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
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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.