Holder Nomination

Floor Speech

HOLDER NOMINATION -- (Senate - February 02, 2009)

Mr. REID. Mr. President, in the long and lurching march toward equality that in no small manner defines our progress as a nation, this moment in history will be remembered as a golden age. The election of Barack Obama fulfills a dream that seemed unimaginable a generation ago, or even a few years ago. A child born today will have every reason to believe the old adage that in America any boy or girl can grow up to be President.

To join him in governing our country, President Obama has chosen a brilliant, honorable, and exceptionally well qualified individual to serve as Attorney General of the United States. With historic challenges facing the Department of Justice, I urge all my colleagues to support the nomination of Eric Holder.

What began as a one-man, part-time office to represent the United States in Supreme Court trials, the Attorney General now has been transformed over the years to be the lead agency to fight terrorism, prosecute crime, and uphold the fundamental rights of every citizen.

In 1957, with the civil rights movement growing and conflicts bubbling in all regions of our country, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice was established. When Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, handicap, religion, or national origin, it was the Civil Rights Division that ensured they would be enforced; that is, the laws passed would be enforced.

In the fall of 1962, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy ordered U.S. Marshals to stand guard at the University of Mississippi so that James Meredith, the first African American accepted for admission, could enroll and attend classes peacefully amidst a violent mob of thousands.

In the summer of 1963, the Justice Department, led by Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, confronted Governor George Wallace as he physically blocked the admission of two African-American students to the University of Alabama. It took the federalization of the Alabama National Guard to force Governor Wallace to step aside and allow those students to enter.

These are only two of countless examples of the U.S. Department of Justice enforcing the laws of our country.

Although the parchment of our Constitution may be a little yellow and the ink faded somewhat, as long as the Justice Department stands behind the people's demands for liberty, the spirit of our Founders will never recede. I have no desire to rehash the many ways the Bush administration politicized and degraded the Justice Department away from its historic mission. While we must not fail to remember that sad chapter in our history, I am far more interested in looking toward a more hopeful future.

With President Obama in the White House and Eric Holder leading the Justice Department, that brighter future begins right now. The experience of this nominee is unquestioned. As a young lawyer, fresh out of Columbia Law School, one of the finest law schools in America, Eric Holder accepted a job at the Justice Department. He didn't want to see how much money he could make, he wanted to enter public service, and he did. The job he took at the Justice Department is now a department he stands ready to lead.

At the time he worked there, as a young new lawyer, he was charged with the unenviable task of prosecuting corrupt public officials who had violated the public trust. This kind of work can be thankless and politically sensitive, but from a young age Eric Holder showed the courage to stand for the public interest no matter the personal or political cost.

In 1988, Eric Holder was appointed by President Reagan to be a judge in the District of Columbia Superior Court. In this capacity he presided over countless trials involving violent crimes and murder, proving himself to be a fair and tough administrator of justice.

In 1993, President Clinton chose Eric Holder as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he focused on improving some of Washington, DC's most crime-ridden neighborhoods by locking up wrongdoers and involving communities in law enforcement.

As Deputy U.S. Attorney General starting in 1997, Holder showed fearlessness in prosecuting crimes against children, white-collar crimes, and crime in general. During his tenure as Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Holder was also faced with the difficult decision of how to advise Attorney General Janet Reno on the investigation that led to the impeachment of President Clinton. He chose to urge the Attorney General to expand the investigation to ensure that all facts would come to light. He was harshly criticized by members of his own party for causing political trouble for the President.

But in this decision, Eric Holder again showed the courage to uphold perhaps the most important principle for any Justice Department official: answering to the people first.

There is no question that a difficult job awaits our next Attorney General. He must strengthen the fight against terrorism, he must do more to keep our streets and boardrooms safe from crime, and rebuild the Justice Department to be once again a guardian of the common good. Eric Holder has proven that he has the courage and wisdom to do justice to this critical job.

Source