{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://laurellee.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-laurel-lee-applauds-passage-judges-act", "Rep. Laurel Lee Applauds the Passage of JUDGES ACT", "2024-12-12", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "House", "FL", "Laurel M. Lee", "L000597", "laurellee.house.gov", "laurellee", "https://laurellee.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R-FL) released the following statement after the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act of 2024 (JUDGES Act) passed the House.\n\n\"As a former judge, I understand the importance of citizens having access to the courts and receiving a resolution for their cases in a quick and timely matter. Ensuring we have an appropriate number of judges will allow that,\u201d said Rep. Laurel Lee. \u201cThe JUDGES Act represents a commitment to supporting the judicial branch and will pave the way for a federal court that can meet the needs of the public. I am happy to see this bill pass the House, and I thank Congressman Darrell Issa for his leadership on this issue.\u201d\n\nDistrict courts nationwide are facing more than 700,000 pending cases due to a shortage of judgeship. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, which includes Florida\u2019s 15th District, has more than 10 million people residing there, with the active caseloads per judge 20% above the national average.\n\nThe JUDGES Act will:\n\nCreate 63 permanent judgeships in six phases from 2025-2035\n\nAdd three temporary district court judgeships in Oklahoma\n\nTask GAO with evaluating the efficiency of federal courts and assessing detention space needs\n\nRequire the Judicial Conference to publicly release its judicial seat recommendations and methodology\n\nAuthorize additional federal case locations in Utah, Texas, and California to improve access for larger districts\n\nRead the bill text here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T22:13:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://laurellee.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-laurel-lee-applauds-passage-judges-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 5.302006844431162, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}