Urged on by Pro-Abortion Groups, Democratic Senators Block Confirmation of Miguel Estrada to U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C.

WASHINGTON (April 4, 2003) - - At the urging of pro-abortion advocacy groups, a minority of U.S. senators - - all of them Democrats - - have so far obstructed confirmation of the first Hispanic nominee to the nation's second-highest court.

For two months, Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tn.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) have tried to win Senate confirmation of Miguel Estrada, who is President Bush's nominee to fill a vacant seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. This court is generally considered to be second in importance only to the Supreme Court.

Democratic senators, led by Minority Leader Tom Daschle (SD), have been filibustering to block an up-or-down vote on Estrada's confirmation. Under Senate rules, it requires 60 votes to "invoke cloture" and thereby end a filibuster.

To date, Frist has forced four "cloture votes," the most recent on April 3. So far, the 51 Republican senators have been joined by only four Democrats in favor of ending the filibuster: John Breaux (La.), Zell Miller (Ga.), Ben Nelson (Ne.), and Bill Nelson (Fl.).

Thus, the April 3 cloture vote was 55-44. An additional five Democrats would have to vote in favor of cloture in order to end the filibuster and allow Estrada to win confirmation.

President Bush nominated Estrada two years ago. The American Bar Association's review committee unanimously rated Estrada as "well qualified," but the Senate Democratic leadership blocked his confirmation until they lost their majority in the November election.

Frist is expected to force further cloture votes during the weeks ahead. There is no limit to how many times the Senate can vote on cloture.

Estrada's nomination is being blocked by the Senate Democratic leadership because he has not committed to support abortion.

In a January 31 e-mail alert, NARAL said that Estrada "has pointedly refused to answer the Senate's questions on his view of Roe v. Wade."

The pro-abortion group Feminist Majority said in a January 31 alert, "This is the first test of the filibuster strategy - - if we can block this vote, we will be sending a strong message to President Bush, telling him that we won't stand by while he stacks the courts with right-wing, reactionary judges. Estrada has not demonstrated commitment to women's rights or civil rights and has refused to answer questions about his commitment to abortion rights or basic civil rights."

Democratic senators - - regardless of their positions on abortion - - should be targeted for phone calls, e-mails, and faxes with messages expressing clear opposition to any filibuster against Miguel Estrada.

Here are the action items:

* Go to the NRLC web site at www.nrlc.org, and enter the NRLC Legislative Action Center. Use the zip code finder, or click on the "Elected Officials" tab above and then use the map, to call up information on your two U.S. senators. Then send the recommended e-mail message or a similar message to each of them.

* The profile of a senator often includes a published fax number (use the tab for "Elected Officials," then the button for "Info" on a specific senator, and then read the "Contact Information"). Where a fax number is available, fax the senator a letter with a message along the lines suggested below.

* Call the nearest in-state office of each senator and register your opinion in support of Miguel Estrada. Phone numbers for a senator's in-state offices are usually listed in a senator's profile information at the NRLC Legislative Action Center (again, use the tab for "Elected Officials," then the button for "Info"), or may be obtained from local information.

* It is also good to call the senators' Washington, D.C., offices. All senators' offices can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121, but during big fights the switchboard is sometimes jammed, so it is better to obtain the direct number for each senator's office from the NRLC Legislative Action Center profiles or another source.

* Please e-mail responses received from any senator (especially any Democrat) to Legfederal@aol.com, or fax them to 202-347-3668.

The basic message:

By phone or letter, the basic message is simple: "I urge Senator _____________ to vote to end the filibuster against Miguel Estrada. As President Bush said, "Give the man a vote." Please write to inform me whether you will vote to invoke cloture and end debate on the Estrada nomination."