Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) requested unanimous passage in the Senate of the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act of 2021. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation – passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee with no opposition – would safeguard the personally identifiable information of federal judges and their immediate families and was crafted in response to the fatal, targeted attack on U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas’s New Jersey home 21 months ago. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) objected the passage of the bill.
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“It is a sad moment that, by not supporting this bill today, judges and their family members around the country will continue to be at risk from those who would do them harm. However, today’s objection reveals to the American people my colleagues’ unabashed hypocrisy,” said Sen. Menendez from the Senate Floor moments after the bill was blocked. “In one breath, my Republicans colleagues will wax eloquent about the need to protect family members of Supreme Court Justices, but in the next, they will block passage of a common sense, bipartisan bill that will help achieve that goal for the entire federal bench. Using the security of judges as a political messaging tool is abhorrent.”
“The Senate should move quickly to consider the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act of 2021 so that every Senator can be on the record,” Sen. Menendez added. “Their constituents deserve to know where they stand on this important issue.”
The Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act is co-authored by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and was originally introduced in September of 2020, weeks after Daniel Anderl, son of Judge Esther Salas was murdered in targeted attack on their New Jersey home and reintroduced last July as threats against the judiciary continue to rise.
“No one who takes on the responsibility of serving as a federal judge should ever live in fear of being targeted by someone who is able to easily access their personal information online. I’m disappointed that the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act failed to advance in the Senate today, but I will continue the fight to protect the privacy and safety of federal judges and their loved ones. I celebrate Judge Esther Salas and her husband, Mark, who have turned unimaginable grief into tireless advocacy and action to ensure that what happened to their son and their family never happens again. I know their efforts will ultimately succeed,” said Sen. Booker.
The Senate bill also cosponsored by Sens. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Kennedy (R-La.) Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). The House version is co-led by Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.-11) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.-01).
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