The House approved a bill Thursday that would create dozens of additional judicial seats over the next several years, sending it to President Biden’s desk after his administration levied a veto threat.
The measure — titled the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act — cleared the chamber in a 236-173 vote, after the Senate unanimously passed the bill in August.
The legislation now heads to Biden, who earlier this week said he would veto the bill should it land on his desk.
“The bill would create new judgeships in states where Senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies,” the statement reads.
“Further, the Senate passed this bill in August, but the House refused to take it up until after the election.
Following his administration’s threat of veto, the House on Thursday approved a bill that would add dozens of new judicial seats over the next few years, sending it to President Biden’s desk.
After the Senate passed the bill unanimously in August, the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act was approved by the chamber by a vote of 236–173.
With bipartisan support, the bill would create 66 federal court seats over the course of the next ten years in an attempt to reduce caseloads in high-volume jurisdictions like Texas and California.
Biden, who earlier this week threatened to veto the bill if it reached his desk, is now the recipient of the legislation. The White House questioned the rationale for the measure in an administrative policy statement.
According to the statement, “the bill would create new judgeships in states where Senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies.”. “Those attempts to keep vacancies open imply that the real driving force behind the current bill’s passage is not worries about the judicial economy and caseload. “.”.
Along with questioning the timing of a vote scheduled by House GOP leadership, the administration also charged that Congress had not fully examined “how the work of senior status judges and magistrate judges affects the need for new judgeships.”.
“This bill was also approved by the Senate in August, but the House did not consider it until after the election. The White House stated that adding judges hastily with only a few weeks remaining in the 118th Congress would not address important issues in the legislation, particularly those pertaining to the distribution of judges.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La. He praised the legislation as a means of enhancing “impartial justice.”. “.”.
He stated during a press conference this week that “we cannot overburden the courts and our judges with these excessive caseloads, and that’s what’s been happening.”. “With more judges, more Americans can obtain fair and impartial justice without having to wait years for it.”. This bill’s passage excites me. “”.
Since taking office four years ago, Biden has vetoed twelve bills, none of which Congress has overridden. Legislation must receive the support of two-thirds of both chambers in order to overcome a presidential veto.
