[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 12, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H398]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE JUDICIAL NOMINATION OF MIGUEL ESTRADA

  (Mr. BURNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss an issue that affects 
all Americans: judicial nominations. It is imperative that we in this 
Congress take a stand today and say enough is enough, that together we 
will end the politics of ethnic and gender exploitation and begin an 
era where our constitutional prerogatives override personal or party 
political ambition.
  Mr. Speaker, the judiciary is the branch of the Federal Government 
that people rely on for impartiality and sound judgment. If they must 
be impartial, then as a coequal branch of government, we should be 
impartial in selecting them. It stands to reason that America's 
diversity extends to the judiciary, not simply for diversity's sake but 
because citizens of this great Nation have the right to be judged by 
their peers. As Americans are diverse, so should be its jurists.
  Mr. Speaker, in the past 2 years we have seen nominees for the 
Federal bench swept aside not because of ideological disagreements or 
their prior decision-making record, but due to political calculations 
about the effect their ethnicity or gender may have on the next 
election. The base politics of ethnicity and gender, couched in 
rhetoric of ideological bias, is destroying qualified nominees' 
potential for good public service.
  Mr. Speaker, let us go forth today and end ethnic and gender 
political maneuvering and begin an era of true impartiality in our 
judicial system and improved public service for our fellow citizens.

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