093_HR0102

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 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS,  On  May  9,  2001,  President  George  W.  Bush
 3    nominated Miguel A. Estrada to fill a vacancy on  the  United
 4    States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit;
 5    and

 6        WHEREAS,   Mr.   Estrada's   credentials  go  uncontested
 7    beginning with  his  mastery  of  the  English  language  and
 8    American  culture  upon his arrival to the United States as a
 9    teenage immigrant from Honduras,  his  graduation  magna  cum
10    laude  and  Phi  Beta  Kappa  with  a  bachelor's degree from
11    Columbia College in 1983,  his  position  as  editor  of  the
12    Harvard  Law  Review,  his  graduation  magna  cum laude from
13    Harvard Law School in 1986, his subsequent clerkship for  the
14    United  States  Court  of Appeals for the Second Circuit, his
15    subsequent clerkship for the Honorable Anthony M. Kennedy  of
16    the   United  States  Supreme  Court,  and  his  position  as
17    Assistant to the Solicitor General where he argued  cases  in
18    front of the United States Supreme Court on 15 occasions; and

19        WHEREAS, Over a year-and-a-half has passed without a vote
20    on the Senate floor; and

21        WHEREAS,  The  Senate  Judiciary  committee  has issued a
22    favorable report to the United States Senate yet  because  of
23    partisan politics Democrat United States Senators threaten to
24    filibuster a Senate floor vote; and

25        WHEREAS,  Mr.  Estrada  has received support from liberal
26    and conservative colleagues alike who attest that he  is  one
27    of  the most brilliant and effective appellate lawyers in the
28    nation; and

29        WHEREAS, Organizations that support Mr.  Estrada  include
30    the  League  of  United  Latin  American  Citizens,  the U.S.
31    Hispanic Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Hispanic  National  Bar
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11176 BDD 12136 r
 1    Association,  the  Hispanic  Business  Roundtable, the Latino
 2    Coalition; the National Association  of  Small  Disadvantaged
 3    Businesses;  and the Charo-Community Development Corporation;
 4    additionally, the American Bar Association gave Mr. Estrada a
 5    unanimous "well qualified" rating; and

 6        WHEREAS, Mr. Estrada would be the first Hispanic  in  the
 7    country to sit on the United States Court of Appeals District
 8    of  Columbia  Circuit,  which is an important and prestigious
 9    position within the nation's Court of Appeals; and

10        WHEREAS, It takes 51 votes to confirm a judicial nominee,
11    and Mr. Estrada has at least 54 votes in his favor,  and  yet
12    the  United  States  Senate  Democrats are still blocking Mr.
13    Estrada's  nomination  and  not  allowing  a  vote   on   his
14    nomination; therefore, be it

15        RESOLVED,  BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-
16    THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,  that  the
17    members of the Illinois House of Representatives respectfully
18    request  the  members  of  the  Illinois United States Senate
19    delegation, the Honorable Richard Durbin  and  the  Honorable
20    Peter Fitzgerald, to work to allow a vote on the floor of the
21    United  States  Senate  on the appointment of Miguel Estrada;
22    and be it further

23        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
24    presented   to  the  Honorable  Richard  Durbin  and  to  the
25    Honorable Peter Fitzgerald.