Louisiana House of Representatives passes resolution requesting U.S. Senate to allow Estrada vote.
WASHINGTON – On April 22, the Louisiana House of Representatives passed House Resolution 29, a resolution demonstrating that state\’s strong support of the nomination of Miguel Estrada to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Estrada is President Bush\’s nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals based in Washington, D.C. His nomination has been held up for well over a year.
Since Feb. 6th, the Senate has spent nearly 100 hours debating the Estrada nomination. The anti-Estrada obstructionism comes at a time when the country is wrapping up a war and the economy is slumping. Meanwhile, the Senate cannot go about its daily work until the filibuster is either defeated by a vote to end floor debate or the nomination is pulled.
"Senate Democrats have undertaken a style of raw, vile, snake pit politics at its worst," said taxpayer advocate Grover Norquist, "and all at a time when the United States is on the verge of a two-front war against terrorism and Saddam Hussein – not to mention that the economy is in the doldrums." Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), the nation\’s leading taxpayer advocacy organization, and a critic of the politicization of the judicial nomination process.
On Feb. 18th, The Washington Post called on Senate Democrats to "Stop These Games and Vote," and even Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD), the leader of the filibuster, is on record supporting up-or-down votes on judicial nominees during the Clinton administration (Congressional Record, 10/5/99).
"The Louisiana House has it right," continued Norquist, "This vote is just one more example of the strong support for Miguel Estrada across the country. If the obstructionist Senators are not listening to their people, who are they listening to? It is time for them to choose between their voters and the Washington special interests."