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“NOMINATION OF ERIC H. HOLDER JR. TO BE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Senate section on pages S7206 on July 10, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NOMINATION OF ERIC H. HOLDER JR. TO BE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, it was with concerted effort that Senator Hatch and I worked to ensure that Eric Holder was reported by the Judiciary Committee and ready for Senate confirmation to the important position of Deputy Attorney General of the United States before the Senate adjourned 2 weeks ago. The President's nomination of Mr. Holder to the second highest position at the Department of Justice was reported to the Senate without a single dissent on June 24. This nomination could and should have been approved by the Senate before it adjourned for the last extended recess. It is strongly supported by Senator Hatch, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
There was and is no Democratic hold on this nomination. The delay on the Republican side in considering this nomination remains unexplained.
Eric Holder has proven his dedication to effective law enforcement. As a former prosecutor myself, I appreciate Mr. Holder's distinguished career in law enforcement.
Shortly after his graduation from Columbia Law School, Mr. Holder joined the Department of Justice as part of the Attorney General's Honors Program. He was assigned to the newly formed Public Integrity Section in 1976, where he worked for 12 years investigating and prosecuting corruption.
While at the Public Integrity Section, Mr. Holder participated in a number of prosecutions and appeals involving such defendants as the State treasurer of Florida, a former Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, a local judge in Philadelphia, an assistant U.S. attorney in New York City, an FBI agent, and a capo in an organized crime family. He received a number of awards for outstanding performance and special achievement from the Department of Justice.
In 1988, President Reagan nominated and the Senate confirmed Mr. Holder to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, where he served for the next 5 years. In his 5 years on the bench, Judge Holder presided over hundreds of criminal trials.
In 1993, President Clinton nominated and the Senate confirmed Eric Holder to the important post of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. As U.S. attorney for one of the largest U.S. Attorney's offices in the Nation, Mr. Holder has supervised 300 lawyers involved in criminal, civil and appellate cases. He has functioned as both the local district attorney and the Federal prosecutor.
He has been active in community affairs. For more than a decade, he has been a member of Concerned Black Men, an organization seeking to help young people in the District of Columbia. He is involved in a number of the group's activities, including the Efficacy Program and the pregnancy prevention effort. He has participated in the D.C. Street Law Program and is active in the See Forever Foundation and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. He is cochair of Project PACT to reduce youth violence and has been instrumental in the U.S. attorney's office's outreach efforts to the D.C. community.
In 1994, he received the Pioneer Award from the National Black Prosecutors Association. In 1995, his contributions were recognized when he received awards from the District of Columbia Bar Association, the Greater Washington Urban League, the American Jewish Congress, and Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. Last year, he received awards from the D.C. Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, George Washington University, Columbia College, the Federation of Citizens Associations of the District of Columbia, Omega Psi Phi fraternity, the Brotherhood of Shiloh Men, McDonald's, and the Asian Pacific Bar Association.
I urge the Republican leadership to move forward without further delay and confirm the nomination of Eric Holder to be Deputy Attorney General.
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