Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Ranking Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Before the Committee on the Judiciary regarding the nominations of:  
Julie E. Carnes, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit
Jill A. Pryor, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit
Leslie Joyce Abrams, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Georgia
Michael P. Boggs, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia
Mark Howard Cohen, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia
Leigh Martin May, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia
Eleanor Louise Ross, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia
 

Mr. Chairman,

First, I’d like to congratulate today’s nominees and their families. It’s an important milestone in all of your careers and I welcome you here today.

Today we’ll hear from seven nominees who have been nominated to serve in courts in Georgia, two appellate court nominees and five district court nominees. Today’s hearing is the product of long deliberations between the White House, the Georgia senators and the committee. I’m happy to see this bipartisan solution to the vacancies in Georgia, and I’m looking forward to hearing from today’s nominees.

I’d note that one member of the House of Representatives requested to testify in opposition today and the Chairman didn’t grant that request.  The Chairman’s decision regarding outside witnesses in opposition to judicial nominees for the lower courts appears to be consistent with past Judiciary Committee practice.

I’d also note that several outside liberal interest groups have already weighed in on and urged Senators to oppose two of today’s nominees. I’d hope that my Democrat colleagues wouldn’t subject these nominees to any litmus tests.  And instead, I’d hope my colleagues would give these nominees the same benefit of the doubt, and give their home state senators the same deference, that Republicans so often provide President Obama’s nominees.

As Senators, nearly every nominee who comes through our committee has taken some position that we may disagree with. That is why home state support is so important. And as I’ve said, all these nominees have the support of both the President and their home state Senators. I’ve given great deference to the home state senators’ support when reaching decisions on whether to support nominees.  

I believe home state support is important to the process, the Senate, and the Judiciary.
In fact, very soon the full Senate will consider 6 district court nominees from Arizona. Even though I have some concerns about several of these nominees, I plan to support them, in part out of deference to the home state senators who recommended them.

I’d hope that my colleagues on the other side would show the same deference with respect to the nominees we’ll hear from today.

Again, I welcome the nominees and their families today and look forward to their testimony.

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