The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“NOMINATIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S7637-S7638 on Oct. 30, 2013.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NOMINATIONS
Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Senate has the privilege of considering the nominations of many exceptionally talented individuals for a variety of jobs. This week the Senate has already approved three qualified and dedicated nominees--including Richard Griffin, to serve among the people's watchdogs against labor abuses, and Tom Wheeler, to lead the body that oversees the Nation's telecommunications industries. This week we will consider five other fine public servants for a variety of crucial roles in the executive branch. So when one nominee's personal story and professional dedication stands out in this distinguished crowd, it is remarkable. And it is remarkable when we talk about a woman by the name of Patricia Millett.
Ms. Millett has been chosen by the President to be a nominee to serve on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. She graduated at the top of her class from the University of Illinois and then attended Harvard Law School. She clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and served as an appellate attorney in the Justice Department's civil division. She then served as assistant to the Solicitor General under Democratic President Bill Clinton as well as Republican President George W. Bush. Ms. Millett then was chosen to lead the Supreme Court practice at the prestigious law firm of Akin Gump, and has argued more than 32 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. This is a stunning number that rarely anyone ever reaches. I am sure there are others who have reached this number, but the two who come to my mind are the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who argued many cases, and a long-time friend, the late Rex Lee, who was Solicitor General for President Reagan. Prior to, during his tenure as Solicitor General, and after he argued many cases before the Supreme Court. But 32 arguments before the Supreme Court is a stunningly high number.
Patricia Millett's professional credentials are matched by her personal integrity and determination. She is a military spouse, mother of two children, who argued a case before the Supreme Court while her husband, who serves in the Navy, was deployed in Afghanistan. Ms. Millett has been a literacy tutor for more than two decades, and volunteers at her church's homeless shelter. She has the support of law enforcement officials, legal professionals, and military organizations from across the political spectrum. Her colleagues have called her fair-minded, principled, and exceptionally gifted, with unwavering integrity. So it is truly a shame that some Republicans would filibuster this exceedingly qualified nominee for unrelated political reasons.
Patricia Millett is nominated to what many call the second most important court in the land--the DC Circuit. This court reviews the complicated decisions and rulemakings of Federal agencies, and since September 11, 2001, has handled some of the most important terrorism and detention cases in the history of our country.
This is what former DC Chief Judge Patricia Wald said about the court's caseload:
The D.C. Circuit hears the most complex, time-consuming, labyrinthine disputes over regulations with the greatest impact on ordinary Americans' lives: clean air and water regulations, nuclear plant safety, health-care reform issues, insider trading and more. These cases can require thousands of hours of preparation by the judges, often consuming days of argument, involving hundreds of parties and interveners, and necessitating dozens of briefs and thousands of pages of record--all of which culminates in lengthy, technically intricate legal opinions. . . . The nature of the D.C. Circuit's caseload is what sets it apart from other courts.
Unfortunately, today the court is functioning far below its full complement of judges. The number of judges was chosen legislatively a long time ago. Today, only 8 of the 11 seats on the DC Circuit are full. The three remaining vacancies are due in part to Republican obstruction of qualified nominees such as Caitlin Halligan, an extremely qualified woman. Twice she was defeated.
Republicans claim that filling these three remaining vacancies on the DC Circuit would amount to court packing. This is ridiculous. We are not changing any law. We are filling vacancies. Circuit court nominees, including nominees for the DC Circuit, have waited seven times longer for confirmation under President Obama than they did under the last President Bush. So it is no mystery why we have a judiciary crisis in America. Making nominations to vacant judgeships is not court packing. It is the President's job.
I repeat, filling vacant judgeships is the President's job. It has nothing to do with court packing.
Senate Republicans were happy to confirm judges to the DC Circuit when President Reagan and President George W. Bush were in office, but now that a Democrat serves in the White House, they want to eliminate the remaining three DC Circuit seats, although the court's workload has actually grown since President Bush was in office.
Republicans are using convenient but flawed political arguments to hamstring our Nation's court and deny highly qualified nominees such as Ms. Millett a fair up-or-down vote. But she deserves better. She deserves a return to the days when all Senators--including Republicans--took their duty to advise and consent seriously.
I am cautiously optimistic that enough Republicans understand their responsibilities and will allow us to move forward on this very important nomination. She deserves a return to the days when qualified nominees were guaranteed a full and fair confirmation process to avoid the political games. It is basically fairness.
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