On the recordFebruary 9, 2010
As these records show, those who know Mr. Becker the best all agree the President could not have made a better choice. Unfortunately, Mr. Becker's nomination has been delayed for months on end due to criticisms that are based on misinformation and misleading descriptions of his views. Mr. Becker has gone to great lengths to dispel those concerns and set the record straight. The first time his nomination was considered by this committee last year, he answered 282 written questions from committee Republicans. He also said he would meet with any Senator who expressed an interest to personally explain his views. Only two asked to meet with him. This year, he testified before the HELP Committee, as I mentioned earlier, and answered 158 additional questions. To put this in perspective, Justice Sotomayor, seeking a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, only had 220 questions submitted to her. While this exhaustive vetting process should have alleviated any concerns about Mr. Becker's nomination, it appears there is still a lot of misinformation going around, so I would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight once and for all--not that I think what I am about to say or the letters and things I will point to will change any Republican minds. It seems as though their minds are made up en bloc that they are going to oppose Mr. Becker, just as they opposed Patricia Smith.
