ms. millett is confirmed, the d.c. circuit will still have more pending appeals per active judge than after the confirmations of any of those four earlier bush nominees. the caseload on the d.c. circuit would also remain above that of the current tenth and sixth circuit to which the senate has confirmed judicial appointed nominees this year. in filibuster of ms. millett on caseload grounds would bring the senate to an unprecedented and regrettable place t would destroy comity and trust at a time when our nation needs it bhorks we need to demonstrate to the meme of the united states that this congress can function understand that this senate can fulfill its constitutional role. it would not just facilitate the administration of justice by our courts but also allow us to tackle other issues if we could move past endless and needless filibusters on ires like this, it would allow us to move forward to the broader issues of the day, tackling long-term debt and deficit chacialtion reinvesting in our future, working together

ms. millett is no doubt a fine person. this is nothing personal. peter keisler, of course, is a fine person too. but our democratic colleagues pocket filibustered his nomination to the d.c. circuit for two years -- two years -- on the browned that -- on the groud that the court's workload did not warrant his confirmation. they did so despite his considerable skill as a lawyer and his personal qualities. his nomination languished until the end of the bush administration. he waited almost 1,000 days for a vote that never came. the criteria our democratic friends cited to block mr. keisler's nomination then clearly show that the court is even less busy now. for example, the seat to which ms. millett is nominated is not a judicial emergency. far, far from it. the number of appeals that the court is down almost 20%. and the written decisions per active judge are down 30%. in addition to these metrics, the d.c. circuit has provided another. the chief judge of the court who is appointed to the bench by president clinton provided analysis showing oral argu

ms. millett has brought bipartisan support, extensive litigation experience and she would make an outstanding addition to the d.c. circuit court of appeals. after graduating with honors from the university much illinois and -- university of illinois and harvard law schools, miss millett clerked at the united states court of appeals. she then spent 15 years at the department of justice, including 11 years as assistant to the solicitor general in both the republican and democratic administrations. again, i think it's important to point out she has support on both sides of the aisle. miss millett has argued 32 cases before the supreme court as well as dozens of others at the circuit court level, and she currently manages her law firm's supreme court and national appellate practice. she was unanimously rated well qualified by the american bar association's standing committee on the federal judiciary, and that is their highest rating. in addition to her professional work, miss millett is very active in her community. she has been a literacy tutor for over 20 years, and she volunteers through her c

ms. millett is well-qualified and we should confirm her now. one justification -- and i don't think it is a good one -- but the only justification i've heard is not about her at all, madam president. it's about the d.c. circuit, some of my colleagues think that they should remain with three openings on their bench. i don't think this argument squares with the facts. currently three of the 11 seats on the d.c. circuit are empty, and according to the administrative office of the courts, seniors judges, judges who are partially retired,