{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140301093815/http://johnlewis.house.gov/press-release/rep-john-lewis-senate-judicial-nomination-process", "Rep. John Lewis on Senate Judicial  Nomination Process", "2013-11-18", "2013", "2013-11", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "John Lewis", "L000287", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. John Lewis made this statement today in support of the nominations of Judge Robert Wilkins to the U.S. District Court and Rep. Mel Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency:\nI am glad to add my voice to those of my colleagues here today in support of the nomination of\u00a0 Judge Robert Wilkins and other capable candidates to the D.C. Circuit Court.\u00a0 All of these candidates are qualified.\u00a0 Judge Wilkins is qualified.\u00a0 Mel Watt, the President\u2019s nominee to lead the Federal Finance Housing Agency is qualified.\u00a0 But their nominations have been blocked by unfair filibuster in service to the worst kind of partisan politics I have seen in my 26 years here serving in Congress.\nIn 2005, Chief Justice John Roberts delivered a lecture entitled \u201cWhat Makes the D.C. Circuit Court Different?\u201d according to The New York Times.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He explained that the D.C. Circuit court, more than any other court in the federal appeals system, has a \u201cspecial responsibility to review legal challenges to the conduct of the national government.\u201d\u00a0 About two-thirds of the cases heard before that court involves review of the actions of the federal government.\nI had to ask myself and the American people should ask themselves, what troubles my Republican friends in the Senate so much that they cannot allow any recent nomination by President Obama to go through?\u00a0 Could it be they are afraid that an impartial review by judges of impeccable merit, like Robert Wilkins or Nancy Pillard, would slay some of their \u201csacred cows\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0 Could it be they are afraid an impartial hearing might bring an end to the cloak of partisan protection that has allowed this Congress to focus on work that has not represented the will or the interests of the people of this country?\nIf these positions were necessary when Justice Roberts was appointed to the 9th seat of the D.C. Circuit Court, when Justice Clarence Thomas was appointed to the 10th seat, and when Justice Scalia, Judge Douglas Ginsburg and former Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr were appointed to the 11th seat, then why are they suddenly so unnecessary now?\u00a0\nFor members of the Senate to try to shape the character of the judiciary through pure, unvarnished partisanship is a discredit to the dignity of this body and a disservice to the American people. \u00a0\nLet the nomination of a qualified candidate like, Judge Robert Wilkins, named by Legal Times as one of the Greatest Washington Lawyers of the last 30 years come up for a vote without partisan interference.\u00a0 Let the nomination of Rep. Mel Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency come up for a vote without partisan intervention.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\nLet the House and the Senate get back to the work of representing the needs and the concerns of the good people of this nation, instead of wasting our time and the people\u2019s money on partisan politics that serves the interest of a few, and not the many people of this nation.\u00a0 We can do better.\u00a0\u00a0 The people of this nation deserve better. 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