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Statement of U.S. Senator
Russ Feingold
On the Importance of Considering Environmental Viewpoints
in Judicial Selection
I would like to extend my thanks to all the groups
represented her today, Community Rights Counsel, Environmental Defense,
Alliance for Justice, and Natural Resources Defense Council, not only for
inviting me to participate in this event, but for all the hard work they
and their organizations do to protect and defend our environment and the
rights of citizens to be its stewards. I also am pleased to be here
today with my colleague, Senator Chuck Schumer. I admire his
tenacity, and his commitment to the environment, and I know he and I are
here today for very similar reasons.
Federal judges at all levels have a profound impact upon
federal environmental law through the decisions that they make. As a
Senator with a deep commitment to environmental protection, I strongly
believe that the environmental views of public servants must be fully
vetted and evaluated. I also believe that the Senate, in fulfilling
its Constitutional role of providing advice and consent on nominees,
should apply the highest standards and the strictest scrutiny to judges,
and certainly to supreme Court Justices, who will serve for life.
I recognize that the areas of law that these groups are
raising as examples today, such as nominees' views of the 11th Amendment,
the Takings Clause, and the Commerce Clause, are critical underpinning of
federal environmental laws. In previous Congresses, as a member of
the Judiciary Committee, I have opposed federal legislation that would
have expanded the takings clause to require compensation if an
environmental regulation caused a reduction in the value of property.
I would remind all of you today that the proponents of such legislation in
Congress derived their legislative ideas from fragments of holdings in
federal takings cases that didn't quite come to the same conclusion.
The opinions of federal judges carry weight, not only in the third branch
of government, but in this branch as well, and we should thoroughly
understand nominees' views on these issues.
As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I will continue my
practice of questioning relevant nominees with respect to their views on
the environment and their willingness to uphold the environmental laws
that Congress has enacted. Federal judges need to be prepared to
deal with complicated natural resource and environmental quality issues,
particularly those arising under federal law.
I appreciate the work these groups are doing to inform the
Senate and the Administration of the important of judicial nominees' views
on the environment, and I am pleased to have had an opportunity to join
them in releasing their report, which should prove invaluable to the
Senate as it takes on this crucial constitutional task.
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To read Senator Maria Cantwell's
(WA) press statement on this issue, click
here.
To read Senator Edward Kennedy's
(MA) press statement on this issue, click
here.
To read the full report in
PDF version, click here.
To go back to the main page
of the report, click here.
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