Post by bot on Mar 21, 2015 18:11:26 GMT -5
Hoyer, Clarke, House Democrats Send Letter to Senate Majority Leader McConnell
Urging Loretta Lynch Confirmation Vote
LETTER SIGNED BY 59 HOUSE DEMOCRATS, INCLUDING
ALL DEMOCRATIC MEMBERS OF THE CBC
AND NEW YORK DELEGATION
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) joined with Representative Yvette Clarke (D-NY) today to lead a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging him to stop delaying the confirmation of Loretta Lynch to serve as our next Attorney General and schedule a vote. The letter was signed by 59 House Democrats, including all Democratic Members of the Congressional Black Caucus and New York Congressional Delegation:
“There is no reason why the Senate cannot vote immediately on the confirmation of Loretta Lynch to be our nation's next Attorney General,” said Whip Hoyer. “She is eminently qualified, having served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and would make history as the first African-American woman leading the Justice Department. I am proud to stand with Rep. Clarke and so many other concerned House Democrats to urge Senate Majority Leader McConnell to stop delaying and schedule a vote on her confirmation.”
“In a career defined by her commitment to justice and her dedication to the full and fair application of the law, the Honorable Loretta Lynch has earned the acclaim of Democrats and Republicans for her professionalism, impartiality, and leadership,” Rep. Clarke said. “She successfully prosecuted the police officers who brutally attacked Abner Louima and has investigated corruption from the Town of Brookhaven, New York, to the Borough of Brooklyn. No doubt exists as to her qualifications to become Attorney General of the United States. In her hearings with the Senate Judiciary Committee, which supported her nomination, not single a single person questioned – or possibly could have questioned – her ability to fulfill the duties of the position with high distinction. Indeed, several Republicans described her as not only qualified, but uniquely qualified to handle such issues as the threat of terrorism and corruption in government. Yet Republican leaders in the Senate have refused to allow a vote on her nomination to become Attorney General, more than four months after she was nominated by President Obama, already twice the amount of time required to confirm previous nominees to the position. The delay has become unacceptable. We cannot accept the devaluation of this distinguished woman or her commitment to the public interest.”
Click here or see below for the text of the letter and the full list of Democrats signing the letter:
Dear Leader McConnell:
We are writing to urge you to schedule a vote on the confirmation of Loretta Lynch to serve as Attorney General of the United States. We believe that Ms. Lynch deserves an up-or-down vote on her own merits and that her confirmation should not be held up because of a dispute over federal funding for women’s health care in an unrelated bill.
As you know, Ms. Lynch’s nomination was advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a bipartisan vote on February 26. At a time when the Justice Department is busy addressing multiple challenges, its agents, attorneys, and other staff deserve the certainty that comes with confirmed leadership in place.
Ms. Lynch has a distinguished record serving as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York – one of the nation’s busiest and most challenging jurisdictions. She was first nominated to that post by President Clinton in 1999, after working her way up the ranks as a prosecutor, helping to get drugs off the streets and bring violent criminals to justice. Ms. Lynch has sat as a member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and has been in private practice with one of the nation’s largest and most respected law firms. This diversity of experience will serve her well at the helm of a Department charged with prosecuting dangerous criminals and terror suspects, waging the war on drugs, and cracking down on financial crimes. She would also make history as the first African-American woman to lead the Justice Department.
With her strong background to recommend her, and with bipartisan support from the Judiciary Committee, Ms. Lynch deserves a swift, up-or-down vote for confirmation. There is no reason to delay taking this action, and we hope you will heed the many calls to do so.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Steny H. Hoyer (MD-5)
Yvette Clarke (NY-9)
Alma Adams (NC-5)
Karen Bass (CA-37)
Joyce Beatty (OH-3)
Sanford Bishop, Jr. (GA-2)
Corrine Brown (FL-5)
G.K. Butterfield (NC-1)
Andre Carson (IN-7)
W.M. Lacy Clay (MO-1)
Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-5)
James E. Clyburn (SC-6)
John Conyers (M-13)
Joseph Crowley (NY-14)
Elijah Cummings (MD-7)
Danny Davis (IL-7)
Donna Edwards (MD-4)
Keith Ellison (MN-5)
Eliot Engel (NY-16)
Chaka Fattah (PA-2)
Marcia Fudge (OH-11)
Al Green (TX-9)
Alcee Hastings (FL-20)
Brian Higgins (NY-26)
Steve Israel (NY-3)
Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)
Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)
Hank Johnson (GA-4)
Robin Kelly (IL-2)
Brenda Lawrence (MI-14)
Barbara Lee (CA-13)
John Lewis (GA-5)
Nita Lowey (NY-17)
Carolyn Maloney (NY-12)
Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18)
Gregory Meeks (NY-5)
Grace Meng (NY-6)
Gwen Moore (WI-4)
Jerrold Nadler (NY-10)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL)
Donald Payne, Jr. (NJ-10)
Stacey Plaskett (VI)
Charles Rangel (NY-13)
Kathleen Rice (NY-4)
Cedric Richmond (LA-2)
Bobby Rush (IL-1)
Bobby Scott (VA-3)
David Scott (GA-13)
Jose Serrano (NY-15)
Terri Sewell (AL-7)
Louise Slaughter (NY-25)
Bennie Thompson (MS-2)
Paul Tonko (NY-20)
Marc Veasey (TX-33)
Nydia Velazquez (NY-7)
Maxine Waters (CA-43)
Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12)
Frederica Wilson (FL-24)