National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2017
Floor Speech
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Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, our government has work to do, but when it comes to making sure that our courts have the judges they need, when it comes to making sure that the Federal agencies have the leaders they need, and when it comes to filling a vacant seat on the highest Court in this Nation, Senate Republicans refuse to do their job.
Senate Republicans have a long history of obstructing President Obama's nominees. Earlier this week, I released a report documenting that long history. The Republicans have slowed down the confirmation of judicial nominees to a crawl--the people needed to resolve important legal disputes. They have stalled confirmations of key agency heads. These are the people needed to protect consumers, to protect our environment, and to defend our country.
They are blocking Merrick Garland, a judge whom our colleague from Utah, Senator Orrin Hatch, previously called a ``fine man'' whom the President could ``easily name'' to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court.
Instead of working to make government function and more efficient, Senate Republicans have made it their priority to keep key positions empty for as long as possible--to hamstring efforts to protect consumers and workers, to delay efforts to hold large corporations accountable, and to slow down work to promote equality.
The view of Senate Republicans seems to be pretty simple. If government isn't working for them, their rich friends, or their rightwing allies, then Senate Republicans aren't going to let it work for anyone. But it isn't too late. They still have time to put aside their extremism and start doing what they were sent here to do.
Start with district court judges, the men and women who resolve disputes over how government works and whether the Constitution or Federal laws are being respected. They do an enormous amount of work. Their work is not political. Democratic and Republican Senators have worked with the President to select these nominees.
As of today the Senate Judiciary Committee has cleared 15 people who were nominated for seats on the Federal district courts. These nominees have the support of Democrats and Republicans. They are ready to serve their country. One of them is from Massachusetts. We need our judge. This Nation needs its judges. So let's vote.
Mr. President, I rise today to ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following 15 nominations: Calendar Nos. 357, 358, 359, 362, 363, 364, 459, 460, 461, 508, 569, 570, 571, 572, and 573; 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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Ms. WARREN. I ask through the Chair if the majority leader will yield for a question.
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Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I am asking if the majority leader will yield for a question.
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Ms. WARREN. All right, I will just ask my question.
On Monday, I wanted to come to the Senate floor to make the request I just made, but I guess the majority leader was taking a lot of heat about judges and Donald Trump's racist statements about them and didn't want to draw any more attention to the Republicans' unprecedented blockade of judicial nominations. So the Republicans offered me a deal: Just go away, and we will confirm two Court of International Trade judges.
The Court of International Trade is pretty important. It handles trade enforcement cases, and nearly half of that court has been empty for a year because Republicans refused to do their jobs.
These two uncontroversial nominees have been twisting in the wind for 336 days. They are highly qualified, honorable lawyers who are ready to serve their country. So on Monday, I took the deal. The Republicans released two hostages, and the Senate confirmed them by a voice vote, without objection--not a single objection nearly a year after they were nominated.
Today, the majority leader isn't offering to release any hostages, and my question for the majority leader is, What happened between Monday and today?
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Ms. WARREN. Then I certainly will.
Mr. President, last week the majority leader wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, and it was titled, without a hint of irony, ``How the Senate Is Supposed to Work.'' In his article, Senator McConnell declared: ``On issues of great national significance, one party should simply never force its will on everybody else.'' He pleaded that ``it's not an act of betrayal to work with one's political adversaries when doing so is good for the country.''
Senator McConnell agreed to confirm two highly qualified judges on Monday because it served his political interests. Today, he doesn't feel like it, so he forces his will on everyone else. That is not how the Senate is supposed to work.
The Constitution is clear. The Senate's job is to provide advice and consent on the President's judicial nominees. There is no asterisk that says ``only when the majority leader has an embarrassing political problem'' or ``except when the President is named Barrack Obama.''
It is not what the Founders had in mind because it is small, it is petty, and it is absurd. For these district court nominees, the U.S. Senate should be asking one question and one question only: Are these judges qualified or are they not qualified? That is it. But that is not what is happening in the U.S. Senate. Instead, good people twist in the wind, hung up as political hostages, and that is undermining the integrity of our courts.
So if you will not give all 15 judges their votes, let's at least have a vote on the 9 district court nominees who had their Judiciary Committee hearings last year. Senator Toomey called for some of these nominees to be confirmed last month. All of these nominees have been waiting for at least 6 months--almost 200 days--since their hearings. When President Reagan was in office, almost no uncontroversial nominees took longer than 100 days to confirm from the day they were nominated. The delay is ridiculous. Give them their votes.
357, 358, 359, 362, 363, 364, 459, 460, 461; 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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Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, right this minute, right here on the floor of the Senate, we face one of those ``issues of great national significance'' that the majority leader wrote about in the Wall Street Journal. It is an exploding number of judicial vacancies.
The Washington Post recently reported:
Of 673 U.S. district court judgeships, 67--or 10 percent-- are vacant under President Obama, nearly twice as many as at this point of Republican George W. Bush's presidency and 50 percent higher than at this time under Bill Clinton or George H.W. Bush.
The number of federally designated district court ``judicial emergencies''--where seats carry particularly heavy caseloads or have been open for an extended period--is also roughly double what it was in May 2008 and May 2000.
Addressing those emergencies is good for the country. Keeping our courts functioning is good for the country. Confirming nominees who have the support of Republicans and Democrats is good for the country.
But just a minute ago, the majority leader blocked confirmation of all 15 noncontroversial judges who are waiting for votes. That is not putting the country first; that is putting politics first. It is forcing the will of a small number of extremist Republicans on the entire country, and the integrity of our judicial branch is suffering for it.
So let me try this again. Surely we can agree to confirm the four oldest nominations on this list--two Democratic recommendations and two Republican recommendations. They all had hearings in September, 9 months ago. What are we waiting for? Give them their votes.
357, 358, 359, and 362; 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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Ms. WARREN. Yes.
Mr. President, I wish I could say that I am surprised by this, but I am not surprised.
The Republican leader can say whatever he wants today, but he has made his intentions very clear when it comes to President Obama. On the eve of the 2010 elections, Senator McConnell said that ``the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.''
Well, President Obama won reelection, but Senate Republicans have still stalled, delayed, and blocked his nominees. Since they took charge of the Senate last year, these Republicans are on pace for the lowest number of judicial confirmations in more than 60 years.
So can we at least confirm one noncontroversial district judge?
The nominee on the list who has been waiting the longest is Brian Martinotti. New Jersey needs this judge. He was nominated a year ago. He has been twisting in the wind for 9 months since his confirmation hearing. Give him a vote.
357; that the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination; that the motion 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 nomination; 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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Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, Brian Martinotti deserves better than this. All these nominees deserve better than this. Merrick Garland deserves better than this, and the American people deserve better than this. We will keep fighting to try to get the Senate Republicans to do their job.
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