[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 93 (Tuesday, July 14, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8131-S8132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PERFORMANCE OF BILL LANN LEE

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Senate Judiciary Committee has 
repeatedly postponed hearings regarding the performance of the Civil 
Rights Division of the Justice Department, including one that had been 
noticed for this morning. I am disappointed that this hearing was 
canceled because it would have offered us a chance to look at the 
outstanding on-the-job performance of Bill Lann Lee, our Acting 
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
  At the end of last year, Bill Lee got caught up in one of the 
political whirlwinds that hit Washington every now and then. The result 
was that he became a victim of the right wing anti-affirmative action 
lobby and was denied a fair chance at a vote by the full Senate on his 
nomination to head the Civil Rights Division. Bill Lee was 
mischaracterized last fall as a wild-eyed radical and as someone ready 
to impose an extreme agenda on the United States. He was also mis-
portrayed as a supporter of quotas.
  I knew nothing could be further from the truth. After looking at Bill 
Lee's record, I knew he was a man who could effectively lead the Civil 
Rights Division, enforce the law and resolve disputes. I noted at the 
time: ``He has been involved in approximately 200 cases in his 23 years 
of law practice, and he has settled all but six of them. Clearly, this 
is strong evidence that Mr. Lee is a problem solver and practical in 
his approach to the law. No one who has taken the time to thoroughly 
review his record could call him an idealogue.'' I recognized last fall 
that Bill Lee would be reasonable and practical in his approach to the 
job, and that he would be a top-notch enforcer of the Nation's civil 
rights laws.
  Last December, after this nomination was blocked from going to the 
Senate for an up or down vote, the President and the Attorney General 
determined that the right thing to do was to have Bill Lee proceed to 
act as the head of the Civil Rights Division and to resubmit his 
nomination to the Senate. The Nation needs leadership in this important 
position. Bill Lee has been serving for seven months now, and he has 
established a solid track record. It is a shame that today's hearing 
was canceled, because it would have been a chance to show the Nation 
what an outstanding job he is doing for all Americans.
  In preparation for the scheduled hearing, I have had a chance to take 
a close look at what Bill Lee has been doing while serving as the 
acting head of the Civil Rights Division. What I find is a record of 
strong accomplishments. In addition, I see professionalism and 
effective problem solving. I find him enforcing the law in a sensible 
and fair manner.
  Over the past seven months, the Division has focused most intensely 
on three areas of the law: violations of our Nation's fair housing 
laws, enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (``ADA''), and 
cases involving hate crimes. Bill Lee and his team of civil rights 
attorneys have made advances in each of these areas of the law.
  The Division has resolved the following housing discrimination cases 
over the past few months:
  An agreement was reached with two large New Jersey apartment 
complexes resolving allegations that the defendants had discriminated 
against potential renters based on family status and race. A housing 
discrimination case in Michigan was settled involving an apartment 
manager who told black applicants that no apartments were available at 
the same time that he was showing vacant apartments to white 
applicants. An agreement was also reached with the second largest real 
estate company in Alabama, which had been steering applicants to agents 
and residential areas based on race.
  The Civil Rights Division has also focused on educating the public 
about

[[Page S8132]]

the ADA and enforcing it where necessary. These cases have included: 
resolution of a case in Hawaii to allow those who are vision impaired 
to travel to the State without having to quarantine their guide dogs 
for four months in advance of arrival; a consent decree with the 
National Collegiate Athletic Association so that high school athletes 
with learning disabilities have the opportunity to compete for 
scholarships and participate in college athletics; an agreement with 
private hospitals in Connecticut to ensure patients who are deaf have 
access to sign-language interpreters; and assistance to the State of 
Florida to update their building code to bring it into compliance with 
the ADA. Florida joins Maine, Texas and Washington State in having a 
certified building code thereby ensuring better compliance with the ADA 
by architects, builders and contractors within the State.
  The Civil Rights Division has also resolved several hate crimes cases 
over the past seven months, including: In Idaho, six men pled guilty to 
engaging in a series of racially motivated attacks on Mexican American 
men, women and children, some as young as 9; in Arizona, three members 
of a skinhead group pled guilty to burning a cross in the front yard of 
an African American woman; and in Texas, a man pled guilty to entering 
a Jewish temple and firing several gun shots while shouting anti-
Semitic slurs.
  The Division has also been vigorously enforcing its criminal 
statutes, including: indictments against three people in Arkansas 
charged with church burning; guilty pleas by 16 Puerto Rico 
correctional officers who beat 22 inmates and then tried to cover it 
up; cases arising from Mexican women and girls, some as young as 14, 
being lured to the U.S. and then being forced into prostitution; and 
guilty pleas from 18 defendants who forced 60 deaf Mexican nationals to 
sell trinkets on the streets of New York. Out of concerns about slavery 
continuing in the U.S., Bill Lee has created a Worker Exploitation Task 
Force to coordinate enforcement efforts with the Department of Labor. I 
commend Mr. Lee for putting the spotlight on these shameful crimes.
  Other significant cases which the Civil Rights Division has handled 
in the past few months include the following: several long-standing 
school desegregation cases were settled or their consent decrees were 
terminated, including cases in Kansas City, Kansas; San Juan County, 
Utah; and Indianapolis, Indiana. Japanese-Latin Americans who were 
deported and interned in the United States during World War II finally 
received compensation this year. Lawsuits in Ohio and Washington, D.C. 
were settled to allow women access to women's health clinics.
  This record indicates that Bill Lee has been running the Division the 
way it should be run. Here in Washington, where we have lots of show 
horses, Bill Lee is a work horse--a dedicated public official who is 
working hard to help solve our Nation's problems. I like people who get 
the job done. I commend Bill Lann Lee and the many hardworking 
professionals at the Civil Rights Division.
  Bill Lee has served as acting head of the Civil Rights Division for 
seven months now. Given the claims made by many in the Senate last fall 
that Mr. Lee would lead the Division astray, you might expect that he 
would be in the headlines every day associated with some extreme 
decision. Instead, we have seen the strong and steady work of the 
Division--solid achievements and effective law enforcement.
  Just last week, I received a letter from Governor Zell Miller of 
Georgia that is emblematic of the record that Bill Lee has established. 
Governor Miller discusses Bill Lee's efficient and effective ability to 
settle an action which involved Georgia's juvenile detention 
facilities. He notes that he was not exactly a fan of the Civil Rights 
Division before Bill Lee came along and writes that he ``was fearful 
that Georgia would be unable to get a fair forum in which to present 
our position, and that we would once again be compelled to engage in 
protracted and expensive litigation.'' Governor Miller writes that his 
fears were unfounded, that the parties engaged in ``intensive and 
expeditious negotiations'' and reached a fair agreement. Governor 
Miller also notes:

       I have indicated to Mr. Lee both personally and publicly 
     that he and his staff treated Georgia with professionalism, 
     fairness, and respect during our negotiations. Under the 
     direction of Bill Lann Lee, what began as a potentially 
     divisive and litigious process was transformed into an 
     atmosphere where the State was able to have its case heard 
     fairly, resulting in a reasonable agreement benefiting all 
     parties. This is the way in which the Civil Rights Division 
     should operate in its dealings with the states, and I am 
     pleased to commend Mr. Lee and his staff for their efforts in 
     this matter.

  Bill Lee continues to build on his reputation as a professional and 
effective negotiator who routinely earns praise from opposing parties. 
I had high expectations for Bill Lee when he was nominated and I have 
not been disappointed. He is doing a terrific job, and I know that he 
will keep up the good work.
  The President renominated Bill Lann Lee to be Assistant Attorney 
General in charge of the Civil Rights Division on January 29 of this 
year. Given his outstanding performance over the past seven months, I 
hope Chairman Hatch and the other Republican members of the Judiciary 
Committee will reconsider his nomination, review his record and 
favorably report the nomination of Bill Lee to the Senate so that he 
may be confirmed as the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. 
Bill Lee deserves it.
  I ask unanimous consent that the letter from Governor Miller of 
Georgia be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                                 State of Georgia,


                                       Office of the Governor,

                                            Atlanta, July 9, 1998.
     Hon. Orrin Hatch,
     U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.

     Hon. Patrick Leahy,
     U.S. Senate, Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Hatch and Leahy: It is my understanding that 
     you are conducting an oversight hearing concerning the Civil 
     Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice. 
     The purpose of this letter is to advise you of the State of 
     Georgia's recent experience with the Civil Rights Division, 
     which ultimately resulted in a joint agreement concerning our 
     state juvenile detention facilities.
       During much of 1997, representatives of the Civil Rights 
     Division investigated certain alleged conditions and 
     practices in detention facilities operated by Georgia's 
     Department of Juvenile Justice. The Justice Department 
     received full cooperation from state officials during its 
     investigation
       When the Justice Department's findings letter was released 
     earlier this year, I was very upset with the manner in which 
     the letter was issued and many of the comments contained in 
     that correspondence. Frankly, given our state's prior 
     experiences with the Department of Justice in general, and 
     the Civil Rights Division in particular, I was fearful that 
     Georgia would be unable to get a fair forum in which to 
     present our position, and that we would once again be 
     compelled to engage in protracted and expensive litigation.
       I, members of my staff, and the Attorney General of Georgia 
     made these concerns known to Acting Assistant Attorney 
     General Bill Lann Lee and other Justice Department officials. 
     We indicated a willingness to discuss the Justice 
     Department's concerns and reach a reasonable resolution, as 
     long as the legitimate interests of the State of Georgia in 
     insuring public safety and developing its own policies would 
     be honored.
       After intensive and expeditious negotiations, the State of 
     Georgia and the Department of Justice, through its Civil 
     Rights Division directed by Mr. Lee, arrived at a Memorandum 
     of Agreement which recognizes Georgia's legitimate interests 
     to protect its citizens and set its own policies while, at 
     the same time, improve services for youths in state custody. 
     I have indicated to Mr. Lee both personally and publicly that 
     he and his staff treated Georgia with professionalism, 
     fairness, and respect during our negotiations.
       Under the direction of Bill Lann Lee, what began as a 
     potentially divisive and litigious process was transformed 
     into an atmosphere where the State was able to have its case 
     heard fairly, resulting in a reasonable agreement benefiting 
     all parties.
       This is the way in which the Civil Rights Division should 
     operate in its dealings with the states, and I am pleased to 
     commend Mr. Lee and his staff for their efforts in this 
     manner.
       With kindest regards, I remain.
           Sincerely,
     Zell Miller.

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