[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 44 (Thursday, April 1, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3525-S3526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP'S OBSTRUCTION

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, today is day 7 of the Democratic 
leadership's unprecedented obstruction of President Bush's nominees for 
various executive positions and judicial nominations. In fact, I have 
in my hand the Executive Calendar which reflects 46 of the President's 
nominees who stand ready to be confirmed by the Senate so they can get 
to work on behalf of the American people. But unfortunately, as appears 
to be a growing trend and one where our Democratic colleagues continue 
to dig in their heels, the answer to every entreaty we might offer, 
every suggestion we have in terms of creating jobs, in terms of putting 
people on the bench to decide cases that go unheard because judges are 
not being confirmed to these posts, we continue to get a consistent 
response on behalf of our Democratic colleagues of ``no.''
  The answer they give to jobs and manufacturing, medical liability 
reform, a national energy policy, workforce investment, judges, small 
business, class action reform, and faith-based and charities 
legislation is ``no.''
  Particularly on the judicial nominees, I point out, once again, that 
this obstructionism is unprecedented in the history of the Senate. 
Where we have a bipartisan majority in the Senate who stand ready to 
confirm highly qualified nominees, such as Justice Priscilla Owen of 
the Texas Supreme Court of my home State, people such as Janice Rogers 
Brown who serves on the California Supreme Court, or people such as 
Miguel Estrada who, after waiting

[[Page S3526]]

for so long to have his confirmation heard on the Senate floor, finally 
had to give up and go about his daily life because of this 
unprecedented obstruction.
  The worst part of this is that it has not only been about blocking 
President Bush's highly qualified judicial nominees and other people 
who he has proposed for various boards and commissions serving the 
American people, this, unfortunately, has also involved a character 
assassination as well. Judicial nominees have been called names by 
Senators on the other side of the aisle that are really unbecoming of 
the dignity of this body, names such as ``kooks,'' ``Neanderthals,'' 
``turkeys,'' and other names that are just entirely inappropriate to 
the civil discourse and debate that people have come to expect and 
deserve a right to hear from Members of the Senate.
  We can disagree about policy matters. We can have a different 
proposal for the American people about which direction this country 
should go on a number of these issues. But surely--surely--the Senate 
should continue to conduct its discussions in a civil way and one that 
allows majorities to govern, not that allows obstinate minorities led 
by the Democratic leadership to block vote after vote on matters that 
are important to the people of the United States.
  The problem we now hear is they are objecting to proceeding on any 
nominees because President Bush has used the authority given to him 
under the Constitution to make recess appointments. They act as if this 
has never been heard of, that it is unprecedented in U.S. history. The 
fact is, there have been more than 300 recess appointments made during 
the course of this Nation's history, including by President Clinton, 
before President George W. Bush, and others. Indeed, this is a 
constitutional response to unconstitutional filibusters.
  Unfortunately, we know the nature of this process is such that if the 
Democrat obstructionists get away with blocking President Bush's 
nominees, not from voting against them but by preventing a vote on them 
at all, this is a tactic once determined to be successful that will 
likely be employed by others when the shoe is on the other foot.
  When the next Democrat is President of the United States and 
Republicans are in the minority in the Senate, how is it we are going 
to explain to our Republican colleagues that, no, you should not use 
this tactic which, up until now, has been out of bounds but which has 
now been employed successfully against the Democratic minority against 
this President?
  We ask for an up-or-down vote today on President Bush's judicial 
nominees, and we would ask that rather than answering ``stop'' to all 
of the Republican agenda on behalf of the American people, we could at 
least get an up-or-down vote.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator from Texas has 
expired. Who seeks recognition?
  The Senator from Nevada is recognized for 5 minutes under the 
previous order.

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