Orrin Hatch: “This is the fifth week of debate on Mr. Estrada's nomination. My Democratic colleagues have had unlimited opportunities…”

“This is the fifth week of debate on Mr. Estrada's nomination. My Democratic colleagues have had unlimited opportunities to make their case. Some of them oppose him; others support him. But one thing has remained clear through this debate: There is no good reason to continue this route of obstruction by denying Mr. Estrada an up or down vote. If my count is accurate, we have sought more than 17 times to come to an agreement with the Democratic leadership for a time to vote on Mr. Estrada's nomination. Each time, they rejected our efforts. Yet, the Democratic leadership has complained that the Senate should move on to consider other important matters. All the while, they have continued to fight voting on Mr. Estrada's nomination--the very thing that would allow the Senate to focus its energies on other matters. This filibuster of Mr. Estrada's nomination is just another step in a calculated effort to stall action on President Bush's judicial nominees.”