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

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.