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“NOMINATION OF BILL LANN LEE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S2040 on Feb. 25, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NOMINATION OF BILL LANN LEE
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I note with great pride that the President has announced his intention to nominate Mr. Bill Lann Lee, a native of my State of California, to be Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Department of Justice.
The Senate will recall that Bill Lann Lee was nominated for this post more than a year and a half ago, in July 1997. His nomination died in the Judiciary Committee at the end of the 105th Congress. The majority of that Committee denied the full Senate a vote on the nomination because it knew Bill Lann Lee would have been confirmed if a vote had been taken.
Mr. President, I hope that the Judiciary Committee will not make the same mistake twice. Bill Lann Lee is fully qualified for this position. Indeed, I believe that he is the best person for the position. His personal history and his professional credentials both make him the perfect candidate to be Assistant Attorney for Civil Rights.
Bill Lann Lee was born in Harlem, the son of immigrants. He learned early in life about patriotism, from his father, who volunteered for military service in World War II in order to serve the adopted country that he loved so much. Bill Lee also learned from his parents, who ran a laundry, the value of hard work, a good education, and commitment to excellence.
Bill Lee spent most of his 24-year legal career with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, which was founded by Thurgood Marshall. He also spent several years in the 1980's working for the Center for Law in the Public Interest. Throughout his career, Bill Lee has demonstrated a talent for consensus building--surely one of the most important attributes for the top civil rights job.
Elected officials and other leaders from both parties have strongly endorsed Bill Lann Lee, including Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who said, in a letter to the White House: ``Mr. Lee has practiced mainstream civil rights law. He does not believe in quotas. He has pursued flexible and reasonable remedies that in each case were approved by a court.''
He has the endorsement of the National District Attorneys Association, which wrote: ``. . . as the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, he will remain fully cognizant of the need and expectations of the people of the U.S. to be provided effective, efficient and fair law enforcement services. . . . he will do his utmost to ensure that honest and hardworking police officers are not tarnished by the acts of a few miscreants.''
I join the many people across the country--lawyers, law enforcement, elected officials, and others--who want the Senate to finally confirm this splendid nominee for this very important post.
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