. As we have already heard from the Senator from Massachusetts, not only are there double the vacancies, but the judicial emergencies being talked about now, which have nothing to do with party, are real. Around our country right now, there are many districts that are in crisis because of our failure to do our job.

Relying on a tit-for-tat partisan understanding reflected nowhere in our Constitution is unacceptable when we are not supporting the proper functioning of the judiciary.

We have nominations on the floor, ones that have passed out of the Judiciary Committee in a bipartisan fashion. One of those nominations-- to fill a vacancy in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey--is Julien Neals, who is a well-qualified nominee and who has had to wait for over 19 months on his nomination--19 months. On this list, he is the longest waiting judge. Judge Neals has served as the chief judge of Newark Municipal Court, worked in private practice, and served his community as corporation counsel and business administrator for the city of Newark. The President nominated Judge Neals to the Federal bench over a year and a half ago. A hearing was held on his nomination in September 2015. The Judiciary Committee favorably reported his nomination by voice vote in November of 2015.

The delay in confirming this nomination is unfair to the people of New Jersey, who expect their justice system to be working in its full capacity. But we know this isn't just a burden for New Jerseyans; States across this country are being forced to shoulder the Senate's failure to confirm judges, precipitating a massive judicial crisis in our country.

Continued judicial vacancies means that current Federal judges will be overworked and understaffed. Continued judicial vacancies means the American people must wait a year or two or longer to receive justice in a case. This goes counter to the very ideals we pledge allegiance to, this idea of liberty and justice for all. Without judges on the Federal bench, justice is denied for the woman who was fired on account of her gender. Without judges on the Federal bench, justice is denied for the transgender individual who is seeking to access a restroom or other public accommodation. Without judges on the Federal bench, justice is denied for the criminal defendant who deserves a speedy trial before a jury of their peers--fundamental constitutional ideas. The longer the Republican leadership delays filling our country's judicial vacancies, the longer justice is denied for Americans across our country.

I ask the Senate to promptly vote on the next two nominees who would be up, nominees from Tennessee and New Jersey. The Western District of Tennessee nominee, Edward Stanton, is a former U.S. attorney and has been pending for over 16 months. It is important for me to point out, especially after the suggestion from the Republican leader that we skip these first two judges, the longest waiting judges--I know there was no intention here, but I think it is important that we point out that in the compromise suggested by the majority leader, these are the only 2 African-American judges in the next 15.

So here we have two of the longest waiting judges, two qualified judges, two judges who passed out of the Judiciary Committee, two judges who deserve Senate action and who are also African-American judges who can help create diversity on our Federal judiciary so that it better reflects our society as a whole.

Given all of that--the totality of the crisis in our country, the urgency that is explicitly addressed in our Constitution that the Senate do its job--I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 359 and 362; further, that the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nominations in the order listed and that, if confirmed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

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