by Alexander Bolton / The Hill
EVERY REPUBLICAN MEMBER of the Senate Judiciary Committee has pledged to support Sen. Arlen Specter’s (R-Pa.) bid to become the panel’s chairman, paving the way for his ascension in January.
To ameliorate the concerns of his colleagues on the committee and in the Senate Republican Conference, Specter issued a statement pledging not to hamper the confirmation of President Bush’s judicial nominees or tort reform, one of the president’s top three legislative priorities.
“I speak for the whole committee that we support Arlen Specter, that he will be chairman of the committee on January 4,” said Hatch, the current chairman of Judiciary.
“It’s unanimous,” added Hatch, who must step down because of Republican conference-imposed term limits.
Hatch and seven other Republican members of the Judiciary panel joined Specter to demonstrate their support at a press conference in the Senate radio and television gallery yesterday.
“I have assured the President that I would give his nominees quick Committee hearings and early Committee votes so floor action could be promptly scheduled,” Specter said, reading from his statement.
In his statement, Specter also pledged to “consult with my colleagues on the Committee’s legislative agenda, including tort reform, and will have balanced hearings with all viewpoints represented. I have long objected to the tactic used of bottling up civil rights legislation in the Judiciary Committee when it should have gone to the floor for an up or down vote.”
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the one lawmaker other than Hatch who outranks Specter on the committee, was the only Republican member of the panel not to attend the press conference. However, Hatch said that Grassley agreed with his GOP colleagues.
It remains to be seen whether the unanimous support of Judiciary Republicans will quell the vocal opposition of social conservatives who have bombarded Republican offices with telephone calls, e-mails, and faxes opposing Specter. The committee will vote on Specter’s potential chairmanship in January after new members are sworn in and added to the panel.
Specter’s statement reflected assurances he has made privately to his colleagues in recent weeks. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), a member of Judiciary, said Specter had assured him before today that he would not obstruct tort reform.
And one lawmaker who attended yesterday’s Senate Republican Conference luncheon said that Specter promised his colleagues not to bottle-up legislation he disagrees with in the Judiciary Committee.
Specter also indicated his support for the so-called “constitutional option”, also known as the “nuclear option”, a parliamentary tactic that would enable Republicans to strip Democrats of the ability to filibuster judicial nominees through a ruling of the chair.
“If a rule change is necessary to avoid filibusters, there are relevant recent precedents to secure rule changes with 51 votes.
However, when asked directly, Specter seemed to equivocate, asserting that he was not taking a position on the controversial option.
Republicans hope that they hope they can negotiate with Democrats to avoid the drastic step of changing the rules through a ruling of the chair.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a Judiciary member, said that 55 Republicans in the Senate next year and the defeat of Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), which Cornyn attributed in part to Daschle’s obstruction of nominees, may make the tactic unnecessary.
Posted by Editor at November 19, 2004 11:12 AM
