Water Resources Development Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following five nominations: Calendar Nos. 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31; 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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Mr. COONS. Mr. President, if I might on the question of the Court of Federal Claims, today, currently, there are just 10 active judges, although it is authorized to have 16. The five nominees whom I brought to the floor today and have asked unanimous consent to proceed on were first nominated in April or May of 2014 and have waited more than 2 years for their confirmation here by the Senate. No one has raised an objection to their qualifications, and each of them has twice now unanimously been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee without concerns being raised or advanced about either their qualifications or the need to fill these judicial vacancies.

With fewer active judges, cases have piled up in the Court of Federal Claims, which is often called ``the people's court'' because of its role in hearing cases brought by citizens and businesses against the Federal Government. From 2012 to 2015, the number of pending general jurisdiction cases per active judge has nearly doubled, jumping from 70 to about 130 in just 3 years. The court has also seen an increase in bid protest cases--some of the most complex and resource-intensive cases heard by the court. These delays harm the citizens and businesses that are waiting to have their cases decided. Delays also come at significant cost to the Federal Government, which will pay greater interest once judgments are finally rendered.

As my colleague commented, it is true that senior judges are helping this overburdened court, but their efforts are limited by statute--they cannot work more than 90 days per year.

Last year I called for these same five judges to be confirmed by unanimous consent. One of my colleagues objected and argued that the number of pending cases has decreased and that additional judges are not needed. But this is, in my view, only the case if one counts cases that are referred to special masters. Special masters have significantly reduced their caseload in recent years, but these cases are not significant contributors to the workload of the Court of Federal Claims judges.

We have received letters from the chief judge of the Court of Federal Claims and the past president of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Bar Association urging our swift action on these nominees. The Court of Federal Claims is in need of the service of these candidates, whose experience and qualifications are beyond question. I want to briefly highlight a few of these nominees and their backgrounds.

One of the nominees is Jeri Somers, who spent her career in service to our Nation, a decade in the Department of Justice as a Federal prosecutor and Civil Division trial attorney, and an extensive background as well in military service. She retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserves at the rank of lieutenant colonel, having spent two decades in the military serving as a judge advocate and then subsequently as a military judge in the U.S. Air Force and the District of Columbia's Air National Guard.

Another pending nominee, Armando Bonilla, spent his entire career-- over two decades--as an attorney for the Department of Justice. He was hired out of law school in the Department's prestigious Honors Program and has risen to become the Associate Deputy Attorney General in the Department. Mr. Bonilla would be the first Hispanic judge to hold a position on this court and was strongly endorsed by the Hispanic National Bar Association.

Thomas Halkowski, a third pending nominee, is a respected partner at Fish & Richardson in Wilmington, one of the preeminent IP law firms in the Nation. He practices in Wilmington, DE, my hometown. He is a former Department of Justice attorney, with 8 years of experience in the Environment and Natural Resources Division, and would bring the Court of Federal Claims a wealth of experience relevant to his work.

All five of these pending nominees to the Court of Federal Claims are qualified candidates who have languished for 2 years on the Senate Calendar. They represent part of a pattern of obstruction extending all the way up to our country's highest Court, the Supreme Court. I believe it is time we come together in a bipartisan fashion to do our job, confirm these five nominees to these judicial vacancies, and allow them to get to work serving our Nation on the Court of Federal Claims.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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