Prepared Floor Statement of Ranking Member Chuck Grassley
Nomination of Jane Margaret Triche-Milazzo
to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Mr. President:
Today we will consider the nomination of Jane Margaret Triche-Milazzo to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Before I make my remarks regarding the nominee, I want to respond to some comments made on the floor last Thursday evening. I continue to be amazed and disappointed by the continuing allegations that Senate Republicans are delaying, obstructing or otherwise blocking judicial nominations. One member stated that we “filibuster everything and require 60 votes on everything – including judges.” That statement is without merit. Let me set the record straight.
We are making good progress in the consideration and confirmation of President Obama’s judicial nominations. In fact, we have taken positive action on 84 percent of President Obama’s judicial nominees. We heard from five judicial nominees in committee last week, reported five more to the floor and continue to hold regular votes on judicial nominees. President Obama’s circuit court nominees are waiting, on average, only 66 days to receive a hearing. Compare that to the 247 days President Bush’s circuit nominees were forced to wait. The same can be said for district court nominees, who have only waited 79 days under President Obama. Nominees of President Bush waited, on average, 120 days for a hearing.
The reporting process has also favored President Obama’s judicial nominees. On average, President Obama’s circuit court nominees have only waited 116 days to be reported out of committee. President Bush’s circuit court nominees waited over 369 to be reported. District court nominees are no different; President Obama’s district nominees have waited 129 days, while President Bush’s district nominees waited over 148 days.
The accusation that we are filibustering or requiring 60 votes on everything, including judges, is not supported by the facts. We have confirmed 43 judicial nominees, this year. With the vote today, we will have confirmed over 66 percent of President Obama’s judicial nominees since the beginning of his administration. During our consideration of the 98 judicial nominations submitted during this Congress there have been two cloture motions – one of those nominees was confirmed, the other nomination was withdrawn. In the last Congress, there were four cloture motions made in relation to the 105 judicial nominations submitted. I would remind my colleagues that at least 18 of President Bush’s judicial nominees were subjected to cloture motions – many of them had multiple cloture votes. According to my count, there were approximately 30 cloture votes on Bush judicial nominees.
Another colleague of mine stated last Thursday night that he could not remember a time during his long service in the Senate when judges would sit on the calendar for months. It was not that long ago, while the current the majority party was in the minority, when qualified nominees sat on the Senate calendar for months. In most cases, when finally afforded a vote, they received unanimous support. These include: Juan Sanchez, who was nominated to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, William Duffey, Jr., who was nominated to the Northern District of Georgia, Mark Filip, who was nominated to the Northern District of Illinois, Gary Sharpe, who was nominated to the Northern District of New York and James Robart, who was nominated to the Western District of Washington. These are just a few of President Bush’s district court nominees who sat on the calendar for well over three months yet received unanimous support in their confirmation votes.
I wonder if my colleagues remember William Haynes, President Bush’s nominee to sit on the Fourth Circuit. He waited 638 days on the Senate calendar in the 108th Congress alone before being returned to the President. All in all, Mr. Haynes put his life on hold for 1,173 days without ever receiving an up or down vote. Another of President Bush’s circuit court nominees, Raymond Kethledge, waited 23 months before being confirmed by the Senate on a voice vote.
I am not providing these facts to engage in a tit-for-tat, but when I hear colleagues misstate the facts, I must set the record straight.
Shortly, we will vote on Jane M. Triche-Milazzo, who is nominated to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from Nicholls State University in 1977 then worked for some time as an elementary school teacher before beginning to work in her father’s law office.
In 1992, Judge Triche-Milazzo graduated with a J.D. from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center. She spent the entirety of her legal career practicing at Risley Triche, LLC, first as an Associate and later became a Partner.
In 2008, she was elected Judge in Louisiana’s 23rd Judicial District. She is a Louisiana State District Court Judge for Division D of the 23rd Judicial District. She was the first female judge elected to the 23rd judicial district bench.
Judge Triche-Milazzo received a unanimous “Qualified” rating from the ABA Committee on the Federal Judiciary.
I am pleased to support this fine nominee and thank her for her service. I yield the floor.
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