Sam Brownback: “I rise in support of Judge Gonzales, President Bush's nominee to serve as our Nation's 80th Attorney General. I want to…”

“I rise in support of Judge Gonzales, President Bush's nominee to serve as our Nation's 80th Attorney General. I want to address a few points that have been brought up today and discuss those a little bit. We will be able to vote on this nominee this week. I think he is going to make an outstanding Attorney General. He has been an outstanding lawyer in various capacities throughout his professional career already. He is going to continue to show that. I want to articulate why that is going to be the case. His background is well known. I serve on the Judiciary Committee. We had lengthy hearings with Judge Gonzales. We had multiple rounds. Everybody on the committee got to ask and have answered every question they asked. This is a nominee who has been through the question-and-answer process on a lengthy basis. It is time we move forward. The President needs an Attorney General. This is the office that heads so many of our functions that are very important in the war on terrorism, and we need to move forward with this. It is well known to people who have been watching this debate. As the son of migrant workers from a family of seven children, the first to go to college, he is the epitome of the American dream. He has a law degree from Harvard. He could have done anything, yet he chose a path of public service. And he is an extraordinarily good public servant-- humble, wise, has a tremendous ability to persevere through difficulty.”