Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3034) to amend title 28, United States Code, to provide an additional place for holding court for the Western District of Washington,…
Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3034) to amend title 28, United States Code, to provide an additional place for holding court for the Western District of Washington, and for other purposes.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3034.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3034 which would amend title 28 of the U.S. Code to provide an additional place for holding court in the Western District of Washington.
This one-sentence bill would allow the residents of that district which is comprised of half of Washington State from the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific Ocean to attend Federal Court in Mount Vernon, Washington, halfway between Seattle and the Canadian border.
Currently, residents of the surrounding counties, including the third most populous county in the State, have to travel significant distances to access the Federal justice system leading to increased travel time and administrative costs. Adding Mount Vernon as an additional court location would alleviate those burdens. It would also be a cost-free change because there is an existing facility available for the court to use, and no court personnel would be permanently stationed there. Making use of this existing facility would ensure that litigants, attorneys, witnesses, and other court users would have greater access to the justice that our Federal courts provide.
Mr. Speaker, the Judiciary Committee is the holder, protector, and nurturer of the Constitution. There is probably nothing as important among other elements but for the right to a trial by jury or right to be heard as a litigant in a court. This important legislation is suggesting that those who may have difficulty or are even deprived because of distance or other issues dealing with the far reaches of where this court is away from them can now have unfettered access to court in their region, in their area.
This move will benefit the many individuals who live, work, and do business in northwest Washington which is very far from the present site of the Federal Court. This legislation is broadly supported by the judges, attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders, and law enforcement in the Western District of Washington.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Suzan DelBene and Rick Larsen for calling attention to this issue and for introducing this legislation to improve the lives of the residents of Washington State. Chairman Nadler and all of the members of the Judiciary Committee were very pleased to work with this legislation, and Congresswoman DelBene and Congressman Larsen to be able to make this fix to provide an additional pathway of justice and the protection of the constitutional rights of individuals to have their access to courts and to trials by jury.
At this point, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, it is good music and good sounds to hear my colleague indicating that this legislation has widespread support, and he is absolutely right.
The only point that I would want to emphasize is that whenever this body and this Judiciary Committee can expand the rights to the protection of Americans and their rights to access justice, we should stand tall.
Today, this legislation, with a small fix of providing an additional site for the people of western Washington to access their constitutional, judicial, and legal rights, I think this is a celebration. So because of the broad support for this, we are delighted.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of H.R. 3034, and make known that it is a straightforward bill that will improve the administration of justice in Washington State and will reinforce our duty and responsibility to the American people for justice.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3034, which would amend title 28 of the U.S. Code to provide an additional place for holding court in the Western District of Washington.
This one-sentence bill would allow residents of that district, which comprises half of Washington state--from the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific Ocean--to attend federal court in Mount Vernon, Washington, halfway between Seattle and the Canadian border.
Currently, residents of the surrounding counties, including the third most-populous county in the state, have to travel significant distances to access the federal justice system, leading to increased travel time and administrative costs. Adding Mount Vernon as an additional court location would alleviate those burdens. It would also be a cost-free change because there is an existing facility available for the court to use, and no court personnel would be permanently stationed there.
Making use of this existing facility would ensure that litigants, attorneys, witnesses, and other court users would have greater access to the justice that our federal courts provide.
This move will benefit the many individuals who live, work, and do business in Northwest Washington, and this legislation is broadly supported by the judges, attorneys, prosecutors, public defenders, and law enforcement in the Western District of Washington.
I thank Representatives Suzan DelBene and Rick Larsen for calling attention to this issue and for introducing this legislation to improve the lives of the residents of Washington state.
I urge all of my colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3034 is a straightforward bill that will improve the administration of justice in Washington State. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
