[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 97 (Thursday, July 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S7206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     NOMINATION OF ERIC H. HOLDER JR. TO BE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, it was with concerted effort that Senator 
Hatch and I worked to ensure that Eric Holder was reported by the 
Judiciary Committee and ready for Senate confirmation to the important 
position of Deputy Attorney General of the United States before the 
Senate adjourned 2 weeks ago. The President's nomination of Mr. Holder 
to the second highest position at the Department of Justice was 
reported to the Senate without a single dissent on June 24. This 
nomination could and should have been approved by the Senate before it 
adjourned for the last extended recess. It is strongly supported by 
Senator Hatch, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
  There was and is no Democratic hold on this nomination. The delay on 
the Republican side in considering this nomination remains unexplained.
  Eric Holder has proven his dedication to effective law enforcement. 
As a former prosecutor myself, I appreciate Mr. Holder's distinguished 
career in law enforcement.
  Shortly after his graduation from Columbia Law School, Mr. Holder 
joined the Department of Justice as part of the Attorney General's 
Honors Program. He was assigned to the newly formed Public Integrity 
Section in 1976, where he worked for 12 years investigating and 
prosecuting corruption.
  While at the Public Integrity Section, Mr. Holder participated in a 
number of prosecutions and appeals involving such defendants as the 
State treasurer of Florida, a former Ambassador to the Dominican 
Republic, a local judge in Philadelphia, an assistant U.S. attorney in 
New York City, an FBI agent, and a capo in an organized crime family. 
He received a number of awards for outstanding performance and special 
achievement from the Department of Justice.
  In 1988, President Reagan nominated and the Senate confirmed Mr. 
Holder to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District 
of Columbia, where he served for the next 5 years. In his 5 years on 
the bench, Judge Holder presided over hundreds of criminal trials.
  In 1993, President Clinton nominated and the Senate confirmed Eric 
Holder to the important post of U.S. Attorney for the District of 
Columbia. As U.S. attorney for one of the largest U.S. Attorney's 
offices in the Nation, Mr. Holder has supervised 300 lawyers involved 
in criminal, civil and appellate cases. He has functioned as both the 
local district attorney and the Federal prosecutor.
  He has been active in community affairs. For more than a decade, he 
has been a member of Concerned Black Men, an organization seeking to 
help young people in the District of Columbia. He is involved in a 
number of the group's activities, including the Efficacy Program and 
the pregnancy prevention effort. He has participated in the D.C. Street 
Law Program and is active in the See Forever Foundation and the 
National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. He is cochair of 
Project PACT to reduce youth violence and has been instrumental in the 
U.S. attorney's office's outreach efforts to the D.C. community.
  In 1994, he received the Pioneer Award from the National Black 
Prosecutors Association. In 1995, his contributions were recognized 
when he received awards from the District of Columbia Bar Association, 
the Greater Washington Urban League, the American Jewish Congress, and 
Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. Last year, he received awards from the D.C. 
Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement 
Executives, George Washington University, Columbia College, the 
Federation of Citizens Associations of the District of Columbia, Omega 
Psi Phi fraternity, the Brotherhood of Shiloh Men, McDonald's, and the 
Asian Pacific Bar Association.
  I urge the Republican leadership to move forward without further 
delay and confirm the nomination of Eric Holder to be Deputy Attorney 
General.

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