"This bill is a step towards rectifying the great workload disparities between the circuit courts.  It's a common sense bill and moves judges to where they are needed.  It saves the taxpayers' money.  It won't affect President Obama's current nominee, Mr. Srinivasan. And because the bill would become effective upon enactment, President Obama would still have the opportunity to nominate two of those circuit court vacancies," Grassley said.

Grassley's legislation would add a seat to both the Second and Eleventh Circuit Courts and remove three seats from the D.C. Circuit Court.  Currently, the D.C. Circuit has 108 appeals filed per authorized judgeship, the lowest in the nation.  By contrast, the Second Circuit has 425 appeals filed per authorized judgeship and the Eleventh Circuit, the busiest appeals court in the country has 583 appeals filed per authorized judgeship.

If Grassley's legislation were enacted, the caseload would decrease by 7.5 percent in the Second and Eleventh Circuits. At the same time, even after removing three seats from the D.C. Circuit, the workload of the D.C. circuit would remain among the lowest in the country.

The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Orrin Hatch, Jeff Sessions, Lindsey Graham, John Cornyn, Mike Lee, Ted Cruz and Jeff Flake.

Here is a copy of Grassley's remarks that were inserted into the Senate Record upon introduction.

Prepared Floor Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley

Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee
The Court Efficiency Act

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Mr. President,

Today I am introducing the Court Efficiency Act, a bill that will help some of the nation's busiest courts.  Hopefully, it will also ease some of the tension that arises during debates of D.C. Circuit Court nominees.  I am pleased that Senators Hatch, Sessions, Graham, Cornyn, Lee, Cruz, and Flake are original co-sponsors.

It is no secret that the D.C. Circuit is the least-busy, least-worked appellate court in the nation.  By nearly every measurement taken by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the D.C. Circuit comes in a distant last.  Here are three of the most common measurements using the most recent data available for the 12-months ending September 30, 2012.

First, "Total Appeals Filed." Total Appeals Filed measures the amount of work coming into the court.  Simply put, it is the total number of appeals that a circuit court received in the last 12 months.  The D.C. Circuit has 108 appeals per authorized judgeship, the lowest in the nation.  To put this in perspective, the Second Circuit is 4 times higher and the Eleventh Circuit, the busiest in the nation, is more than five times as high, with 583 appeals filed per authorized judge.

Next, "Total Appeals Terminated" measures the amount of work the court is accomplishing.  Once again, the D.C. Circuit is by far the lowest in the nation with 108 total appeals terminated per authorized judgeship.  By comparison, the Second Circuit is 4 times higher and the Eleventh Circuit is 5 times higher, at 540 appeals terminated per authorized judgeship.

Finally, "Total Appeals Pending" measures the amount of work before the court.  In other words, it is the number of appeals the court hasn't yet addressed or the cases that are outstanding.  The D.C. Circuit has 120 appeals pending per authorized judgeship, which means it is essentially tied for last with the Tenth Circuit that has 115.  In contrast, the Second Circuit and the Eleventh Circuit have 343 and 323 appeals pending per authorized judgeship, respectively.

Back during President Bush's administration, my friends on the other side of the aisle cited the light work load of that court in order to block qualified, non-controversial nominees.  Since that time, the D.C. Circuit Court workload has only continued to decrease.

Considering the imbalance between the workloads of the Circuits, my bill essentially reallocates those vacancies to other circuits that are much busier.  The Court Efficiency Act does four things.  First, it adds one seat to the Second Circuit.  Second, it adds one seat to the Eleventh Circuit.  Third, it reduces the number of authorized judgeships for the D.C. Circuit from 11 to 8.  Fourth, it would become effective upon enactment.

Adopting this bill would be a step towards rectifying the great workload disparities between the circuit courts.  The Court Efficiency Act would ease some of the pressure on the Second and Eleventh circuits.  By moving just one judgeship each to the Second and Eleventh circuits, we would lower each circuit's respective workload by approximately 7.5%.  This reduction can be accomplished without jeopardizing the D.C. Circuit's status as the "least-busy Circuit." Even after the D.C. Circuit is reduced to 8 seats, it would still be roughly half as busy as the Circuit median in appeals filed, terminated, and pending per authorized judgeship.

I would also like to highlight several things that this bill will not do.  First, it would not impact the President's current nominee to the D.C. Circuit, Mr. Srinivasan, whose hearing occurred earlier today.  Instead, for the remaining three seats, it removes one and reallocates the other two.

Second, the bill would not affect the president's opportunity to nominate two of those Circuit court vacancies.  It simply reassigns those vacancies to other circuits that are clearly busier.

Third, this legislation will be effective immediately, rather than postponing until the beginning of the next presidential term, as has been in the past.  Immediate enactment will empower the President to quickly act to alleviate some of the heavy workloads of the Second and Eleventh Circuits.

The bill will also save the taxpayer a significant amount of money annually.  Although the bill has not been scored yet by the CBO, this estimate is based on previous estimates offered by the CBO when it has scored judgeship bills.

The last time the D.C. Circuit had 11 nominees was the end of 1999.  I want to move past the disagreements over the D.C. Circuit and shift these judges to circuits where there is a greater need to fill them.

Mr. President, this is a common sense bill.  It moves judges to where they are needed, a significant step in addressing the severe imbalance in the workloads of some of these circuit courts.  It saves the taxpayers money.  It doesn't negatively impact the D.C. Circuit Court.  It won't affect President Obama's current nominee, Mr. Srinivasan.  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be printed in the Record.

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We have some positive changes to applaud as the nation observes National Foster Care Month in May, says former foster child Margaret Iuculano.

"In Ohio, $3 million from a mortgage settlement the state won will help foster kids pursue higher education and expand court-appointed advocates. And in Florida, a new law is going to make it much easier for foster kids to do normal things like sleepovers with their friends and school field trips," she says.

"In Nebraska, they're close to boosting the pay for foster parents, which will mean the state can retain and attract more and better foster parents."

But Iuculano, spokeswoman for Duffels for Kids (www.floridafapa.org/duffelsforkids),
and founder of Angels for Foster Kids, says that sometimes, it's the smallest things foster children remember most.

"I was in foster care from age 11 to 16, when I aged out, and I was moved to 15 different homes in that time," she says. "Every time I moved, I had to pack my few belongings in a black trash bag.

"When you're already feeling abandoned, wondering whether anyone will ever want you or care about you, that trash bag seals it: No, they won't. You're a throwaway."

While workplace groups and communities have banded together and charities have sprung up across the country to address this problem, more foster care children than not continue to cart their belongings in trash bags.

"There just hasn't been enough," Iuculano says. "And often, the organizations gather used luggage. I know the intention is good, but we'd like to give these children something brand new; something all their own."

To that end, another positive to celebrate will be the first Duffels for Kids Walk, sponsored by the Florida State Foster/Adoptive Parent Association on May 18 in Miami.

It's the kickoff to the association's drive to provide new duffel bags to every child in that state's foster care system. As the program grows, its leaders hope to have new duffel bags for each child entering the system, Iuculano says.

Duffels for Kids will initially focus on Florida, but organizer LaShaun Wallace, who's on the board of the National Foster Parents Association, hopes it will eventually go nationwide.

It's in everyone's best interests to protect the most vulnerable in our society, children without the protection of loving, caring families, Iuculano says.

"When you look at the numbers, you quickly see why we desperately need more positive changes to applaud," she says.

These were compiled from various sources:

• In recent years, there have been more than 500,000 children in foster care nationally; per one annual count, 22 percent were available for adoption.
• In that year, 18 percent of children were adopted after waiting an average 42 months in foster care.
• More than half of the children who age out of foster care will be unemployed adults.
• Almost a third will be homeless.
• One in five will be incarcerated within two years.

To support Duffels for Kids by attending the walk or making a donation, visit the website.

Some of the supporters scheduled to participate in the May 18 walk include Esther Jacobo, regional director for Miami-Dade and Monroe counties for the Florida Department of Children and Families and Children's Trust board member; Dr. Kalyani Gopal, licensed clinical psychologist and author of "Foster Parenting Step-by-Step," to be released in May, which tackles the day-to-day issues in raising foster children; and Sidarth Singh and Shifali Singh, siblings who founded the former Duffels for Angels - renamed Duffels for Kids -- and Aid for Change to provide duffel bags for foster children in Indiana.

About Duffels for Kids

Duffels for Kids is a new program coordinated by the Florida State Foster/Adoptive Parent Association, which will coordinate distribution of new duffel bags with the help of the Department of Children and Families, private investigators, guardian ad litems and local foster parent groups. Caregivers will be able to request a duffel bag for a child by calling the state foster parent associations 800 line or request an online form.

DES MOINES, IA (04/11/2013)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald is encouraging Iowans to make the most of their tax refunds this year by investing in College Savings Iowa. "Much like the April 15 deadline for taxes, the time to save for college is over before you know it," said Fitzgerald. "Put your refund to good use and start saving for a loved one's future educational needs today. By starting early, saving a little at a time and making smart investment choices, families can make their savings work for them."

College Savings Iowa is designed to provide families a tax-advantaged way to save money for their children's higher education. It only takes $25 to open an account, and anyone - parents, grandparents, friends and relatives - can invest in College Savings Iowa on behalf of a child. Participants who are Iowa taxpayers can deduct contributions up to $3,045 per beneficiary from their 2013 adjusted gross income, and there are no income or residency restrictions.* Earnings grow tax free and investors can withdraw their investment federally and Iowa state tax-free to pay for qualified higher education expenses including tuition, books, supplies and certain room and board costs at any eligible college, university, community college or accredited technical training school in the United States or abroad.**

Saving for a child's education is always a smart investment, and College Savings Iowa is there to help. To learn more about College Savings Iowa or to open an account, please visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com or call 1-888-672-9116.

*Adjusted annually for inflation. If withdrawals are not qualified, the deductions must be added back to Iowa taxable income.

**Earnings on non-qualified withdrawals may be subject to federal income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax, as well as state income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.

###

Investment returns are not guaranteed and you could lose money by investing in the plan. Participants assume all investment risks as well as responsibility for any federal and state tax consequences. If you are not an Iowa taxpayer, consider before investing whether your or the designated beneficiary's home state offers any state tax or other benefits that are only available for investments in such state's qualified tuition program.

For more information about the College Savings Iowa 529 Plan, call 888-672-9116 or visit www.collegesavingsiowa.com to obtain a Program Description. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information are included in the Program Description; read and consider it carefully before investing.

College Savings Iowa is an Iowa trust sponsored by the Iowa State Treasurer's Office. The Treasurer of the State of Iowa sponsors and is responsible for overseeing the administration of the College Savings Iowa 529 Plan. The Vanguard Group, Inc., serves as Investment Manager and Vanguard Marketing Corporation, an affiliate of The Vanguard Group, Inc., assists the Treasurer with marketing and distributing the Plan. Upromise Investment Advisors, LLC, provides records administration services. The Plan's portfolios, although they invest in Vanguard mutual funds, are not mutual funds.