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Senator GREGG. Well, we thank you for your time, and we won't take any more of it. We appreciate your submission, and we'll try to assist you with these facilities issues.

Justice KENNEDY. Thank you very much, Senator.

Justice SOUTER. Thank you.

Senator GREGG. We will take a brief recess. So we shall reconvene here.

[A brief recess was taken.]

U.S. COURTS

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN G. HEYBURN II, CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET, JUDICIAL CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED STATES

REMARKS OF SENATOR MC CONNELL

Senator GREGG. We are joined by the Senator from Kentucky. Senator MCCONNELL. Mr. Chairman, I am just here to introduce to the committee a good friend of mine, of over one-quarter of century duration, who is a Federal district judge for the Western District of Kentucky, and who chairs the Budget Committee of the judiciary.

John's wife Martha who is an ophthalmologist, an outstanding physician. John has had a very distinguished career in the law. In my previous incarnation as the county executive of Jefferson County, John was one of the lawyers who represented me and my office in country government.

He's a Harvard graduate, and a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law, which is a lot more important in Kentucky.

And John is not only, as I said, a long time personal friend, but an extremely outstanding jurist. Periodically the lawyers in our State do their ratings, which they get to do anonymously, and John invariably has outstanding scores from those who come before him. So he performs his duties in an evenhanded and fair way.

I'd also like to ask that his biography appear in the record at this point.

Senator GREGG. Without objection.

[The information follows:]

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN GILPIN HEYBURN II

John Gilpin Heyburn II was born November 12, 1948, the son of Henry R. Heyburn and Frances Starks Heyburn. Both his grandfather and father were attorneys and civic leaders in Louisville, Kentucky.

Judge Heyburn received his early education in the Louisville public schools and graduated from Milton Academy, Milton, Massachusetts. In 1970 he received his A.B. degree from Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he majored in history, received seven varsity letters for participation in cross country and track and was named to the All-Ivy League cross country team.

Prior to entering law school, Judge Heyburn worked for a number of public service and research institutions, including the Park Duvalle Neighborhood Health Center, the Louisville and Jefferson County Youth Commission and the University of Louisville Urban Study Center. During that time Judge Heyburn also served as an officer in the United States Army Reserves. In 1976, Judge Heyburn received his J.D. degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was a member of the school's National Moot Court Team.

From 1976 until his appointment to the bench, Judge Heyburn was associated with the law firm of Brown, Todd and Heyburn, which at the time of his departure numbered approximately 120 attorneys. He was a partner at the firm from 1982 through 1992. Judge Heyburn's practice focused on commercial litigation, with a particular interest in construction contract litigation, a subject upon which he wrote

and spoke extensively. Judge Heyburn also served as special counsel to County Judge Executive Mitch McConnell and as counsel for two citizen commissions established to draft a new governmental charter for Louisville and Jefferson County.

Judge Heyburn served as a director of the Louisville Bar Foundation and as chairman of the continuing legal education programs for the 1991 Kentucky Bar Association Annual Convention. He also served as President of the University of Kentucky College of Law Alumni Association and as a member of the College of Law's Visiting Committee. As a director of Kentucky Citizens for Judicial Improvement, Judge Heyburn was active in the effort to reform Kentucky's judicial system by way of constitutional amendment in 1976.

Judge Heyburn was active in civil and political affairs in Kentucky. Among other things, he was Chair of the Jefferson County Republican Party, Chair of the 1988 Republican Kentucky State Convention, delegate to the 1984 and 1988 Republican National Conventions and a candidate for Jefferson County Judge Executive in 1989. In civic affairs, Judge Heyburn served as a director of numerous charitable and public service institutions and served as Chair of the Louisville and Jefferson County Crime Commission.

On March 20, 1992, President Bush nominated Judge Heyburn to the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to succeed the Honorable Thomas A. Ballantine, Jr. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 14, 1992, and he took the oath of office on August 28, 1992.

In 1994, Judge Heyburn was appointed to serve on the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. In January 1997, Judge Heyburn was appointed by Chief Justice Rehnquist to serve as Chairman of the Budget Committee. Judge Heyburn is married to the former Martha Blackledge Keeney, who is an ophthalmologist and eye surgeon. They have two sons born in 1988 and 1991.

Senator MCCONNELL. I hope that the Senator from New Hampshire will not be too rough on my old friend, Judge Heyburn.

Senator GREGG. Thank you very much. We appreciate your coming by, Senator. And with that strong endorsement and introduction, Judge, we'll turn it over to you.

OPENING STATEMENT

Judge HEYBURN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. If it is all right, I would like to make a brief statement in the beginning, in addition to the written statement that we are submitting.

It is a real honor for me to appear before your committee for the first time, and in doing so, to represent the many fine men and women of the Federal judiciary who do so much to assure equal justice to all of our law abiding citizens and swift punishment for those who do not abide by the laws.

Thank you, first of all, for the appropriation that we received last year. While we didn't get everything we asked for, we did get enough after fee collections and carryover, and, I believe, also with the aid of sound, conservative management of our resources, to adequately cover all of our essential services.

More important, I'm pleased to say that we've set our requests for fiscal year 1998 at a 7.8-percent increase over those estimated fiscal year 1997 obligated funds. And that's our lowest requested increase in 12 years.

We have accomplished this by carefully balancing the dual responsibilities that we have as an independent constitutional branch. That first responsibility is to perform our essential duties in law enforcement. And that second responsibility, which is equally important, is to spend the taxpayer's dollars wisely.

The first among the responsibilities that we have is that of law enforcement, and those responsibilities are continuing to increase. The Justice Department continues to bring to bear substantial new

crime fighting resources that tend to increase the workload that we have.

There are more people under supervision and under probation now than ever before. And that all contributes to an increase in our workload. Make no mistake about it: we are part of the justice system, and because of that, to fund law enforcement and prosecutors without giving the judiciary sufficient resources-if you did thatwould only create a bottleneck that would really jam up the entire system. And none of us want that. And our request, I believe it's conservative, but it also recognizes that important reality.

Equally important in our view is our continuing judiciarywide effort to be more efficient. We recognize this as a responsibility, and the Budget Committee and our Economy Subcommittee are leading the effort to sensitize the judiciary to new budgetary constraints. We are serious about it. We have worked hard at it. We recognize that our efforts are only beginning, but we believe they've already borne fruit, and I pledge to you to continue our effort to find efficiencies in every area that commonsense dictates.

I would be remiss if I didn't say that there's probably a limit to what we can do in terms of efficiencies without diminishing in some way a system of justice which, even with all its faults, is the most accessible and the fairest in the world.

Although we are a coequal branch within the constitutional government, the powers of the judiciary are circumscribed. But in a nation that's built on the rule of law, the limited powers we do have are essential to the stability of society.

I have no doubt, Mr. Chairman, that you appreciate and understand those relationships, and in my view that's all the more reason why the judiciary needs to receive whatever funds you believe are necessary to accomplish our role.

And we look at the budgetary process as a way that we can engage in a dialog with you to determine what those appropriate re

sources are.

One other thing I would like to mention just briefly, is the matter of judicial compensation. I always feel a little funny asking for money, particularly when it's for myself, in essence. And it would be a lot easier, I suppose, for me not to bring up the subject at all. But I bring up the subject without hesitation because I believe it's important. We don't become judges for the money. But it is important to have, in my view-and I can elaborate on this later if you would like me to-cost-of-living increases to maintain the stature and the excellence of the Federal judiciary.

I believe it's vital, and I'm putting in a word for that. It's not really a budgetary matter. The cost is minor. It is a fundamental matter of the continuing excellence of the Federal judiciary that's served us so well.

In closing I would like to make a couple of comments about two relatively small accounts in funding terms, but big in terms of what they do for the judiciary. And that's the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Federal Judicial Center.

The Federal Judicial Center's funding has remained about the same for the last 5 years, but it does a lot of work that's very vital for the judiciary. It's worked hard to enhance its record of alternatives to travel-based education, providing the kind of education

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