Collins statement on markup of H.R. 1569
June 12, 2019
“This legislation will make better use of judicial and attorney resources and will better serve the public by allowing district court judges to hear cases in the existing federal courthouses in Flagstaff and Yuma with minimal, if any, additional administrative costs.”
WASHINGTON — Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, made the following opening statement at today’s markup of H.R. 1569, to add court locations in Flagstaff and Yuma in the state of Arizona. Below are the remarks as prepared. Ranking Member Collins: I thank Chairman Nadler for holding this markup on this slate of bipartisan legislation, and I thank Representative Tom O’Halleran for sponsoring this necessary and bipartisan legislation. When the designations for court locations in Arizona were made in 1948, the population of Arizona looked very different. Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott and Globe were some of the largest cities. However, over the past 60 years, the population of Arizona has grown by more than 10 times, exploding across the state. The dramatic population increase has seen cities such as Flagstaff and Yuma become more important to the business and legal community. The courts acknowledged the needs of these cities and acquired courthouses in each city. However, due to restrictions in federal law, district court judges have been limited to hearing cases in Globe, Phoenix, Prescott and Tucson. This means many Arizonans have been forced to travel for hours to get to a courthouse. This legislation will make better use of judicial and attorney resources and will better serve the public by allowing district court judges to hear cases in the existing federal courthouses in Flagstaff and Yuma with minimal, if any, additional administrative costs. This is sorely needed legislation for the people of Arizona, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill.