I believe that the partnership between GSA and the courts is a crucial one. To their credit they have put a lot of effort into making this partnership work.
This cooperation has slowly restored my confidence in the courthouse review process.
I want to stress one thing - and I've said this before --It is vital to our legal system that we provide the proper space, security and facilities for judges and courts. I'm not talking about Italian marble corridors or golden chandeliers, I am talking about the proper stature of buildings befitting our judicial system and our distinguished judges.
I am very pleased that the President has included new courthouse funding in his FY 2001 budget. It was very distressing that the Administration did not include such funding for the judiciary in its budget for the past three years.
I understand how distressed and frustrated the courts are about this past omission. However, I do not believe that proposed legislation that would circumvent a cornerstone of the current review process is in order.
I have spoken to Judge Roth and to Judge Stahl before her, about my concerns. I am committed to helping them attain their budgeting goals, but I believe we need to work within the current review system, which we all spent a lot of time on in this committee. The broader the review of courthouse construction, the broader will be the support for the program.
I would say to both Judge Roth and to Mr Peck that the courthouse program now has very strong support in this committee. Virtually all members of this Committee wrote to the President last fall supporting funding for priority courthouse construction.
And while the Administration did not include full funding for the court's priority list, I hope that this committee, and the Budget Committee, can explore how best to accommodate the FY 2001 Judicial Conference requests.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.