Federal Judiciary Emergency Tolling Act of 2006

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3729) to provide emergency authority to delay or toll judicial proceedings in United States district and circuit courts, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 3729 currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3729. This legislation would grant the chief judge of any district or appeals court the authority to enter an order to delay or toll any deadlines on pending cases whenever an affected court has closed due to a natural disaster or other emergency situation.

While the court can generally be expected to give consideration to the difficulties faced by litigants in such cases, this legislation is designed to ensure that the court also gives appropriate consideration to the unique burdens that may be imposed on the Federal Government in responding to an emergency.

When a disaster occurs, the field offices of Federal law enforcement agencies may lose access to case files, evidence and other materials critical to the timely prosecution and adjudication of pending cases. Additionally, the government may be forced to reallocate personnel and other resources to address critical, often life-threatening, situations that arise as a consequence of such disasters. Last year's devastating hurricanes that struck New Orleans and much of the gulf region provide a recent example of circumstances where this bill would help ensure that justice can continue to be administered.

The version of H.R. 3729 we consider today reflects bipartisan, clarifying changes adopted in committee based on discussions with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the Department of Justice. This legislation preserves the primacy of State law by expressly providing that the bill's authority does not extend to any statute of limitation for a criminal or civil action if the claim arises under State law and extending that limitation would be inconsistent with the governing State law.

Additionally, the bill expressly provides that the bill not be construed to authorize suspension of habeas corpus, and places a limitation of 14 days on the amount of time a deadline may be extended or tolled while preserving the ability of a judge to seek additional time extensions.

Finally, this legislation requires that a court issuing an order to toll or delay deadlines make all reasonable efforts to publicize the order on the Web sites of the Federal judiciary and all affected courts and notify the House and Senate Judiciary Committees when such action is taken.

Mr. Speaker, this bill helps ensure that the fair and timely administration of justice, which is central to our form of government, is not imperiled by natural disasters or other emergency circumstances.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in support of H.R. 3729.

The bill, as has been indicated, makes several key changes to current law which will help guarantee our Federal court system will be able to adequately function in the wake of a natural disaster or other emergency.

First, it provides the chief judge of a Federal judicial district with the appropriate level of discretion to toll or delay deadlines for any class of cases pending before the court at the time of a natural disaster or emergency.

It also, in a newly proposed section 2 of the bill, includes important language which makes clear that this bill is not to be construed to authorize the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, as has been noted as a very important consideration.

Third, the legislation limits the amount of time that a chief judge may

extend or toll a deadline to no more than 14 days, except where the judge determines that an emergency situation requires additional extensions.

And finally, for any court that decides to toll or delay a deadline, the legislation creates a notice requirement. Among other things, this notice requirement would direct courts to make all reasonable efforts to publicize the order, including announcing the order on Web sites of all affected courts and the Web site of the Federal judiciary and require the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts to send copies of each notice, including the reasons for their issuance, to the House and the Senate Judiciary Committees.

It is worth noting that this latter provision will go a long way toward helping our committee conduct adequate oversight and assist in our efforts to detect any possible abuses.

In closing, I thank the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, Mr. Sensenbrenner, for his willingness to work with Members on this side of the aisle to address many of our concerns regarding the legislation. This is truly bipartisan. I urge my colleagues to support this worthwhile measure

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote on following bills on July 17, 2006:

H.R. 3729, Federal Judiciary Emergency Tolling Act (roll No. 377): Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

H.R. 3496, To amend the National Capital Transportation Act of 1969 to authorize additional Federal contributions for maintaining and improving the transit system of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and for other purposes (roll No. 376): Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

H.R. 3085, To amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with that trail, and for other purposes (roll No. 375): Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote during the following rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as indicated below:

Rollcall No. 375, H.R. 3085--To amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the inclusion of new trial segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with that trail, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``yea''.

Rollcall No. 376, H.R. 3496--National Capital Transportation amendments Act of 2005, I would have voted ``yea''

Rollcall No. 377, H.R. 3729--Federal Judiciary Emergency Tolling Act of 2005, I would have voted ``yea''.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, July 17, 2006, I could not be present for rollcall votes 375, 376, and 377 due to a previous commitment in my district.

Had I been present, I would have cast the following votes: ``yes'' on rollcall 375 (H.R. 3085--To amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with that trail); ``no'' on rollcall 376 (H.R. 3496-- National Capital Transportation Amendments Act of 2005); and ``yes'' on rollcall 377 (H.R. 3729--Federal Judiciary Emergency Tolling Act of 2005).