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Judgeships Again
President George W. Bush's in-your-
face decision to renominate several
controversial candidates for federal
judgeships has infuriated at least one
Jewish group.
The National Council of Jewish
Women will "redouble" its efforts to
thwart judicial nominees with bad
abortion and civil rights records, said
Sammie Moshenberg, the group's
Washington director. But the return to
GOP control in the Senate requires a
different strategy, she said.
"When the Democrats controlled
the Senate, we had a shot at defeating
nominees in the Judiciary
Committee," she said. "With the
Republicans in control, it's reasonable
to assume that won't happen. But I do
believe we have a strong possibility of
stopping some of these nominees on
the floor."
The reason: Senate rules that allow
filibusters. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-
N.Y., Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.,
and Sen. Dick Durban, D-Ill., have
signaled they may use the filibuster
power to block partic-
ularly controversial
nominees, she said.
"NCJW feels very
strongly that on some
of these nominees,
opponents in the
Senate should use all
Judge Charles
procedural means at
their disposal to defeat Pickering Sr.
them."
The first big fight will center on
Judge Charles W. Pickering Sr., nomi-
nated to a federal appeals court in
New Orleans. Democrats say
Pickering has a troubling record on
race issues; in March, his nomination
was blocked by the Democratic-con-
trolled Judiciary Committee.
Most Jewish groups have stayed out
of the judicial nomination fracas,
although several said that growing civil
rights concerns could change that as
the debate in Congress gets underway.
Musical Chairs
The new Congress is still sorting itself
out, and Jewish activists are still trying
to locate all the new levers affecting
power for a dizzying assortment of
domestic and international issues.
In the House, pro-Israel lobbyists
are closely following the ongoing
debate over the future of the Middle
East and South Asia subcommittee of
the International Relations
Committee. Pro-Israel leaders want
the subcommittee to stay in business,
but only if it gets a strong pro-Israel
lawmaker as chair.
The subcommittee, once a major
venue for pro-Israel activity in
Congress, was abolished when former
Rep. Ben Gilman, R-N.Y., took over
the main committee, but resurrected
when Gilman left the chairmanship
because of GOP-imposed term limits;
the veteran lawmaker was given the
Mideast subcommittee as a consola-
tion prize.
Now that Gilman is retired, some
Republican leaders want to abolish the
subcommittee because . of limits on the
overall number of subcommittees.
That would leave the Mideast portfo-
lio on the desk of Rep. Henry Hyde,
R-Ill., the International Relations
Committee chair, who is supportive of
Israel but not a leader on Mideast
issues.
Pro-Israel lobbyists are quietly press-
ing for retention of the subcommittee
and for Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-
Fla., a strong pro-Israel voice, to be its
chair. A decision is expected in
February.
Also in the House, Rep. Eric
Cantor, R-Va., a rising star in the
Republican leadership and a strong
pro-Israel voice, will leave the
International Relations Committee.
He has been given a coveted slot on
Ways and Means.
"That's a net loss for the pro-Israel
cause, since Cantor was a very vocal
advocate," said a prominent Jewish
activist. "But it's a coup for Eric, and
he will be helpful on appropriations
issues."
In the Senate, Sen. Sam Brownback,
R-Kan., will become more prominent
in Jewish affairs. Brownback will add
the Foreign Operations subcommittee
to his portfolio, where he will get a say
on foreign aid questions — a major
concern for pro-Israel groups, now
that Israel is asking for up to $12 bil-
lion in extra aid and loan guarantees.
And he will chair the Middle East sub-
committee of Foreign Relations.
Brownback will also take over a crit-
ical Immigration subcommittee from
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.,
thanks to the GOP takeover. Both
lawmakers are strong supporters of
immigration rights; both have been
useful to Jewish groups concerned
about refugees from the former Soviet
Union and other places.
A downgraded Foreign Relations com-
mittee will be chaired by Sen. Richard
Lugar, R-Ind. Lugar is a foreign policy
moderate; he lacks the close ties to
Likud leaders that the last Republican
chair, Sen. Jesse Helms, had, ❑
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