Sen.
Arlen Specter spoke out today in an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal
about the deportable
lack of progress in the Senate on approving federal judges. In
particular, he cited the cases of Peter Keisler and Robert Conrad, both highly
qualified nominees who have been nominated to important Circuit Courts, who are
still awaiting approval or committee hearings. Here are some excerpts of the
piece:
In President Clinton's
final two years in office, the Senate confirmed 15 circuit court nominees;
thus, much work remains to be done. There are currently 14 circuit court
vacancies, with a nominee pending for nearly all of the seats. The Senate must
confirm nine more circuit court nominees this year to keep pace with President
Clinton's confirmations during his final two years in office.
It would be a shame if the
preliminary steps the Senate Judiciary Committee took in 2007 were lost in
2008. To date, it has been four months since the committee held a hearing on a
circuit court nomination. Several highly qualified candidates have been
awaiting hearings for many months, and it is my hope that Chairman Patrick
Leahy and I will be able to schedule prompt hearings for all of these fine men
and women. At a bare minimum, nominees received from the president in 2007
deserve a committee hearing and a vote before the end of 2008.
…
In 2008 we will set
important precedents for how the next president's nominees, whether Republican
or Democrat, are treated in the Senate. Americans of both parties are demanding
change; we should not wait until November to give it to them.
Last
year AdvanceUSA prepared a graphic which visually illustrates the statistics
cited in Senator Specter’s piece. The statistics don’t lie. See for
yourself.
You
can view this graphic by clicking
here or by checking the home page
or pro-justice page. Or
see the smaller version below.
To
see a larger version click here.