Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today our body, the Senate, is going to vote to confirm the 15th judicial nominee for this year. If it seems to my colleagues and to the public that we have been voting on a nominee every week, well, we have been voting on a nominee at least once a week. Both in committee and on the floor, judicial nominees have regularly appeared on the Senate's agenda. We have taken positive action on 34 of the 61 judicial nominees submitted to this Congress by President Obama. We continue to hold hearings every 2 weeks to examine the nominees' records and to receive testimony. The committee meets every week to report nominees to the floor. So far, the committee has reported 27 nominees, which is ahead of the 23 reported by this same time in the 108th Congress.

This demonstrates my commitment and the commitment of Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to cooperate with the chairman to move forward on consensus nominees. Even as we do so, we continue to thoroughly examine the records and the qualifications of all nominees, which is the responsibility of the Senate.

I would note that a number of judicial nominations and at least one executive branch nomination which remain on the Senate's Executive Calendar are controversial in nature--in other words, not the consensus approach which I have spoken about concerning other nominees to the judiciary. I appreciate the efforts of our leadership to move in a timely manner the nominations which are consensus nominees.

Today, we will vote on the nomination of Jimmie V. Reyna to be a U.S. circuit judge for the Federal Circuit. Mr. Reyna received his B.A. from the University of Rochester and his juris doctorate from the University of New Mexico School of Law.

After graduating from law school, the nominee served as law clerk for a firm and as an associate at an insurance defense firm in New Mexico. It was in 1981 that Mr. Reyna formed his own firm and practiced plaintiff injury, civil rights, and criminal law. He then moved to the Washington, DC, area in 1986 and worked at an international trade firm, eventually making partner of that law firm. Mr. Reyna continues to specialize in international trade matters with the firm of Williams Mullen, where he directs the international trade and customs practice group and the Latin American Task Force.

The American Bar Association has rated this nominee unanimously ``well qualified,'' and of course I am pleased to support that nomination.

The Federal Circuit is unique among the courts of appeal. It is not geographical-based but has nationwide subject matter jurisdiction in designated areas of the law. In addition to international trade, the court hears cases on patents, trademarks, government contracts, certain money claims against the U.S. Government, veterans' benefits, and public safety officers' benefits claims.

Of particular interest to me, this court has exclusive jurisdiction over cases related to Federal personnel matters. That includes exclusive jurisdiction over appeals from the Merit Systems Protection Board, which hears whistleblower cases under the Whistleblower Protection Act. If anybody wonders why this Senator said that I have a particular interest in this court and what it does on Federal personnel matters, it is because I have been a longtime advocate for whistleblower protection legislation and have been involved with my colleagues in this body in passing some of that whistleblower protection legislation.

I congratulate Mr. Reyna and his family on this important lifetime appointment.

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

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