Judicial Confirmation Process

JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION PROCESS

Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I wish to speak for the next few minutes about the judicial confirmation process, now that we have passed the Medicare bill, which represents perhaps the single largest accomplishment of this session-a session filled with many important accomplishments. I want to revisit the judicial confirmation process because I think it is perhaps the one issue that has the greatest potential for constructive action in this body, and the one issue that has the most potential for destruction of constructive action in this body.

The American people have seen accusations fly back and forth in the Senate as we have observed partisan minority filibusters of President Bush's judicial nominees. As a relatively new Member of the Senate, I have no personal stake in these grievances over past perceived slights or actions. In fact, as the Chair knows, in April, all 10 freshmen Senators wrote a letter to the Senate leadership asking that we have a fresh start when it comes to the way we approach this process because, as we all know, any tactic or strategy used by a partisan minority now to obstruct President Bush's nominees, if successful, if allowed to proceed, will no doubt be sought to be used in the event a Democrat takes the White House and Republicans find themselves in the minority of this body.

I ask unanimous consent that the letter we freshmen Senators wrote to the leadership be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

U.S. SENATE,
Washington, DC, April 30, 2003.

DEAR SENATORS FRIST AND DASCHLE: As the ten newest members of the United States Senate, we write to express our concerns about the state of the federal judicial nomination and confirmation process. The apparent breakdown in this process reflects poorly on the ability of the Senate and the Administration to work together in the best interests of our country. The breakdown also disserves the qualified nominees to the federal bench whose confirmations have been delayed or blocked, and the American people who rely on our federal courts for justice.

We, the ten freshmen of the United States Senate for the 108th Congress, are a diverse group. Among our ranks are former federal executive branch officials, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and state attorneys general. We include state and local officials, and a former trial and appellate judge. We have different viewpoints on a variety of important issues currently facing our country. But we are united in our commitment to maintaining and preserving a fair and effective justice system for all Americans. And we are united in our concern that the judicial confirmation process is broken and needs to be fixed.

In some instances, when a well qualified nominee for the federal bench is denied a vote, the obstruction is justified on the ground of how prior nominees-typically, the nominees of a previous President-were treated. All of these recriminations, made by members on boths sides of the aisle, relate to circumstances which occurred before any of us arrived in the United States Senate. None of us were parties to any of the reported past offenses, whether real or perceived. None of us believe that the ill will of the past should dictate the terms and direction of the future.

Each of us firmly believes that the United States Senate needs a fresh start. And each of us believes strongly that we were elected to this body in order to do a job for the citizens of our respective states-to enact legislation to stimulate our economy, protect national security, and promote the national welfare, and to provide advice and consent, and to vote on the President's nominations to important positions in the executive branch and on our Nation's courts.

Accordingly, the ten freshmen of the United States Senate for the 108th Congress urge you to work toward improving the Senate's use of the current process or establishing a better process for the Senate's consideration of judicial nominations. We acknowledge that the White House should be included in repairing this process.

All of us were elected to do a job. Unfortunately, the current state of our judicial confirmation process prevents us from doing an important part of that job. We seek a bipartisan solution that will protect that integrity and independence of our Nation's courts, ensure fairness for judicial nominees, and leave the bitterness of the past behind us.

Yours truly,

John Cornyn, Lisa Murkowski, Elizabeth Dole, Norm Coleman, Lamar Alexander, Mark Pryor, Lindsey Graham, Saxby Chambliss, Jim Talent, John E. Sununu.3a

Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I, frankly, think it would be just as wrong for that to happen as I do for a partisan minority to stand in the way of a bipartisan majority of the Senate, who stand ready to confirm many of President Bush's fine nominees.

I guess just when you think this process cannot get any worse, it does. The credibility of this process has recently been called into question by the disclosure of several internal memos written for Democratic Senators on the Judiciary Committee.

Madam President, as the Chair knows, and as all Members of this body know, there is currently an investigation ongoing by the Sergeant at Arms into the circumstances under which these memos became public to determine whether there was any wrongdoing in obtaining those memos, and, of course, we must withhold judgment until that investigation is complete and the facts are made known to the Members of this body. I trust we will do whatever the law and justice requires, and that we will follow the truth, wherever it may lead in the investigation and take appropriate action. I certainly support that.

These memos are available on the Web at