Nomination of Jane Margaret Triche-Milazzo

Floor Speech

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today we are going to consider the nomination of Jane Margaret Triche-Milazzo to be U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Before I make my remarks regarding the nomination, I want to respond to some comments made on the floor last Thursday evening because I am really amazed and very disappointed by the continuing allegations that Senate Republicans are delaying, obstructing, or otherwise blocking judicial nominations. One Member stated that we ``filibuster everything and require 60 votes on everything, including judges.'' That statement is without merit, and so I am here to set the record straight.

We are making very good progress in the consideration and confirmation of President Obama's judicial nominations. In fact, we have taken positive action on 84 percent of President Obama's judicial nominees. We heard from five judicial nominees in committee last week, reported five more to the floor, and continue to hold regular votes on judicial nominees. President Obama's circuit court nominees are waiting, on average, only 66 days to receive a hearing. Now, compare that to the 247 days President Bush's circuit nominees were forced to wait. The same can be said for district court nominees, who have only waited 79 days under President Obama.

Nominees from President Bush waited on average 100 days for a hearing. You can understand why I am disturbed because some people say there is a Republican effort not to cooperate on moving these judges.

The reporting process has also favored President Obama's judicial nominees. On average, President Obama's circuit court nominees have only waited 116 days to be reported out of committee. President Bush's circuit court nominees waited over 369 days to be reported. District court nominees are no different. President Obama's nominees for the district courts have waited 129 days, while President Bush's district court nominees waited over 148 days.

The accusations that we are filibustering or requiring 60 votes on everything including judges is not supported by the facts. We have confirmed 43 judicial nominees this year. With the vote today we will have confirmed over 66 percent of President Obama's judicial nominees since the beginning of his administration. During our consideration of the 98 judicial nominations submitted during this Congress, there have been two cloture votes. One of those nominees was confirmed. The other was withdrawn.

In the last Congress there were four cloture motions made in relationship to 105 judicial nominations submitted. I remind my colleagues that at least 18 of President Bush's judicial nominations were subjected to cloture motions, many of them having multiple cloture votes. According to my count, there were approximately 30 cloture votes on Bush judicial nominees.

There has to be a double standard on the part of my colleagues who somehow forget the history or somehow do not know how to count or sometimes, if they do read the numbers, do not know what the numbers mean.

Another colleague of mine stated last Thursday night that he could not remember a time during his long service in the Senate when judges would sit on the calendar for months. It was not that long ago, while the current majority party was in the minority, when qualified nominees sat on the Senate calendar for months. In most cases, when finally afforded a vote, they received unanimous support. These included Juan Sanchez, who was nominated for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; William Duffey, Jr., who was nominated for the Northern District of Georgia; Mark Filip, who was nominated for the Northern District of Illinois; Gary Sharpe, who was nominated for the Northern District of New York; and James Robart, who was nominated for the Western District, State of Washington. These are just a few of President Bush's district court nominees who sat on the calendar for well over 3 months, yet received unanimous support in their confirmation votes.

I wonder if my colleagues remember William Haynes, President Bush's nominee to sit on the Fourth Circuit. He waited 638 days on the Senate calendar in the 108th Congress alone before being returned to the President. All in all, Mr. Haynes put his life on hold for 1,173 days without ever receiving an up-or-down vote.

Another of President Bush's circuit court nominees, Raymond Kethledge, waited 23 months before being confirmed by the Senate and was then confirmed--can you believe it--on a voice vote.

I am not providing these facts to engage in a tit-for-tat, but when I hear colleagues misstate facts and can't understand numbers and can't count, I have to set the record straight.

Shortly we will vote on Jane M. Triche-Milazzo, who is nominated to be the U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree from Nicholls State University in 1977 and then worked for some time as an elementary school teacher before beginning to work in her father's law office. In 1992, Judge Triche-Milazzo graduated with a juris doctorate from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Herbert Law Center. She spent the entirety of her legal career practicing at Risley Triche, LLC, first as an associate and later to become a partner.

In 2008 she was elected judge for Louisiana's 23rd judicial district. She is a Louisiana State District Court judge for Division D of the 23rd judicial district bench. She was the first female judge elected to that judicial district bench. Judge Triche-Milazzo received a unanimous ``qualified'' rating from the ABA Committee on the Federal Judiciary, so I am pleased to support this fine nominee and thank her for her service.

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