[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 140 (Thursday, October 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10825-S10827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Anthony Ishii

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, having recommended Anthony W. Ishii to 
President Clinton to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District in 
California, I am gratified to see his nomination come before the full 
Senate today, and I urge my colleagues to vote to confirm him.
  Anthony Ishii, a third generation Californian, will be the first 
Asian-American to serve on the Eastern District federal bench. He has 
had a long and distinguished legal career. Currently, he serves as a 
Municipal Court Judge for the Central Valley Municipal Court in Fresno, 
California.
  For ten years prior to his service on the Municipal Court bench, he 
served as a Justice Court Judge for the Parlier-Selma Judicial District 
in Fresno County. He was initially appointed to the Justice Court 
position by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, and has since stood 
for election three time. He won his first reelection and has been 
unopposed in each of the two subsequent ones.
  Judge Ishii received his Juris Doctor from Boalt Hall, the law school 
at the University of California, Berkeley. Early in his career, he was 
a Deputy City Attorney in Sacramento and a Deputy Public Defender for 
the County of Fresno. Prior to his service on the bench, he was an 
attorney in private practice. He has extensive trial experience, 
handling over 70 jury trials before becoming a judge.
  For years, Judge Ishii has been involved in numerous professional 
activities. He was appointed to the prestigious California Judicial 
Council by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Malcolm Lucas. 
Additionally, he served as a member of the Judicial Council Advisory 
Committee on the Administration of Justice in the rural counties for 
three years. He served

[[Page S10826]]

from 1991 to 1993 on the Commission on the Future of the California 
Courts. From 1983 to 1993, he was a member of the Fresno County Justice 
Court Judges Association and served a term as president of the 
organization.
  Judge Ishii is also a leader in his community. He is a member of the 
Japanese American Citizens League, where he has served in numerous 
capacities for over nineteen years. His community service includes the 
Selma Public Education Foundation, the Selma Hospital Foundation, the 
Selma Delinquency Prevention Committee, and service on the Board of 
Valley Public Television. He has been a member of the California Small 
Business Development Board, the California Task Force on Rural Economy, 
and the Asian and Pacific Islander Advisory Committee.
  Judge Ishii has received numerous letters illustrating his broad, 
bipartisan support. The Sheriff of Fresno County, Steve Magarian, who 
has known Judge Ishii for 15 years, says he ``has earned the deep 
respect from law enforcement''.
  The Chief of Police, William Eldridge, of the Livingston Police 
Department says Judge Ishii is ``highly respected by both the citizens 
of the community and law enforcement.''
  The President of the Merced County Sheriff's Employee Association, 
Brian Miller, writes Ishii ``has a strong commitment to law 
enforcement, and has the background and knowledge that makes him an 
invaluable asset to the Federal Judicial System.''
  The President of the 700-member Fresno Police Officers Association, 
Larry Bertao, says that Judge Ishii has an ``outstanding reputation 
among local law enforcement . . . and will serve his community in an 
effective and distinguished manner as a federal court judge.''
  The President of the Fresno Deputy Sheriffs Association, Victor 
Wisemer, says Judge Ishii is ``well-respected by his colleagues, has a 
strong commitment to quality law enforcement, and is equitable in the 
decisions he renders.''
  Judge Ishii has the unanimous support of the Fresno County Board of 
Supervisors, an all-Republican Board. Their letter states that Ishii is 
``recognized for his exemplary judicial tenure and has universal 
community support.''
  The President of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, Doug Davidian, says 
he is ``well respected by law enforcement, the judiciary and by the 
legal and business communities.''
  I strongly believe Judge Ishii will make an outstanding addition to 
the federal bench. I believe his intelligence, judicial temperament, 
broad experience, professional and community service, and deep 
commitment to justice qualify him to serve on the federal bench with 
great distinction.
  I am very proud to have had the opportunity to recommend Anthony 
Ishii for the Federal District Court, and I urge my colleagues to vote 
to approve his nomination.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am delighted that the majority leader had 
decided to take up the nomination of Judge Anthony W. Ishii to be a 
United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California. 
Judge Ishii is an outstanding nominee. He is currently a municipal 
court judge in Fresno, California. The ABA found him to be well-
qualified, its highest rating.
  We first received Anthony Ishii's nomination on February 12, 1997, 
almost eight months ago. He had a confirmation hearing on June 25, 
where he was strongly supported by both California Senators. He was 
favorably reported by the Judiciary Committee back on July 10. There 
has been no explanation or justification for the delay in bringing this 
nomination forward from the Senate calendar. I am sure that Judge Ishii 
and his family are happy that their long wait is now over. I 
congratulate them and look forward to his service on the District 
Court.
  Unfortunately, the Republican leadership has chosen again to skip 
over the nomination of Margaret Morrow. In spite of the adoption of the 
Wysen-Grassley amendment earlier this month, an amendment that calls 
upon Senators to come forward within two days of exercising a hold to 
identify themselves, Margaret Morrow's nomination has been the subject 
of an anonymous and mysterious hold over a period of two years and most 
recently since being reported on June 12, almost four months ago.
  On September 29 Senator Hatch reiterated his continuing support for 
the nomination of Margaret Morrow and announced that he will vote for 
her. He said: ``I have found her to be qualified and I will support 
her. Undoubtedly, there will be some who will not, but she deserved to 
have her vote on the floor. I have been assured by the majority leader 
that she will have her vote on the floor. I intend to argue for and on 
her behalf.''
  I have looked forward to that debate since June 12. I ask, again, why 
not now, why not today, why not this week? This is a nomination that 
has been pending for far too long and that has been stalled here on the 
floor twice over two years without justification. Last year this 
nomination was unanimously reported by the Judiciary Committee and was 
left to wither without action for over three months. This year, the 
Committee again reported her nomination favorably and it has been 
pending for another four months. There has been no explanation for this 
delay and no justification. This good woman does not deserve this 
shameful treatment.
  Meanwhile, the people served by the District Court for the Central 
District of California continue to suffer the affects of this 
persistent vacancy--cases are not heard, criminal cases are not being 
tried. This is one of more than 28 vacancies that have persisted for so 
long that they are classified as ``judicial emergency'' vacancies by 
the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
  When the President spoke out in his national radio address, he asked 
that the delay in the consideration of judicial nominees come to an 
end. Unfortunately, the delay continues with respect to too many 
nominations, including that of Margaret Morrow.


                   nomination of katharine g. abraham

  Mr. MOYHIHAN. Mr. President, the record should reflect that there is 
a growing body of evidence that the Consumer Price Index, as complied 
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is not an accurate measure of the 
cost of living. The BLS itself so states in its brochure, 
``Understanding the Consumer Price Index: Answers to Some Questions,'' 
which in answer to the question ``Is the CPI a cost of living index?'' 
says ``No, although it frequently and mistakenly is called a cost of 
living index.''
  That the CPI is an upward-biased measure of changes in the cost of 
living is not in dispute. The Advisory Commission to Study the Consumer 
Price index appointed by the Finance Committee in 1995 concluded as 
follows:

       * * * The Commission's best estimate of the size of the 
     upward bias looking forward is 1.1 percentage points per 
     year. The range of plausible values is 0.8 to 1.6 percentage 
     points per year.

  In testimony on February 11, 1997 before the Finance Committee, 
Commissioner Abraham herself acknowledged that the CPI ``gives you an 
upper bound on what is happening to the cost of living.''
  I would also note that Dr. David Wilcox, who was recently nominated 
to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy, has 
reached conclusions remarkably similar to those of the Boskin 
Commission. While serving as Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve 
Board, Dr. Wilcox and Matthew Shapiro, Professor of Economics at the 
University of Michigan, published a study entitled ``Mismeasurement in 
the Consumer Price Index: An Evaluation'' in which they wrote:

       * * * we [find] the overall bias in the CPI at just under 
     1.0 percentage point per year. We also estimate that the 
     [range] lies between 0.6 percentage point per year and 1.5 
     percentage points per year.

  So the issue is not whether the CPI an accurate measure of changes in 
the cost-of-living, but rather how large is the upward bias?
  Yet despite evidence from experts both inside and outside the 
government, last spring we began to hear repeated the argument that 
questioning the accuracy of the Consumer Price Index as a measurement 
of the cost of living somehow constituted political interference with 
the BLS. I hope that in her second term, Commissioner Abraham will help 
to dispel this perception by working closely with price experts inside 
and outside the government. For as Federal Reserve Chairman Alan 
Greenspan said in testimony

[[Page S10827]]

before the Finance Committee on January 30, 1997:

       * * * assuming zero for the remaining bias is the political 
     fix. On this issue we should let evidence, not politics, 
     drive policy.

  Policies based on inaccurate statistics can have dramatic 
consequences for the economy. For example, overstating the increase in 
the cost of living reduces the growth in real wages. With an overstated 
cost of living measure, it appears that real hourly wages have been 
stagnant for the past 30 years. Yet with a one percentage point 
correction, it turns out that real hourly earnings have actually 
increased by 35 percent.
  It is important that our Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is 
comprised of many superb professionals, even so be humble enough to 
recognize that it may not be the repository of all expertise on this 
subject. There are other views, and they need to be considered 
carefully by the BLS. Commissioner Abraham would do well to be mindful 
of this in her second term.

                          ____________________