[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 26, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H1359]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONFIRMATION OF MIGUEL ESTRADA

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, as of today there has not been a vote on the 
nomination of Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia. Article II, section 2 of the U.S. Constitution 
states that the President has the power to appoint judges with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, advice and consent. Those two little 
words represent the difference between an organized process of judicial 
nomination and sheer chaos.
  President Bush first nominated Miguel Estrada on May 9, 2001, 18 
months ago. For 18 long months, we have waited for the confirmation of 
Mr. Estrada. Time is running out. For the sake of the integrity of the 
nomination process, for the sake of decency and simple fairness, the 
process must move forward.
  The American people sent us to Washington to get a job done, not to 
waste time. It is time to vote on Miguel Estrada. The American people 
do not want obstructionism.

                          ____________________