Mario Diaz-Balart

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. If I may reclaim my time, Mr. Speaker, for just a moment. Let me ask the gentlewoman from the State of Michigan a question. Because one of the things I get back home a lot, and like my colleague mentioned, I am new to this process here in Washington, D.C., but one of the things I get a lot and I have heard for years is, well, people are just fed up with the double talk. They say, all that double talk up there in Washington. And certainly some people say one thing one day and something else a different day, and so they are fed up. That is one of the things that we all, I guess, and I am going to ask the gentlewoman if she has heard a lot of that in her years of public service also, during her campaign, and now that she is having public hearings. I have seen some really interesting examples of that, which I have to admit have shocked me. Even having heard that all these years, upon arriving here I have seen some examples that have frankly shocked me. They have been so blatant, frankly, it is to the point of being shocking. When, as the gentlewoman mentions, certain people say the standard, the ABA rating, is the gold standard, and then all of a sudden, oops, just kidding, never mind, not for Mr. Estrada. For everybody else, yes, but not for Mr. Estrada. Then we have certain people, distinguished people, very well- respected people, people we see in the news all the time, and people that we see interviewed all the time who have stated that, for example, that they would fight tooth and nail against filibustering of any judicial nominee, any judicial nominee. And I have read this from the Senate record, that they have said I am opposed to any filibustering of any judicial nominee, whether I like the person or not, because they have the right to have a vote. And then, all of a sudden, that same individual is one of those leading the fight to do what, to filibuster Mr. Estrada's nomination. Not vote against him, but filibustering. Just a while ago he said that he would go to the extreme to stop a filibuster for any nomination, for any judicial nomination. announcement by the speaker pro tempore

Mr. DIAZ-BALART

Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I apologize. I do not think I mentioned it was a Senator, but I guess it is pretty well known. But that double talk is really shocking to me. And we have heard it now, frankly, more than I really expected. I do not know if that is something that the gentlewoman has gotten back home as well, as to how extreme the double talk and double standards have been in the case of Mr. Miguel Estrada.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. That is a very interesting point, because there is bipartisan support for Mr. Estrada. In the Senate we keep hearing that he has more than enough votes, that if in fact these procedural steps are just not done and they allow an up or down vote, that the votes are there. But they just do not even want to allow for a vote. I want to get back to the gentlewoman from Michigan; but before I do so, we are also joined by the gentleman from Oklahoma. We just heard the passion from our dear friend from Michigan. She is passionate about it because of the injustice of what is happening to this fine individual. Again, he would be the first Hispanic in the history of this country, the first Hispanic American in the history of this country to reach that position, to be on such a prestigious court. His record is impeccable. Democrats and Republicans have stated that his record is impeccable. Those that worked for him have stated just about the quality and the talent and the integrity, the immense integrity of this human being. There has been nothing that they have been able to find negative in his record. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Yet the bar, or the goal posts are continuously being moved by those that would oppose him. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I will try to do so. I thank the Speaker for letting me know about that. It is hard to believe why this is happening. It is hard to believe why this gentleman is being treated differently than others who have come before him. It is hard to understand why others who are equally qualified or less qualified have not had the problems in the process that Mr. Estrada has had. He has answered more questions than just about anybody. Because I have heard that one of the reasons is that, well, he has not answered enough questions. But he has answered over 125 questions from the esteemed Members of the other body. Other judges have answered many less. One judge recently, of President Clinton's two nominees to the court, one answered three questions; the other answered, I believe, 20. Mr. Estrada answered 125 questions. Yet some will say, that is not enough. It was enough for others, but not for Mr. Estrada. I would like to know if the honorable Member from Oklahoma is as dismayed to see what is happening as are many of us who are watching this going on and are wondering what is the real reason, what is really behind this. It is not the reasons that they are stating, so what are the real reasons? I yield, Mr. Speaker, to the gentleman from Oklahoma.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I want to thank the distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma. As always, he has a way of really speaking with a lot of common sense. I want to thank the gentleman for that, for bringing some sense of reality to what sometimes can be a pretty crazy process. Mr. Speaker, in my remaining time, I just want to really thank and commend Senator Hatch, Senator Santorum, and many others on that side for standing up for the Constitution of the United States, for standing up for fairness. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. There are many who are standing up for the Constitution.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Colorado for really shedding some light, and I had a friend who used to say do not let the facts confuse the issue, and there are some people that do not want to let the facts confuse the issue. The honorable gentleman from Colorado just brought some impressive facts. He talked about Miguel Estrada's qualifications. Yes, he would be the first Hispanic to sit on this court; but let me tell my colleagues, I am of Hispanic descent, and I am very proud of that, but I am not supporting Miguel Estrada merely because he is Hispanic. I am supporting him because of his talents, because of his integrity, because of his record, because of his life of achievements; and we heard from the gentleman from Colorado what some of those achievements are: graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia College, magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, unanimously stated to be well qualified, the highest rating from the American Bar Association, and then, yes, he worked at the Department of Justice for both Republican and Democrat Presidents and has been called ``an extraordinary legal talent and generally compassionate,'' by President Clinton's Solicitor General. What, then, is the real reason? What is the true reason that the body across the hall is using procedural measures to stop a vote? They do not even want him to have a vote. They do not want this gentleman to have the possibility to receive a vote, a public vote in front of the entire country, to let people decide in an open fashion whether they should vote up or down. Why is it then, if he is so qualified, why is it then, if the reasons du jour, the excuses du jour, are proven to be false, like the ones we just heard before, that the reason he cannot be a judge is because he has never been a judge before, yet there are five members of that same court that had never been a judge? That was never a problem for them. Why is it only a problem for this man? They say, well, some documents have not been released. But there are seven individuals that have also come out of that same office who have become judges, and those documents were never asked of them. And in a bipartisan fashion, all living ex-Solicitors General have said, both Republicans and Democrats, that those papers cannot be released, and they have never been requested. Why is it then, that only for this man, for this individual, these things are requested? And why is it then, that they are going to the most extraordinary means to use procedural measures to not even permit a vote, to not even permit a vote on one who would be the first Hispanic, the first Hispanic in the history of this noble country to reach that position? I am honored tonight to also have the distinguished gentlewoman from the State of Michigan, and who comes here with an extensive public record from her State, who I will yield to at this time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Please. I am having a very difficult time understanding this.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I thank the gentleman from Colorado for his comments. Those are disturbing facts. Those are very disturbing facts because if the litmus test, as some are saying for Mr. Estrada, is that he has never been a judge, how is it possible that there are others on that same court, today, right now, as we speak, and of course, as you just mentioned, sir, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States right now, they had never been judges, and yet those same individuals that are now saying that that is the reason why Mr. Estrada cannot be a judge, those same individuals did not object to these other fine public servants on the court?

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Please proceed.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, but what the gentleman has just expressed right now, and I want to make sure this is clear because this almost sounds funny, the gentleman is saying that in the same court where Mr. Miguel Estrada has been nominated to sit, right now there are five judges that, before they were there, they had never been judges before, and is the gentleman telling me that there was no objection on that basis to those judges?

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, let me, if I may interrupt the gentleman from Colorado. Let me see if I understand what the gentleman just said because that is a key point there. Some of them who are objecting to him are saying that because he has not been a judge before, that alone disqualifies him? Just that fact alone disqualifies Mr. Miguel Estrada?

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I thank the gentleman from Florida for that very clear explanation, crystal clear explanation as to what some of the problems that we are seeing with this move to use all sorts of procedural maneuvers to try to block, torpedo the nomination of Mr. Miguel Estrada; and again, it is hard to believe that this is actually happening in this day and age. We have talked about, as the honorable gentleman from Florida talked about, the double standard; and it is not just one double standard that is being applied to Mr. Estrada. It is multiple double standards; and it is multiple double standards, and some of the people that are actually speaking these words and opposing Mr. Estrada's nomination are on record in the past saying just the opposite. Why? Why all of the sudden, when it is this person, again, the first Hispanic American ever to be nominated to this most prestigious court, why is it that now there is this double standard? There are people who have said, for example, that the gold seal to determine if one is so qualified or not is the ABA's rating; and yet Mr. Estrada has been rated as the highest-qualified person that that organization rates anybody. And yet all of the sudden, for Miguel Estrada, that is not good enough, and it seems to me a very sad day when people who just a few months ago said something totally different are now backtracking on their own words, reversing what they said. Were they not saying what they meant then, or are they not saying what they mean now? Were they deceiving the people then or are they deceiving the people now? It is a very, very sad state of affairs. I am honored to have the gentleman from the State of Colorado here join us today; and I would, Mr. Speaker, like to yield some of my time to the honorable gentleman from Colorado.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to be here in this wonderful Chamber to discuss what I think is a rather puzzling situation that has taken over our government, our legislative branch of the government, and in particular, the legislative branch on the other side of the Rotunda. We have seen that a number of people have tried to do anything and everything to avoid, to stop a brilliant young attorney who has been nominated by the President of the United States to be on the Appellate Court for the District of Columbia. I say he is a brilliant young attorney because everybody has had to recognize his brilliance. Those that have worked with him have had to recognize his brilliance. He has worked not only as a prosecutor from the great State of New York; he has also worked in the office of the Solicitor General with two administrations, a Republican administration and also a Democrat administration. All the people who have worked with him from both parties in both administrations have publicly recognized the brilliance, the decency, the integrity of this brilliant young attorney; a man who got here to the United States at age 17, Mr. Speaker, barely speaking English, and he got here and worked and studied, and was able to graduate with honors just a few years later from that most prestigious university, Columbia University; with honors, I repeat. Then he went on to study law, but not just in any law school, in Harvard Law School, probably, I guess, among the most prestigious law schools in the entire country; I would rather say in the entire world. He also graduated from that university, that law school, with honors. While he was studying, he was also the editor of the law journal there, the law review in that prestigious law school. He graduated with honors and went on to become a prosecutor in the State of New York. That was after he was prosecutor, I am sorry. He went on to work with the Solicitor General's office under President George Bush, Senior; and then he also worked for President Clinton's administration in the Office of the Solicitor General; an incredible, impeccable record. I am trying to see if I can get some of my colleagues here to maybe try to explain to me what is going on here. Why is it that this brilliant young man, this brilliant Hispanic lawyer, is being treated differently than others who have had similar records, similar experiences, who have gone on to become judges and have not received the obstacles, have not been attacked the way Mr. Miguel Estrada is being attacked today? And this attack has been going on now for a long, long time. I brought just a calendar to kind of let us know how long it has been. It has been almost 2 years, 2 years since this young brilliant, talented, effective man of integrity has been held hostage. As we see here, not only has Miguel Estrada been held hostage, but diversity in our court system has been held hostage. I just do not get it. I see here the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Feeney). I do not know if the gentleman has an explanation as to why it is that the minority party in the other Chamber insists on not letting this man even come up for a vote, to the point where they are using all sorts of procedural matters to not permit this man to even have the opportunity for his nomination to be voted up or down. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the honorable gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) for those words. I have had the opportunity to speak to Miguel Estrada, and what you say is just so on target. He is a patriot. He is 100 percent American. He is one who came here by choice, who did not ask for anything other than an opportunity to live in freedom. And he worked hard and he studied hard and he has become one of the most prestigious attorneys in the country. And a little while ago you were also saying how strange is the distinguishing factor that Miguel Estrada has that he is treated differently for. My distinguished colleague from Florida mentioned, I think, some of the reasons why he is being treated differently, but I must add a couple facts to this conversation that we are having today. I have mentioned in the beginning how that is something that I have not seen a lot coming from the other side. I have heard stories. I have heard accusations, but no facts because one of the accusations that I keep hearing is that, well, Miguel Estrada cannot be a judge in this court because he has not been a judge in a different court and, therefore, he is not qualified. But I did a little bit of research, and I found that five of the eight judges on that same court where the President has nominated Miguel Estrada were not judges before. They had no previous judicial experience, with all due respect. If that is what makes you qualified, where was the outrage for the other five judges, or is it only if you are Hispanic do you have to have previous experience as a judge? And if you are, you cannot serve on that court and there is no outrage. Furthermore, I did a little bit more research, and I found that two current Justices of the Supreme Court were not judges before either, wonderful members that we respects and admire: former Justice Byron White, a respected member of that illustrious body; and the other one by the way is the current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. So if the requirement, if what makes you acceptable to be a judge and that you are not acceptable, I should say, if you do not have previous experience, where was the outrage from these individuals who say that Miguel Estrada is not qualified because he did not serve as a judge before when the other five in that same court were nominated and approved and when those Supreme Court Justices were nominated and also approved? See, there is a double standard. And I do not know if the double standard is because of his idealogy. I can state that his nomination has been sitting there for about 600-plus days. The distinguished members of the other party had ample opportunity to sit down with him to discuss these issues because now they are saying, we should have more hearings. Why is it now? They were in control of the Senate until just a couple months ago. Why did they not have hearings before if they wanted some questions answered? Oh, no, they did not want hearings then because they were just trying to torpedo the nomination of this individual. He is a fine American and a fine human being. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I am a freshman. I apologize for that.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Again, it begs a difference. You have these incredible double standards. You have the double standards of judges that did not have previous judicial experience, were nominated and approved for the same court that Mr. Estrada was nominated before. They were not judges before, and yet now there are some people saying that that is what disqualifies Mr. Estrada. You have certain people saying that Mr. Estrada, who, I repeat, was born in Honduras who came here at age 17, barely speaking English, worked hard, studied hard, became a model American and a wonderful attorney, even worked in the Clinton administration and actually for more than one President. And now they are saying that, well, this individual is not Hispanic enough. Why this double standard? You have some people that have said that, for example, that the ABA's rating provided the gold standard, American Bar Association's rating provides, they said, the gold standard for how a judge should be measured, whether one is qualified or not. Well, now those same people are saying that Mr. Estrada is not qualified even though Mr. Estrada got the highest possible rating from the ABA unanimously. So why the double standard? Why is this individual being treated differently than others just like him with the same or less qualifications, with the same or less merits? Why is he being treated differently? The gentleman mentioned the case a little while ago of a very similar case where he went right through the process. Nobody asked him any questions, and if you look at those questions that were asked, they were pretty amazing they were asked. They were total softballs. And yet Mr. Estrada, who nobody has been able to say anything negative about his record, about his integrity, about how he has lived his life, how he has really lived a piece of this American Dream. And for these accusations that come out of left field, ridiculous, unfounded, kind of really almost funny accusations to come out against this fine human being, this wonderful gentleman who has done nothing but work hard, study hard, work hard, live the American Dream, has given of himself because he has worked with two different Presidential administration, for false accusations, for baseless accusations, for double standards to be used against him, so that he does not become the first Hispanic on that court, it is frankly very sad.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. The honorable gentleman from Georgia, if I may, I want to make sure everybody understands something very important, as I think most people know. With a name like Diaz- Balart, yes, I am of Hispanic heritage. It is something I am very proud of. And with a name like that, I cannot hide nor do I want to. But I am not here to support Miguel Estrada because he is a Hispanic. Absolutely not. I think it would be a sad day if we were here pushing for people based on their race or their religion or their ethnicity. I am here to support Miguel Estrada because of his qualifications, because he is highly qualified. The honorable gentleman from Florida just mentioned that the bar association, what they said and how they qualified him as the highest qualifications that a lawyer can have, unanimously again, that is why he should be a judge. Because he has worked in the Solicitor General's office and he has been in front of the Supreme Court of the United States 15 times, I believe, has been fighting in cases in front of the Supreme Court in front of the United States, something that many lawyers do not do once in a lifetime. He has done it, I believe, approximately 15 times. Because his academic credentials are unbelievable, unbelievable, I know that a lot of the critics that he has cannot compare his experience in front of the Supreme Court, his academic credentials with theirs, his success as a lawyer with theirs. I am supporting Miguel Estrada because of his qualifications. But what I have to admit, sir, is hard for me to swallow. Just like I am not supporting him because he is a Hispanic, I am supporting him because he is so highly qualified as everybody has said, including, by the way, people like Seth Waxman, the former Solicitor General to President Clinton who has said, ``He was a model of professionalism and competence.'' Like Ronald Klain, the former counselor to Vice President Al Gore, a familiar face to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Feeney) and I in the State of Florida, as we well recall, not one who can be accused of being a right winger by any stretch of the imagination. He said, ``Miguel will rule justly towards all.'' The former Assistant General for the Office of Legal Counsel for President Clinton, Mr. Randolph Moss said, ``A very principled guy, very honest and ethical.'' That is why I am here supporting Miguel Estrada. That is why the President of the United States nominated him for this important position. But I have to tell you something. Just like he should not be supported, endorsed or get that position because he is Hispanic, he should not be denied that position simply because he is Hispanic. And that I think is highly offensive.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I do want to just leave one thought here tonight, which is a sad thought because the facts speak for themselves. We are seeing what is going on with the nomination of Miguel Estrada and the false accusations, baseless accusations, almost funny accusations, that have been leveled against him. But what is really sad to me is that while our friends, the partisans on the Democratic side, claim to advocate for diversity, they fight to block the nomination of a well-qualified Hispanic. While our friends, our partisan Democrats, take credit all the time for helping the advancement of minorities to high positions in government, they block the first Hispanic, I repeat, the first Hispanic on the Nation's second highest court. It is important to note, though, that a filibuster, a parliamentary process to avoid the votes against Miguel Estrada is not only the rejection of a highly qualified Hispanic, it is a rejection of diversity. It is a very sad day, very sad day, for our country if this stands. I am optimistic that it will not. I am hopeful that they will dig deep in their souls and realize what they are doing. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that my dear friend and colleague, the honorable gentleman from Florida, central Florida, and, if I may add, a wonderful part of the State, that is a free plug while I can, stated something that is very true. The poor who are stuck in this cycle of dependence to this horrendous system that we had before, the old welfare system, did not want to be that way. We have to be very clear about this. Poor people that were on welfare did not want to be dependent on government. Unlike what some would like to believe, that these are people that did not want to work, that were just there because that was their choice, that was their number one choice, no, these are good people. These were people that wanted to work, but all they needed was an opportunity; and yet they were stuck in this system that forced them to stay in that system. They could not save money to buy a piece of property because they would lose their benefits. So, therefore, they had to stay in the system. That is the cruelty of this sad joke that was the old welfare system. And the people that really hurt, yes, the taxpayers had to pay a lot of money for this broken system, but the people that were really hurt were those that were forced into the cycle of dependence, dependence on government. So now, where are those people? Where are they? Millions of them, millions of Americans, are now working. They are earning a living in the free marketplace. It is not easy; it is tough. Hey, life is difficult. They have got to work hard. We know that. But they are working hard, and they are proud of it. They are paying taxes and they are leading by example. So, yes, this is wonderful for the taxpayers, but let me just say that it was even more wonderful for those millions of Americans that were finally allowed to break out of this vicious cycle of dependence and of poverty. That is the untold story, I think, in this wonderful experiment that was called welfare reform, that I think worked better than any of us ever suspected. We knew that the system was broken. In Florida, we knew that the old system was broken. I did not expect the results to be so dramatic, so unbelievably dramatic. Imagine if in the rest of government we could get increased performance by 75 percent, or close to 75 percent, as we did in Florida of people getting off welfare and getting to work. That would be a miracle in government. We would all be ecstatic. That happened in welfare reform. And the true recipients of this wonderful experiment, the ones that broke out of the cycle of poverty, are those poor people, poor decent Americans that for a generation were told that they would always be there. My colleagues may well recall the naysayers. The gentleman just pointed out a couple of those naysayers, saying this is going to destroy the country; that it was going to destroy the poor people. No, it helped more than anybody else those poor people who are now working, earning a living, and are a part of the American Dream. It helped the taxpayers by giving them a little bit of relief, and it was a wonderful thing for the country. And as my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Feeney), just said a little while ago, I am so proud first to have been a part of it in Florida when the United States Congress and the leadership of the United States Congress gave our State the opportunity to participate and break the dependence on government and that cycle of poverty for millions of people, hundreds of thousands of people in the State of Florida. I am also so proud to now be here; and, hopefully, we will be a small part in making sure that this wonderful reform moves forward so that we can continue to help those that are truly needy; those that really need the help; and, yes, also create a system that breaks that cycle of dependency and of poverty.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to thank my dear friend, the honorable gentleman from Georgia, for this opportunity. I do want to end just again reminding all my friends and all our friends in this august Chamber and also the Chamber next door that we have a historic opportunity, a historic opportunity to pass welfare reform in order to continue the gains that we have made in the past. We also have a historic opportunity to do something that has never happened, which is to have the first Hispanic in the D.C. Court of Appeals. It would be a wonderful thing for all Hispanics, but more importantly it would be a wonderful thing for the entire country, a beautiful sign that diversity is acceptable and accepted.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the distinguished gentleman from Georgia for yielding. Would it be all right if before I get into the specifics, I tell you a little bit about what it feels like to be a freshman, what I have learned? I have experienced some very interesting things while I have been here in Washington.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I thank the gentleman. The gentleman is right, I have been in the State legislature for a number of years, and the private sector; and I have to admit I have been kind of caught off guard by some things in the few weeks I have been up here in D.C. Some things that kind of hit me kind of in a strange way, I have to admit, maybe it is just because of the Washington phenomenon, is how I hear things thrown out there that are not based on facts. The gentleman just mentioned some of the qualifications of Miguel Estrada. I do not know of a more qualified individual. The man, as the gentleman well said, got here when he was 17 years old, worked and studied; he was not a rich man, barely spoke the language, worked and studied and was able to educate himself, was able to graduate from Columbia University with honors, Harvard Law School with honors, worked in the Clinton administration. The people that he worked with have said publicly, in writing, that he is a decent individual, that he is a hard-working individual, that he is a talented individual, and yet I say to the gentleman from Georgia, then I hear some strange accusations coming out there which, frankly, I am not used to. Because where we served, and coincidentally, the three others of us who happen to be here right now, as the gentleman from Georgia mentioned, are from Florida and the three of us served in the Florida legislature together, and it was a wonderful experience. And we have heated debates there, but we are used to at least basing those debates on facts. Yet, let us kind of analyze some of these ``accusations du jour'' that we have heard about Mr. Miguel Estrada. We have heard from others in this process, some members of the minority party, that one of the reasons that Mr. Miguel Estrada should not be a judge, because he is not qualified to be a judge, is because he is a Hispanic individual who got here, as I repeat, when he was 17 years old and has lived, really lived, his part of the American dream through hard work, sacrifice, dedication. He was not given anything. He earned it. He earned it. Yet, there are some who have said, well, Mr. Estrada is not Hispanic enough. He is only Hispanic in name.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I can understand the reason for that very interesting question. By the way, let me tell the gentleman a little bit about myself. I was born in southern Florida of Cuban parents, so I am Hispanic. I am American, obviously, 100 percent American, of Hispanic descent. Mr. Estrada was born in Honduras, Central America, came over here, and he was a naturalized American citizen. He came here when he was 17 years old. He was not born an American here like I was; he was naturalized. He did not speak much English until after he got here at the age of 17. And then there are others, by the way, some of them like me born here; some of them, by the way, who do not speak Spanish fluently who then claim that Mr. Estrada is not Hispanic enough. I consider myself, and I am very proud of my heritage, but I think it would be ludicrous if I, who was born in the United States, who obviously was born, thank God, was born in the United States, thank God was born an American, was born into freedom, was born in the land of opportunity, I think it would be ludicrous and frankly maybe a bit offensive if I were to say to the gentleman from Georgia, to somebody that the gentleman and I know who was not born in the United States, who got here when he was 17, who is a Hispanic, whose mother, by the way, got here carrying a 3-year-old child when she came to this country, I think it would be frankly offensive. I think, sir, that the gentleman would be offended if I said that about somebody, that that person is not Hispanic enough. Who am I to say that a man who got here when he was 17 years old, barely speaking English, from Honduras is not Hispanic enough. That is irresponsible. That is offensive to me, sir. But it is just not only that. Here is a person who got here at 17, has lived his part of the American dream, and I do not think anybody can argue that he has been a successful lawyer, who again worked even in the Clinton administration, and the people that worked with him, his bosses, his coworkers have said in writing that he is extremely qualified and he is fair. But then some of these other people that are accusing Mr. Estrada with some ridiculous, baseless accusations like the one that I just mentioned. To me, that one is more than ridiculous; it is offensive. It is offensive, by the way, to all of us of Hispanic heritage, but it is offensive and should be offensive to everybody who believes in equality and the American dream, and that anybody here, anybody here who works and sacrifices and loves this country can be an American, and we should not be judging them if they are too Hispanic or not Hispanic enough. Again, I think that is offensive.

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a great American and our 40th President--Ronald Reagan. He is a man who not only inspired a generation, but led a Nation through one of its most challenging eras. His inspiration has carried well beyond his public years and will influence Americans well beyond our years in Congress. Let us never forget that the very policies we fight for every day on the House floor--increased defense spending, tax relief, homeland security and fiscal discipline--have the fingerprints of Ronald Reagan all over them. It was his leadership and ingenuity decades ago that serve as the very foundation of our legislative agendas today. Ronald Reagan not only inspired a Nation--He inspired the world to follow a path of progress and humanity in a decade plagued with the threat of communist tyranny. Today, we face a similar battle--this time against the threat of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. While Ronald Reagan may not be leading us in this battle, let us follow the path that he blazed over a decade ago. Should we follow the principles of his leadership, the blanket of freedom and democracy over America will only grow stronger. Let me also note that it would not be appropriate to honor President Reagan without honoring the person that has heroically stood by his side with complete dedication and unwavering commitment. Nancy Reagan's commitment to her husband, parallels President Reagan's commitment to this Nation. Her daily struggle to confront a disease that has taken away the true voice and spirit we continue to rally around is nothing short of heroic and should inspire this entire Nation. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring President Reagan on his 92 birthday by supporting H.J. Res. 19.