A Policy Address by U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)

January 5, 2005, 12:00pm – 2:00pm

About This Event

Addressing the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court On the eve of the Senate Judiciary Committee Alito nomination hearing, Senator Charles E. Schumer, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts, will deliver a speech to the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the American Constitution Society. Introduction by:
John Podesta, President and Chief Executive Officer, Center for American Progress

Location

Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW
Washington, DC 20005

Resources

• Video: Introduction | Speech | Q&A
• Transcript

Biographies

Senator Charles E. "Chuck" Schumer is the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts, and has played a prominent role in issues related to the federal judiciary throughout his 25 years of service in both houses of Congress. In 2001, as Chairman of the Subcommittee, he held hearings entitled “Should Ideology Mater?” and has since written and spoken extensively on this and other questions related to the confirmation process. Senator Schumer has been a leader in the fight against crime, having authored the Omnibus Crime Bill of 1994, which put 100,000 policemen on the street, instituted a series of sentencing reforms, and created after school programs for troubled teens. He was a lead sponsor of the Brady Bill, which instituted mandatory background checks for handgun purchases, and of the Assault Weapons Ban, which outlawed the manufacture and importation of 19 types of semi-automatic weapons. He was the author of the landmark Violence Against Women Act, which was the first federal legislation protecting women against domestic abuse. As Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Criminal Justice, fought to pass the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which made it a federal crime to blockade the entrance to a family clinic. Such achievements led Attorney General Janet Reno to say of him, "I have never met a public official more dedicated to fighting crime than Mr. Schumer." The senator also serves on the Committees on Finance; Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; and Rules, and he is the Ranking Member of the Economic Policy Subcommittee. Prior to his election to the Senate, he represented the Ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn and Queens for eighteen years. Before that, he represented the Forty-Fifth Assembly District in Brooklyn for six years.

John Podesta is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for American Progress. Podesta served as Chief of Staff to President William J. Clinton from October 1998 until January 2001, where he was responsible for directing, managing, and overseeing all policy development, daily operations, Congressional relations, and staff activities of the White House. He coordinated the work of cabinet agencies with a particular emphasis on the development of federal budget and tax policy, and served in the President’s Cabinet and as a Principal on the National Security Council. A frequent guest of Sunday morning news programs, Podesta is known for his straight talk, acerbic wit, and fierce defense of the Clinton Administration – which he also served from 1997 to 1998 as both an Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff. Earlier, from January 1993 to 1995, he was Assistant to the President, Staff Secretary and a senior policy adviser on government information, privacy, telecommunications security and regulatory policy.