Every Child Achieves Act of 2015--Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I will object.

The reason we should not confirm new judges to the Court of Federal Claims has little to do with these nominees and more to do with the court itself. It doesn't need new judges. We should keep in mind that the number of active judges authorized for the Court of Federal Claims by statute, 16, isn't a minimum number, it is a maximum. It is our duty as Senators to determine if the court needs that full contingent and to balance judicial needs in light of our obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

What the caseload data shows is that the court does not need all 16 judges--far from it. As we can see from this chart, since 2007, the court's caseload has dropped dramatically and consistently every year. Last year, the court had 2,528 cases on its docket. That is 51 percent fewer than in 2011 and 68 percent fewer than in 2007, when the court had 7,185 cases on its docket.

Today, a full-time judge on the court is responsible for an average caseload of 180 cases. That is far less than the average caseload of 324 cases in 2011 and the average of 488 cases in 2007.

In light of the dramatic drop in caseloads at the court, it is hard to justify

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spending more money to confirm additional judges. The court currently also uses a contingent of six senior judges who have retired from active status but can continue to hear cases. While there are currently only 11 active judges, there are actually a total of 17 judges at the court hearing cases.
Furthermore, we should understand that senior judges receive a lifetime annuity worth a full-time salary regardless of whether they handle cases. If the Senate confirms the five nominees, this will expand the number of judges receiving a salary at an extra cost of $800,000 every year.

The bottom line is that there is no caseload crisis at the Court of Federal Claims. If anything, there is a caseload shortage. It therefore makes no sense to spend more taxpayer dollars on judges that the court simply does not need. I object.

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Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, I have to object. Again, this is not so much about a particular nominee but the fact that the Court of Federal Claims is operating with 11 active judges, and when you include the senior judges ready, able, and willing to hear cases, they have more than 16 judges allowed by statute, and those judges will continue to receive their salary even if we confirm any of these new judges.

Furthermore, as someone who has practiced at the Court of Federal Claims myself many moons ago when I was a lawyer, albeit not a very good one, I know the caseload there has always been complex, and I simply think the judges who are at the court are ready, willing, and able to handle the court's work. Therefore, I must object.

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