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“ASHCROFT NOMINATION” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E106-E107 on Feb. 6, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ASHCROFT NOMINATION
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HON. MELVIN L. WATT
of north carolina
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, February 6, 2001
Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following resolution of the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers regarding the nomination of John D. Ashcroft as Attorney General of the United States.
North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Announces Opposition to the
Nomination of John D. Ashcroft as Attorney General of United States
The North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers, founded in 1971 and representing over 800 African American Lawyers in North Carolina is dedicated to the pursuit of equal justice for all people. In defense of rights of African Americans and all persons believing in the pursuit of equal justice, we announce our active opposition to the confirmation of John A. Ashcroft for Attorney General of the United States. Our opposition is based upon Mr. Ashcroft's demonstrated hostility to ensuring equal justice and access to justice for all Americans.
The Attorney General is responsible for vigorous enforcement of our nation's civil rights laws--pursuing those laws in a fair, vigorous and consistent manner.
Ashcroft has opposed appropriately tailored race-conscious measures designed to remedy present and past discrimination. He even opposes programs that are constitutionally permissible under current Supreme Court precedent.
He repeatedly sponsored legislation to end affirmative action programs in employment, contracting and public programs. He sponsored legislation to end the Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Minority and Women Business Program. He also sponsored legislation to make provisions similar to California's Proposition 209--which banned affirmative action--a part of federal law.
He opposed Bill Lann Lee because Mr. Lee expressed support for constitutionally permissible affirmative action programs--applying an ideological litmus test to this nomination as he has with judicial nominations. Ashcroft's efforts helped to prevent a vote before the full United States Senate.
As Attorney General and then as Governor, Ashcroft vigorously opposed efforts to desegregate St. Louis' public schools. His opposition was so great that the court almost ordered the State in contempt citing ``continual delay and failure to comply'' with a court order to submit a voluntary desegregation plan.
Governor Ashcroft vetoed legislation that would have allowed private non-profit, civic, religious and political groups to register voters in the City of St. Louis, he later vetoed a bill that would have allowed such registration in all of Missouri.
During testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ashcroft said that he believed in and supported the President's ideas, which he termed ``affirmative access''--already at work in California, Texas and Florida. He calls these programs
The Attorney General is the gatekeeper to the federal judiciary- playing a key role in whom the President selects for the federal bench.
Ashcroft has repeatedly blocked the consideration of qualified nominees. His record shows that, as a Senator, he has repeatedly used tactics to block and delay votes on qualified women and minorities nominated to the federal courts.
Senator Ashcroft's decisive role in sabotaging the nomination of a well qualified African American, Judge Ronnie White, to the federal bench points to his disregard for judicial independence and his willingness to use ideological litmus tests in the judicial selection process.
Ashcroft spearheaded the party-line vote to defeat Judge Ronnie White's confirmation to a federal district court judgeship. He did this by misrepresenting Judge White's record, labeling him pro-criminal because of his death penalty record even though White voted to uphold the death penalty over 70% of the time.
The Attorney General should have the temperament, objectivity and commitment to fairness necessary to carry the awesome responsibilities of Attorney General.
Ashcroft's fervent and long-term commitment to his extremist political beliefs call into question his ability to suppress those political beliefs and enforce the constitutional principles with which he so profoundly disagrees. This extremist ideology also raises questions about his objectivity.
As a member of the Senate he made racially insensitive comments to Southern Partisan magazine that were divisive. Ashcroft applauded the magazine for its ``heritage of doing that, of defending Southern patriots like [Robert E.] Lee,
[Stonewall] Jackson, and [Jefferson] Davis.'' Southern Partisan has printed articles stating that African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and other immigrants have ``no temperament for democracy, never had, [and] never will'' and that these groups have dissipated the nation's ``genetic race pool.''
He further demonstrated his racial insensitivity when, as a United States Senator from a state with over 500,000 African Americans, he gave the commencement address and received an honorary degree from Bob Jones University, a school known for its racist policies and anti-Catholic bigotry. Although Ashcroft has claimed that he did not know about the policies of the University, he has refused to return the degree. The credibility of his denial is called into question when as governor he declined to appoint a professor to a state judgeship who had made supportive comments of the University in a law review article.
We are communicating our opposition to Senators Helms and Edwards as well as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. We urge our membership to oppose vigorously this nomination. We join the multitude of organizations opposing this nomination.
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