Padilla Applauds House Passage of Bipartisan Legislation to Preserve Access to Federal Courts
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that the House of Representatives unanimously passed their legislation to transition 10 temporary federal judgeships — including one in California — to permanent status. The bipartisan and bicameral Federal Judiciary Stabilization Act will make sure millions of Californians in the Central District maintain their current level of access to the federal court. The legislation previously passed the Senate and now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
The temporary judgeship for the Central District of California was authorized in 2002 and has required regular reauthorization ever since. Last year, the Judicial Conference of the United States, a nonpartisan policymaking body for federal courts, recommended that Congress make the temporary judgeship in the Central District of California permanent to help alleviate a shortage of federal judges and high caseloads.
Representatives Ted Lieu (D-Calif.-36) and Lance Gooden (R-Texas-05) led bipartisan companion legislation in the House.
“Every American deserves the right to have their cases heard in a timely manner, but significant case backlogs too often delay California residents from having their day in court,” said Senator Padilla. “The Central District of California is the most populous judicial district in the nation and cannot risk losing a federal judge. I am glad to see the House pass this commonsense, bipartisan legislation to make this critical judgeship and other temporary judgeships permanent.”
“Ensuring greater stability for judgeships, including those in California, will help ensure our Judiciary can meet the needs of the American justice system. In making permanent ten temporary federal judgeships, we’re eliminating the uncertainty that comes with an unpredictable legislative budgeting process. This is a bipartisan issue that impacts both red and blue states, and I’m pleased to join my colleagues in both the House and the Senate in seeking to rectify this issue,” said Representative Lieu.
Full text of the bill is available here.
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