[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 77 (Thursday, May 22, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S7065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



          Nominations of Ricardo Hinojosa and Michael Horowitz

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I support the nominations of Ricardo 
Hinojosa and Michael Horowitz to the United States Sentencing 
Commission. The Sentencing Commission is responsible for developing 
guidelines for sentencing in Federal courts; collecting data about 
crime and sentencing; and serving as a resource to Congress, the White 
House, the Justice Department, and the judiciary on crime and 
sentencing policy. It is therefore critical that nominations to this 
commission continue to be made in a fair, cooperative, and bipartisan 
manner.
  When Mr. Hinojosa's and Mr. Horowitz's nominations came up in the 
Judiciary Committee in March 2003, I voted ``present'' because I was 
concerned about the process by which the White House had selected them. 
In particular, I was concerned that instead of the bipartisan selection 
process by which previous nominees had been named, the White House had 
selected Mr. Horowitz as an ostensible ``Democratic'' nominee without 
any consultation with Senate Democrats.
  Since that vote in committee, I have been informed that White House 
Counsel Alberto Gonzales has assured the ranking member of our 
committee, Senator Leahy, that the White House is treating both Mr. 
Hinojosa and Mr. Horowitz as Republican nominees to the commission. I 
further understand that when the next three vacancies arise on the 
commission in October, the President will either reappoint all three 
commissioners now holding those seats--Ruben Castillo, William 
Sessions, and Michael O'Neill--or will consult in the traditional and 
appropriate manner with the Democratic leadership before announcing a 
replacement nominee for a current Democratic commissioner. Based on 
that understanding, I have decided to support these important 
nominations to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

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