Handicapped Children's Protection Act of H.R. 2991 / Private Law 99-4 1986 For the relief of Betsy L. Randall Addresses and Remarks Congressional barbecue-1095 Illinois State fair-1070 Junior Livestock Competition participants, National White House Conference on Small Thompson, Gov. James R., Jr., fundraiser in Appointments and Nominations Canada-U.S. negotiations on trade and investment issues, rank of Ambassador for Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Insurance Administration, Administrator-1101 Housing and Urban Development Department, Assistant Secretary (Housing-Federal Housing International Atomic Energy Agency, General Conference, U.S. Representative and Alternate Representatives to the 30th National Graduate Fellows Program Fellowship National White House Conference on Small Alternate delegates-1101 President's Committee on the Arts and the United Nations, General Assembly, U.S. Alternate Representative to the 41st U.S. International Development Cooperation Bill Signings Japanese Technical Literature Act of 1986, Communications to Congress Ship procurement, authorization for fiscal years Soviet Union, nuclear testing limitations verification-1096 Republic of Korea-U.S. agreements Copyright, patent, and trademark rights— Insurance market, access-1097 Interviews With the News Media Bild-Zeitung of the Federal Republic of News conference, August 12 (No. 38)—1077 Supreme Court of the U.S., nominations—1065 Nicaraguan democratic resistance and Central Fourth orbiter and space program-1103 Statements Other Than Presidential Castelo, Anita S., arraignment for illegal Cortez, Victor, detention in Mexico-1099 Defense funding legislation-1094 Taiwan, customs valuations-1068 Supplementary Materials Acts approved by the President-1108 Published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Register, The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is pub- tions prescribed by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, approved by the President (37 FR 23607; 1 CFR Part Distribution is made only by the Superintendent of Docu- ments, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents will be furnished There are no restrictions on the republication of material ap- Week Ending Friday, August 15, 1986 United States Supreme Court Nominations Radio Address to the Nation. August 9, 1986 My fellow Americans: Shakespeare's reminder that "the world is full of ornament" and the "outward shows" are "least themselves" has always had a special relevance for the political world, but it was especially so last week here in Washington. The United States Senate began hearings on the nominations of William Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia, men I've named to the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Associate Justice of the Court. These hearings are a healthy process, mandated by the Constitution. Even though they produce a lot of outward show and ornament, they provide the American people with an opportunity to evaluate for themselves the quality of a President's appointments. To be sure, there were many serious allegations by political opponents of Justice Rehnquist and Judge Scalia. One Democratic Senator announced he would vote against Justice Rehnquist even before the hearings started. There were dark hints about what might be found in documents Judge Rehnquist wrote while a Justice Department official many years ago. To deal with these unfounded charges, I took the unusual step of permitting the Senate committee to see the documents themselves. Of course, there was nothing there but legal analyses and other routine communications. The hysterical charges of coverup and stonewalling were revealed for what they were: political posturing. I was sorry to have to release these documents, but Supreme Court nominations are so important that I did not want my nominees to enter upon their responsibilities under any cloud. And so, I was delighted that when all was said and done our nominees emerged unscathed from last week's hearings. Justice Rehnquist, recognized even during his early years as a brilliant mind, graduated first in his class from Stanford Law School. He clerked for the Supreme Court, an early mark of distinction in any legal career. He then returned to Arizona to practice law, coming back to Washington some years later to serve as an Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice. Most important, for the past 15 years he has served as a Justice of the Supreme Court with extraordinary diligence and craftsmanship. His opinions are renowned for their clarity of reasoning and precision of expression. And when his colleagues on the Supreme Court learned that I would nominate Justice Rehnquist to preside as Chief Justice, they were unanimous in expressing pleasure and approval. It's hard to imagine higher praise for anyone in the legal profession than that. Turning to Judge Antonin Scalia, he's regarded in the legal profession as a superb jurist, a first-class intellect, and a warm and persuasive person. He has served in the Department of Justice, taught law at the University of Chicago and the University of Virginia, and served since 1982 as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals here in the District of Columbia. The American Bar Association gave Judge Scalia, as they gave Justice Rehnquist, their highest rating. I might add that as the father of nine children Judge Scalia holds family values in high esteem. And I was especially delighted with his nomination, because Judge Scalia is the first Italian-American in history to be named to the Supreme Court. Beyond their undoubted legal qualifications, Justice Rehnquist and Judge Scalia embody a certain approach to the law, an approach that as your President I consider it my duty to endorse, indeed to insist upon. The background here is important. You see, during the last few election campaigns, |