Tom Harkin: “I want to address briefly the issue of whether or not this is anti-Hispanic, something like that. I keep hearing this…”

“I want to address briefly the issue of whether or not this is anti-Hispanic, something like that. I keep hearing this talk that Democrats are going to be accused of being against Hispanics. Again, we do have to point out some history. Enrique Moreno, Jorge Rangel, and Christine Arguello were all nominated to the circuit courts by President Clinton, but were never afforded a hearing or vote in the Judiciary Committee under Republicans. My colleague from Iowa, Mr. Grassley, was quoted in the Dallas Morning News of January 31 of this year: If we deny Mr. Estrada the position on the DC circuit, it would be to shut the door on the American dream of Hispanic Americans everywhere. Well, let's take a look at the reality and the record. There are more than 1,000 local, State, or Federal judges of Hispanic heritage. Yet President Bush has nominated only one Hispanic to any of the 42 vacant appellate positions. This administration has failed to nominate a single Hispanic judge for any of the circuits covering Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Florida, New York, New Jersey, or Puerto Rico, where there are sizable minorities of Hispanic Americans. In contrast, President Clinton nominated 11 Latinos to these circuit courts and 21 to the district courts--quite a difference.…”