Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I want to say first how much I appreciate Senator Hatch, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who has done an…”

“I want to say first how much I appreciate Senator Hatch, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who has done an incredible job under very trying circumstances on the nomination of Priscilla Owen. Senator Hatch saw early on what an outstanding person we have in Priscilla Owen, and though on a straight party-line vote she was turned down by the committee last year, and was unable to get to the floor even for a vote this year, with Senator Hatch's leadership she has been able to come out of committee, again on a straight party-line vote. I am very hopeful she will get a fair chance for a floor vote because she is one of the most outstanding people I know. She has waited 1 year and 11 months. That is when the President first nominated her for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Priscilla Owen was among the group of 11 judicial nominees announced by President Bush on May 9, 2001. She is the kind of judge the people of the Fifth Circuit need on the bench, an experienced jurist who follows the law and uses good common sense. She has been nominated to a vacancy that has been classified as a judicial emergency and that should be filled expeditiously. Justice Owen is an 8-year veteran of the Texas Supreme Court. She is highly qualified. She graduated cum laude from Baylor Law School in 1977. Thereafter, she earned the highest score on the Texas bar exam.”