[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 12, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SUPPORTING MIGUEL ESTRADA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, Thomas Jefferson said, ``The 
great object of my fear is the Federal Judiciary. That body, step by 
step, holding what it gains, is engulfing insidiously the special 
governments into the jaws of that which feeds them.''
  And today, Mr. Speaker, the object of my fear is an unrestrained 
judiciary, a judiciary too quick to abandon the ideals of our 
forefathers and the tenets of our Constitution, a judiciary swelling 
with unchecked authority.
  The heart of a republic rests on its judiciary, Mr. Speaker, and the 
confirmation of Miguel Estrada is vital to this Republic. He is a 
brilliant attorney who has repeatedly upheld and has been upheld 
repeatedly and will continue to be upheld. He also upholds the virtues 
of this Nation's sacred Constitution.
  Arriving from Honduras at age 18, speaking no English, this man has 
become the personification of the American dream. And I urge the 
President to stand strong in his support of Miguel Estrada and to stand 
strong in his support of making sure that we maintain a judiciary in 
this country that reads the law for what it is.
  For if our judiciary continues on the path that it is, Mr. Speaker, I 
think perhaps the rest of us can go home. I just call upon the 
President to be encouraged and to recognize that there are Americans 
that are very grateful to him for the courage that he shows and for the 
clarity that he shows in his appointments.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that this appointment and this confirmation can 
go forward unfettered.

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