[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16988-16989]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  PENDING NOMINATION OF BILL LANN LEE

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today in communities all around the country 
and here at the United States Capitol, Asian Pacific Americans are 
leading all Americans in a demonstration of our commitment to one 
America, equal opportunity and equal justice under law by urging the 
Senate to vote on the nomination of Bill Lann Lee to head the Civil 
Rights Division at the Department of Justice. I hear the call of the 
Congressional Asian Pacific Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus and 
the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for prompt Senate consideration and a 
vote on this highly-qualified nominee and dedicated public servant. I 
commend the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans and their Chair 
Daphne Kwok, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and 
the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium for their 
leadership in connection with this matter and their commitment to 
fundamental fairness.
  Today is the second anniversary of the initial nomination of Bill 
Lann Lee to the office of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. 
I repeat today what I have said before: It is past time to do the right 
thing, the honorable thing, and report this qualified nominee to the 
Senate so that the Senate may fulfill its constitutional duty under the 
advice and consent clause and vote on this nomination without further 
delay. Two years is too long to wait for Senate action on this 
important nomination.
  Yesterday, I was privileged to attend a meeting with the President of 
the United States in the East Room of the White House in which he 
issued a challenge to the lawyers of our country to rededicate 
themselves to help build one America and realize the American dream of 
equality for all under the law. What kind of message is the Senate 
sending when it refuses to act on the nomination of this outstanding 
Asian Pacific American?
  After Bill Lann Lee graduated from Yale and then Columbia Law School 
he could have spent his career in the comfort and affluence of any one 
of the nation's top law firms. He chose, instead, to spend his career 
on the front lines, helping to open the doors of opportunity to those 
who struggle in our society. His is an American story. The son of 
immigrants whose success can be celebrated by all Americans.
  In my view, Bill Lann Lee should be commended for the years he worked 
to provide legal services and access to our justice system for those 
without the financial resources otherwise to retain

[[Page 16989]]

counsel. His work should be a source of pride and a basis for praise. 
His career should be a model for those who take up the challenge that 
the President enunciated yesterday to lawyers across this country. I 
say that Bill Lann Lee represented the best of the legal profession 
while serving those without means.
  It appears that some on the Republican side want to hold the Lee 
nomination as a partisan trophy--to kill it through obstruction and 
delay rather than allowing the Senate to vote up or down on the 
nomination. This effort started with a letter from the former Speaker 
of the House, Newt Gingrich, to the Republican Majority Leader of the 
Senate in 1997. Over the ensuing weekend progress toward confirmation 
of this nomination ground to a halt. Speaker Gingrich is gone but the 
disastrous consequence of his unjustified opposition to this nomination 
lingers. It is past time to put past injustice to rest. As speaker 
after speaker reiterated today across the country, it is time for the 
Senate to vote on the nomination of Bill Lann Lee.
  Bill Lann Lee's skills, his experience, the compelling personal 
journey that he and his family have traveled, his commitment to full 
opportunity for all Americans--these qualities appeal to the best in 
us. Let us affirm the best in us. Let the Senate vote on the 
confirmation of this good man. We need Bill Lann Lee's proven problem-
solving abilities in these difficult times with apparent hate crimes on 
the rise across the country. He is spearheading efforts against hate 
crimes, against modern slavery and for equal justice for all Americans.
  If the Senate is allowed to decide, I believe he will be confirmed 
and will move this country forward to a time when discrimination will 
subside and affirmative action is no longer needed; a time when each 
child-- girl or boy, black or white, rich or poor, urban or rural, 
regardless of national or ethnic origin and regardless of sexual 
orientation or disability--shall have a fair and equal opportunity to 
live the American dream.
  Earlier this year Congress voted to award the Congressional Gold 
Medal to Mrs. Rosa Parks. I heard Mrs. Parks, Reverend Jackson and the 
President each take the occasion to remind us that the struggle for 
equality is not over.
  I will ask the Judiciary Committee again tomorrow, in the spirit of 
fairness, that the Committee recognize the 18-month stewardship of the 
Civil Rights Division of Bill Lann Lee, his qualifications, and his 
quiet dignity and strength and send his nomination to the full Senate 
so that the United States Senate may, at long last, vote on that 
nomination and, I hope, confirm this fine American to full rank as the 
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
  When confirmed Bill Lann Lee will be the first Asian Pacific American 
to be appointed to head the Civil Rights Division in its storied 
history and the highest ranking Federal Executive officer of Asian 
Pacific American heritage in our 200-year history.
  I have previously brought to all Senators' attention a June letter 
from the Assistant Attorneys General for Civil Rights from the 
Eisenhower through Bush Administrations in support of this outstanding 
nominee: Harold Tyler, Burke Marshall, Stephen J. Pollak, J. Stanley 
Pottinger, Drew Days and John R. Dunne note in their letter:

       Over the past eighteen months, Mr. Lee has shown that he 
     honors the Civil Rights Division's mission to safeguard equal 
     justice for all. He has enforced the nation's civil rights 
     laws fairly and effectively. He has demonstrated that he can 
     and will meet the demands of the position with distinction 
     and thus merits the Senate's confidence.

  Civil Rights is about human dignity and opportunity. Bill Lann Lee 
ought to have an up or down confirmation vote on the Senate floor. The 
Senate should fulfill its constitutional duty under the advice and 
consent clause and vote on this nomination. Twenty-four months and 
three sessions of Congress is too long for this nomination to have to 
wait. He should no longer be forced to ride in the back on the 
nominations bus but be given the fair vote that he deserves.
  I have often referred to the Senate as acting at its best when it 
serves as the conscience of the nation. I call on the Judiciary 
Committee and the Senate to bring this nomination to the floor for an 
up or down vote without obstruction or further delay so that the Senate 
may vote and we may confirm a dedicated public servant to lead the 
Civil Rights Division into the next century. Racial discrimination, and 
harmful discrimination in all its forms, remain among the most vexing 
unsolved problems of our society. Let the Senate move forward from the 
ceremonial commemorations earlier this year by doing what is right and 
voting on the nomination of Bill Lann Lee.

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