Opening Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy
Chairman, Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Hearing
September 13, 2001

This afternoon the Committee is resuming its hearing schedule. Having postponed hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is back at work. We held a business meeting this morning and expedited consideration of a dozen U.S. Attorney nominees for districts around the country.

This afternoon, we are holding the fifth nominations hearing including judicial nominees since the Senate reorganized and the Judiciary Committee's membership was set on July 10. The work of the Committee and of the Senate is continuing and I hope by being here and proceeding with this hearing we are helping to establish that reality. I want to commend the nominees for the extraordinary efforts they made to be available here today.

I was able to proceed with judicial nominations as soon as the Committee membership was set following reorganization and we have continued to hold hearings at a record pace, including two that I chaired during the August recess.

Just as we expedited Committee consideration of a dozen U.S. Attorney nominees to those Federal law enforcement positions and pressed for the necessary paperwork so that we could proceed with those nominations today. Similarly, we are pressing forward with this hearing today on important nominations to the judicial branch, which is so important to our democratic system, and with the President's nominee to head the Office for Victims of Crime at the Department of Justice.

Until today witnesses have been unable to fly to Washington. I commend Judge Parker and Justice Mills for making the efforts they have made over the last difficult days to be here with us. I understand that Justice Mills drove all night to get here from Mississippi and that Judge Parker drove down from the New York-Connecticut area.

I regret that another nominee, Laurie Smith Camp of Nebraska, could not be with us today. We will reschedule her hearing and work with both Senators from Nebraska to have her nomination considered by the Committee as soon as possible. Mr. Gillis came from California, but fortunately arrived here before Tuesday's tragic events.

The Senior Senator from New York, a respected Member of this Committee, cannot be with us. I will make his strong statement in support of Judge Parker a part of the record. Senator Schumer has volunteered to chair this hearing and had planned to do so until the tragic events of Tuesday required him to redirect his attention to the immediate needs of the people of New York.
Likewise, other Senators who had planned to be with us to introduce these nominees and endorse their nominations are attending to important business in the aftermath of the attacks on Tuesday morning. I will include their statements in the record, thank them for their support of these nominees and for bringing that support to my attention so that we could proceed by consensus this afternoon.