Congressional Record, October 25, 2020 — Senate
Summary
Congressional Record, Senate, for Sunday, October 25, 2020, beginning at page S6468. Mr. PORTMAN speaks in support of confirming Judge Barrett to the Supreme Court, citing her hearing performance, her judicial temperament and the view of the American Bar Association. Mr. PORTMAN also discusses a $500 billion package that received a majority vote the previous Wednesday but not the 60 votes needed, and the PPP program. Later remarks on the page express concern about the vote by Republican Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance the nomination.
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“Congressional Record, October 25, 2020 — Senate.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2020-10-25-crec-2020-10-25-pt1-pgs6468-2-0eb0fed654/
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S6468 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 25, 2020
The PRESIDING OFFICER. (Mr. system here. I think that is really im- every Democrat can support. In fact, I
SCOTT of Florida). Without objection, portant. As I said to her in our meet- think there were some things that were
it is so ordered. ing, I hope she will be an ambassador, in our bill that some Democrats might
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, we and I think she will. In fact, I think not love. But for the most part, there
are in session here on a Sunday in she will be an extremely effective am- were bipartisan proposals that every-
Washington for a rare Sunday session bassador—as the youngest member of body can support, and all we asked for
in the U.S. Senate so that we can con- the Supreme Court and also as a was to be able to get on the bill to have
firm a terrific woman to be the next former teacher—with regard to young a debate. Yet we had to have 60 votes
Justice of the Supreme Court. people, to help them understand what to be able to do that. That is the super-
There is an open seat right now that it means to have a judicial branch and majority that is required around here,
needs to be filled, and Judge Barrett, how it is different from the legislative and those 60 votes could not be found,
who is currently a judge on the circuit branch or the executive branch for that even though last Wednesday the $500
court, one level below the Supreme matter. Judges are not supposed to be billion package got a majority vote.
Court, has really impressed me and the legislators. That is not what they are There was a majority vote for this
American people with her performance. hired to do. Yet in some cases we have package but not the supermajority
I had a chance to meet with her this gotten the sense that judges ought to needed. It was blocked by the other
past week, and I was already impressed be deciding issues that are reserved for side.
but even more so, having had a chance those who are elected by the people; If we had gotten on the legislation
to spend some time with her. I had that is, the legislators. and had the debate about what the PPP
been impressed with her performance Judges have an important role, and program ought to look like, how much
at the hearing because I thought she that is to look at the laws and to look money should be used for testing, what
showed great patience and calm in the at the Constitution and to determine we should do with regard to liability
face of some really tough questions. To whether something is consistent with protections, Democrats would have had
me, that is judicial temperament, and I those. That is what she will do, and I the opportunity to put their own ideas
think that will serve her well in her think she will do it very fairly, with forward, to offer their own amend-
new role as Justice of the Supreme compassion and with a great under- ments, and I would have strongly sup-
Court. standing of the legal issues and prece- ported them in that process.
I have also been impressed with her dent. Also, some of us had some additional
qualifications. I don’t think anybody She explained before the committee amendments we would like to have
can say she is not highly qualified. In that she was respectful of precedent. added and changes we would like to
fact, the American Bar Association, She also told me that in our meeting. have seen. But, ultimately, if Demo-
which does not always look favorably I think she has the proper under- crats or Republicans found that they
at Republican appointees, was, in her standing of the role of the Court and didn’t like the final product that came
last confirmation, convinced that she her role as a Justice. out of that discussion, that debate,
was highly qualified, and again, in this I am looking for the opportunity to they would have had another chance
one, they gave her their highest quali- finally vote. I guess we will do that to- because there would have been another
fication. That is impressive. morrow night, sometime in the 60-vote hurdle to get over before pas-
As has been talked about on the floor evening, and I hope it will be a strong sage of the legislation.
tonight, she actually has been through vote. I hope it can be even a bipartisan I know this is sounding like a process
this process before—and pretty re- vote, as it was last time she was con- issue, but it really is not. It is about
cently. I think less than 3 years ago firmed by this same body. doing our jobs as Senators. Both Re-
she was confirmed by this same body, CORONAVIRUS publicans and Democrats care about
and it was a bipartisan vote, and it was Mr. President, while the Senate con- this issue, yet we just can’t seem to
an opportunity for people to get to tinues to work through this important figure out how to get it unfrozen here
know her. So this is not as though we process of the next Supreme Court and to be able to move forward. Having
have brought somebody forward who nominee, I am also here on the floor blocked, again, even having a debate on
isn’t already known, who isn’t already today to remind all of us that we are moving forward was very discouraging
deemed to be very well qualified. In still in the middle of an unprecedented to me.
fact, I don’t know anybody in this healthcare and economic crisis caused CORONAVIRUS
Chamber who doesn’t think that she is by this ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Mr. President, the economy is still
well qualified and that she has done a I am here to express my frustration struggling. As I said, we are not out of
good job as a judge and a lawyer. that the sense of urgency and com- the woods yet, particularly in the areas
She graduated first in her class at promise that we had for the first sev- of hospitality, travel, and entertain-
Notre Dame Law School, and then she eral months of this coronavirus seem ment. We are not out of the woods on
went back there and taught. She won to have disappeared as we have ap- the virus yet, either, with many States
the Teacher of the Year Award three proached the election. seeing a third wave right now. That is
times when she was at Notre Dame, The Democratic leader today raised what I would describe is happening in
and, most importantly to me, she is the seriousness of the pandemic. Some- Ohio, my home State. I have watched
just widely respected by her colleagues. thing said on the other side of the aisle the numbers every single day this
These are professors. She is also widely was that we shouldn’t even be taking week. Not only are the number of cases
respected by her former students. up a Supreme Court nominee because increasing, but the hospitalizations
These professors and students, by the of the seriousness of the pandemic and went up this week. The number of peo-
way, are representing the entire polit- the need to focus on that. ple in ICU went up and fatalities went
ical spectrum from very liberal to very I don’t understand why then, on up.
conservative. All of them say the same Wednesday, the same Democratic lead- It is critical that this Congress pro-
thing about her, which is that she is a er and his colleagues blocked even tak- vide additional relief to help the Amer-
legal scholar, that she is highly quali- ing action on the coronavirus or even ican people get through this healthcare
fied, and that she is a good person. having a debate on whether to take ac- crisis and economic fallout we have
In our meeting I got to see some of tion because, once again, they blocked seen. We have done it before. Five
that. I saw in our meeting that she is a legislative initiative to have a dis- times Republicans and Democrats on
a great listener. People talk about ac- cussion about this issue. this floor and over in the House and
tive listening. She was really inter- By the way, it is a discussion about working with the White House have
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
ested in what the topics were and had an issue that affects every single one of passed coronavirus legislation—five
very thoughtful responses. our States. Again, we are not out of the times. In fact, most of the votes have
She is also a legal scholar who under- woods, so we should be not just dis- been unanimous. It is unbelievable be-
stands very clearly what the role of the cussing it but passing legislation on it. cause here we are in this partisan at-
Supreme Court should be in our separa- The legislation that we have intro- mosphere, but most of the votes have
tion of branches in our governmental duced might not be legislation that been unanimous.
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October 25, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6469
These laws have helped address both law. There is a good reason for that— believe. It was $300 per week Federal
the healthcare crisis and the economic $3.5 trillion and, again, the items there supplement on top of the State unem-
free fall that were caused by the virus that did not relate to the coronavirus ployment, and they blocked it, saying
and the government-imposed shut- crisis. that wasn’t enough and we need to
downs. And for some of my colleagues Since that time, Senate Republicans stick with $600. So, again, it is either
who are concerned about the cost, I have provided some reasonable alter- $600 or nothing.
would just say again—government-im- natives to this partisan proposal with I will say that the $600 benefit is
posed shutdowns. Many of these busi- targeted coronavirus response legisla- pretty generous. The Congressional
nesses in my home State that are tion—bills that help us directly address Budget Office has told us that 80 per-
struggling, you know, they were told to the healthcare and the economic crisis cent of the people who are on unem-
shut down, and they do need our help. by investing in bipartisan approaches ployment insurance going forward—if
They deserve our help. The same gov- that we know work. we continued $600, 80 percent would be
ernment that insisted that they not be The last legislation that was offered making more on unemployment insur-
in business ought to help them now to here on Wednesday was about $500 bil- ance than they would be making at
get back in business and stay in busi- lion. That used to be a lot of money. work. Talk to your businesses back
ness. Again, Democrats probably objected to home, and what they will tell you is
The biggest of these bills that this some specific elements of it, like liabil- that this has been a problem in getting
body and the House and the White ity protection, but we should have had people back to work when they can
House worked hard on and passed is the opportunity to debate that and make more—sometimes significantly
called the CARES Act. A lot of people have a discussion. But on Wednesday, more—on unemployment insurance.
have heard about it. It is a piece of leg- Democrats blocked it. But how about $300? How about a
islation that was very important at the Their position has been very clear, as compromise? Some people will make
time but needs to be extended, in es- I see it. They are going to stick with more. In fact, a lot of people will make
sence, now. It was passed by a vote in Speaker PELOSI no matter what, and I more on unemployment insurance than
this Chamber of 96 to nothing. understand that from a negotiating po- they do at work at $300 but not 80 per-
Unfortunately, since May of this sition. They think she is the one nego- cent of the people. Some will make
year, when the last of these bipartisan tiating with the White House; there- more; some will make less.
bills was enacted, partisanship has pre- fore, they are not going to get in- Last week, I finally thought we had a
vailed over good policy, and Wash- volved. I have talked to some of my breaking point because the Speaker of
ington has been paralyzed, unable to colleagues on the other side of the aisle the House had Members of her own cau-
repeat the coming together for the who have expressed the same frustra- cus calling her to work with the White
good of all of us. tion I am expressing right now. Gosh, House to pass at that time what was a
For months, Democrats insisted that why can’t we get together between Re- $1.8 trillion package, but my under-
the only way forward was a bill called publicans and Democrats and support standing is, that wasn’t good enough.
the $3.5 trillion Heroes Act, which Let’s get back to the commonsense
something that is a compromise? But I
passed the House of Representatives 4 ideas we can all agree on. By the way,
think they have been told by their
months ago along partisan lines. It in- many of these are in this targeted leg-
leadership: No discussion; no debate;
islation that the majority of Senators
cluded things unrelated to COVID–19, we are going to stick with whatever
voted on this past week, on Wednes-
and you can argue about those things. the Speaker wants.
Again, coming up to the election, it day—again, a majority but not the
The SALT—the State and local tax de-
is my sense that what the Speaker supermajority needed to get it passed.
duction—is in there, as an example. First is on the healthcare response,
That has nothing to do with COVID–19. wants is not to have a result. That is
particularly on testing, and in Ohio, we
It is a tax break, frankly, for wealthier my sense. You have heard the Presi-
need it right now. We need more money
individuals. Most of that tax break dent say very clearly he is willing to for testing. Republicans and Democrats
would go to people who are wealthy, spend even more than the Speaker alike know that is critical to stopping
and about half of it goes to people in wants to spend. I am not suggesting the spread of the disease and getting
the top 1 percent. There are immigra- that is the position that every Senate people more comfortable going back to
tion law changes in that legislation Republican has because many believe work, going back to school, and going
that are very controversial. Should we we spent a lot of money and we need to back to their local businesses to buy
have a debate separately? Of course, be very careful and be much more tar- things. We need the Federal help on
but not in a COVID–19 bill. There are geted given the fiscal situation we testing.
other policies in terms of election law talked about earlier. We also need help to continue invest-
and how States would handle their Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of the ing in developing treatments, and, of
elections that had nothing to do with Treasury, has been very interested in course, we need to invest in a vaccine
COVID–19. getting a result and has, in good faith, to get a vaccine as quickly as possible.
Also, it was $3.5 trillion. Now, we are been negotiating. But, again, we have The targeted bill that came to the
facing this year not just the largest not been able to make any progress be- House this past week did just that—
deficit in the history of our country cause the notion is that we are going provided $16 billion for increased test-
but also a debt as a percentage of the to stick with the Speaker’s position no ing and contact tracing and an addi-
economy, which is how most econo- matter what. So instead of a com- tional $31 billion for vaccine develop-
mists look at our fiscal problems— promise, we have zero relief. Instead of ment. That is the kind of support we
what is the debt as a percentage of the $3.5 trillion or $2.4 trillion—whatever need right now.
economy? It is as high as it has ever the number is and whatever the Repub- Second, we agreed that Congress
been, with the possible exception of lican number is—we have zero relief shouldn’t continue to have this situa-
World War II—a year when we had huge that has been provided in the last sev- tion where small businesses are being
military expenditures, but pretty eral months. There has been sort of an forced to close their doors. We all want
quickly the economy grew, and we all-or-none attitude—either we do it to help small businesses. That was in
didn’t have this big overhang of the en- her way, or we get nothing. the targeted bill also.
titlement spending that already has us Three separate times on this floor, One way we have agreed across the
in a structural debt. Democrats have even blocked proposals aisle is to have this PPP program—the
So $3.5 trillion is a lot of money. to temporarily extend the Federal un- paycheck protection program—be in ef-
When it passed the House, it was the employment insurance supplement fect, and the targeted legislation did
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
most expensive legislation ever to pass that expired in August so that folks just that. It restarted the Paycheck
the House of Representatives by far. who were relying on that money could Protection Program, which was in-
When it did pass, by the way, POLIT- continue to make ends meet while we cluded in the CARES Act but expired
ICO and others in the media accurately negotiated a long-term solution. This on August 8. So since August 8, we
called it a messaging bill that they week, they blocked a reasonable ap- haven’t had it. This was a smart pro-
thought had no chance of becoming proach on unemployment insurance, I gram that provided low-interest loans
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S6470 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 25, 2020
to small businesses—loans that effec- called the healthy workplace tax cred- Fourth, we all agree we have to make
tively became grants if they used them it. It is very simple. It helps businesses sure Americans have adequate access
for certain purposes, like payroll to pay for protective equipment like to telehealth and telehealth medicine.
keep people employed but also their plexiglass, hand sanitizer, and face cov- Most of us in this Chamber have prob-
rent and their mortgages and utilities. erings. These are credits against pay- ably utilized telehealth services during
At least 140,000 Ohio businesses in my roll tax that will help businesses rehire this pandemic, and we know that they
State of Ohio—140,000 businesses— workers, reopen safely, and take these work.
small businesses, have benefited from critical steps to let our economy re- Telehealth has been a lifeline for mil-
the PPP, saving what we think are at cover. lions of Americans, particularly for
least 1.9 million jobs. Wow. We all I will continue to push this in every those fighting addiction, for those who
know we need to extend that program. coronavirus package. You know what, have behavioral health issues, mental
I think everybody agrees on that. I it has total bipartisan appeal because health issues, who can’t currently re-
don’t know a Senator in this Chamber, it is exactly what we ought to be ceive in-person care to help in their re-
Republican or Democrat, who hasn’t doing—reopening, yes, but doing it covery.
had the experience back home of a safely. Let’s give businesses the incen- I have worked with the Trump ad-
small business saying: I couldn’t have tives to do that. ministration to expand telehealth and
stayed open without this. I have had It is expensive to purchase PPE, par- delivery options for opioid treatment,
that conversation dozens of times. A ticularly when you have tight reve- which, in some instances, has even al-
lot of these businesses were able to use nues, which a lot of businesses do right lowed addiction specialists to reach
this PPP loan to weather the storm. now. They want the help to be able to new patients. I love hearing that—that
Some have seen their businesses now do it and do it right. in this dark cloud, one silver lining is
pick back up, and they are hiring Third, of course, we agree we need to that telehealth has actually been suc-
again, and that is great. invest in our schools and our State and cessful and helped people, including
I recently had a virtual roundtable local governments. With colleges and mental health providers and drug
with manufacturers all over Northeast K–12 education trying to reopen around treatment providers, to reach new peo-
Ohio—the Cleveland area and the the country, it is critical that students ple whom they couldn’t reach pre-
Akron area. They were hit hard by the don’t lose any more progress in the viously.
early shutdowns. They put their busi- classroom. We need to make sure However, the reforms that we have in
nesses at risk, but thanks to the PPP schools have these resources to reopen place now, based on the previous legis-
loans they received, they were able to and to stay open with adequate protec- lation I talked about, are only tem-
keep their employees on payroll and tive gear and social distancing policies porary. The bipartisan legislation we
and, again, plexiglass and other things have introduced, along with my col-
keep the doors open. Do you know what
to make it safe. league SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, is to
most of them did? They did something
The $105 billion that was in this leg- make these telehealth options perma-
related to helping. Some made ventila-
islation on Wednesday that was voted nent. It is called the TREATS Act.
tors. Some made masks. Some made
down—$105 billion for ensuring that That should be in any coronavirus
gowns. So they were able, during this schools are safe—is actually more than package, and it would be.
slow time, to actually help to push was in the original House-passed He- Finally, we need to chart a path for-
back against the coronavirus. Now roes Act. So, let’s find a compromise ward on the issue of expanded unem-
they are back in business. Now they here, but you can’t say that helping ployment insurance. Unemployment is
are able to employ people, to hire peo- the schools is a reason to vote no. down from the highest we saw in the
ple, and to pay taxes and provide rev- State and local governments need spring, and it has been very encour-
enue to the government. That is what support and more flexibility too. Ohio aging to see how many new jobs have
we want. cities have been hit particularly hard come back. It exceeded all expecta-
There are others, however, who des- because they rely on revenue from in- tions, everybody’s—OMB’s, CBO’s, out-
perately need continued PPP just to come taxes more than other cities side projections.
stay in business. I mentioned the hos- around the country, and that income But unemployment is still way too
pitality industry earlier, the entertain- tax revenue has been lower than any of high. We are still at 8.9 percent in
ment business, and the travel business. their projections. Ohio, and it is probably about 8 percent
They have to have the PPP loans The targeted bill would have helped nationally. Think of this. We went
now—now—or they may close. Some by extending the timeline in which from the lowest unemployment we
have already closed because the pro- CARES funding could be spent beyond have seen in decades just before this
gram has been shut down since August the end of this year. I have heard this virus, more like 3.5 percent—record
8 because we can’t seem to get our act repeatedly from our Governor in Ohio, lows for Blacks, Hispanics, disabled,
together to provide the help. That was Mike DeWine, and also from local offi- women—and now we have about 8 per-
in the targeted bill. cials in Ohio: Don’t make us spend all cent unemployment—more than double
By the way, it makes PPP more tar- the money by yearend. We can spend it that.
geted and more focused because we more effectively if you give us some I said earlier that Congress allowed
don’t want to waste money; we want to flexibility on that. the original unemployment insurance
focus it on companies that really need None of us should want to do that. supplement to expire without a re-
it. That is bipartisan also. Let’s do it. We always complain about the Federal placement. When that happened, the
Beyond PPP, Congress should help rule where you are telling an agency Trump administration stepped in and
invest in businesses to reopen safely ‘‘You have to spend the money by year- used $44 billion from FEMA’s Disaster
and effectively. Small business owners end; use it or lose it’’ because it en- Relief Fund, which had received fund-
I have spoken to during this pandemic courages them to go ahead and spend ing from the CARES Act to tempo-
and especially in recent weeks have it, even though they don’t need to, so rarily add a $300-per-week Federal sup-
told me that they are eager to reopen they can have the same budget next plement called the Lost Wage Assist-
but they want to open in a safe man- year. Let’s let them have the flexi- ance Program. This program funded 6
ner. That is the sweet spot here. We bility to spend the money as they need weeks of expanded unemployment in-
don’t want to close down the economy, it. surance and also encouraged States to
but we do want the economy to be re- We all know now that this virus isn’t provide their own match.
opened and stay open safely. going away in calendar year 2020. It is What happened was that every State
There are examples of how we can do going to be around in 2021. Let’s give but two took the government up on
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
that that this Congress should pass on them that flexibility. that. They didn’t add their match, but
a bipartisan basis. One is an expanded With this extended timeline, we they did take the 300 bucks, and a lot
tax credit to incentivize new hiring should also provide flexibility so they of people who had lost their jobs
through the work opportunity tax can be certain that they can spend the through no fault of their own were able
credit and the employee retention tax money where they need it, including to be helped through this Executive ac-
credit. We also have a new tax credit for public safety—police, fire, EMS. tion.
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October 25, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6471
Unfortunately, we are now at a point I yield back my time. ances, they did not envision a sham
where this program has been tapped The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- confirmation process for judicial nomi-
out. Why? Because the $44 billion that ator from Delaware. nees. But as much as I hate to say it,
was set aside in the Disaster Relief NOMINATION OF AMY CONEY BARRETT that is what this one has been, pure
Fund is gone, leaving $25 billion to deal Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I rise and simple. This entire process has be-
with natural disasters, which is what this afternoon to share with you and come an exercise in raw political
the Disaster Relief Fund is intended to our colleagues some of my thoughts power, not the deliberative, non-
do. And they need that money. We concerning the nomination of Judge partisan process that our Founders en-
shouldn’t use any more of that. So we Amy Coney Barrett to serve as an As- visioned.
are back to square one. sociate Justice of the Supreme Court of Frankly, it has been a process that I
People who have had unemployment these United States. could never have imagined 20 years ago
insurance since the disaster began be- I believe it was Winston Churchill when I was first elected to serve with
cause they might work in hospitality, who once said these words: ‘‘The fur- my colleagues here. Over those 20
entertainment, travel, some businesses ther back we look, the further forward years, I have risen on six previous oc-
where they can’t go back—a lot of we see.’’ So let me begin today by look- casions to offer remarks regarding
those folks now are seeing just a State ing back in time—way back in time. nominees to the Supreme Court as we
benefit or no benefit. More than 230 years ago, during the considered the nominations of Chief
The Republican proposal actually Constitutional Convention in Philadel- Justice Roberts, Justice Alito, Justice
had a long-term solution by providing phia, just up the road from my family’s Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, Justice
$300 per week through December 27— home in Wilmington, DE, our Founders Gorsuch, and Justice Kavanaugh.
basically, through the end of the year. debated at great length on how to cre- One name not mentioned among the
That was in the package that was just ate a different kind of government—an six I have just listed is that of Judge
voted down. So Democrats, who say experiment, if you will, in which a na- Merrick Garland. After being nomi-
they want $600, voted down $300 be- tion’s citizens would elect their own nated by President Clinton to serve on
cause it wasn’t enough. Well, somebody leaders, and a system of checks and the DC Circuit Court of Appeals—that
who is on unemployment is probably balances would ensure that country is the top appellate court in the coun-
wondering: Why not just compromise would never—never—be led by a ty- try—and confirmed by a Republican-led
and at least get me the $300 so that I rant. Senate with a bipartisan margin of
can pay my rent, I can pay my car pay- Among the most contentious issues more than 3 to 1—76 to 23, in fact—
ment, I can make ends meet, even they debated during that summer of Judge Garland has served with distinc-
though I can’t go back to my job? 1787 in the City of Brotherly Love was tion on our top appellate court since
So if nothing else comes out of these the creation of a Federal judiciary. Our 1997, including for many years as its
coronavirus negotiations, let’s at least Founders disagreed, oftentimes strong- chief judge.
provide more funding for the Disaster ly, about what our judicial system President Obama later nominated
Relief Fund so that we can continue to should look like and how judges should him to serve on the Supreme Court 237
respond at the executive branch level. be selected: Who would nominate days before election day in 2016—237
If Congress can’t get its act together, them? Who would confirm them? Would days before election day.
at least continue the $300 through the they serve one term, multiple terms, or By submitting the name of Judge
way the administration was doing it would their appointments be lifetime Garland to the U.S. Senate for consid-
for 6 weeks. We have proposed legisla- in nature? eration 4 years ago, President Obama,
tion to do just that, replenishing the When the Framers appeared to be who was twice elected by clear margins
Disaster Relief Fund so that this vital hopelessly deadlocked, members of the in both the popular vote and the elec-
unemployment insurance supplement clergy were brought in to pray that toral college, nominated a man who
can continue that the administration God would provide the leaders with the spent his entire 20-year career as a
had in place. wisdom to break the impasse. judge working to build consensus and
If we can’t pass a bigger package, In the end, it apparently worked, and find principled compromises. Yet we
why can’t we just pass that? Why can’t our Founding Founders ended up never got a chance to consider Judge
we just pass PPP? Why can’t we just adopting a compromise very similar to Garland’s nomination to serve on the
pass something for testing? Why can’t one they had rejected just a few weeks Supreme Court on this Senate floor.
we just pass something to ensure that earlier; namely, the President would Judge Garland wasn’t given a vote ei-
we are helping right now during this nominate judges to serve lifetime ap- ther in committee or here in the U.S.
crisis? pointments with the advice and con- Senate. Judge Garland wasn’t given a
The bottom line is that there is still sent of the Senate. hearing. Most of our Republican col-
a lot for Congress to do to help lead the Not surprisingly, almost 240 years leagues wouldn’t even meet with him,
country through this coronavirus crisis later, we are still sparring over what even though many of them had voted
we find ourselves in. Between bol- those words should mean. earlier to confirm him to, again, serve
stering our healthcare response, pro- Having said that, the blueprint that on the top appellate Court of our land.
moting a stronger and more equitable was drafted that year and later ratified Judge Garland’s nomination lan-
economic recovery, getting the nec- by the 13 States would go on to become guished for 293 shameful days. A great
essary funding to our schools, pro- the most enduring and replicated Con- many Americans believe that it is the
viding that flexibility I talked about stitution in the history of the world. equivalent of stealing a Supreme Court
earlier to governments, ensuring that Among our most important sworn seat. A good man—a very good man—
our constituents can make ends meet duties here in the U.S. Senate is to act was treated badly and so, too, was our
as they deal with sudden unemploy- as caretakers of that Constitution and Constitution.
ment and other challenges, we have a the rights it provides for our citizens Still, many of our Republican col-
lot of opportunities to help our country while protecting this unique system of leagues assured us that if the tables
weather the storm of this pandemic. checks and balances that provide the were turned later on, they would hold
I hope things will change soon. foundation on which our democracy is themselves to the same standard and
Maybe it will change on the election. built. only allow the next President to fill
Maybe after the election there will be a That brings us to the present. This the Supreme Court seat should a va-
different attitude. I hope so. I hope past week, Republican Members of the cancy occur during an election year.
that at least in the lameduck session of Senate Judiciary Committee voted to Then, on September 18, 2020, Justice
Congress, if we can’t get our act to- advance Judge Barrett’s nomination to Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, 46
ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with SENATE
gether this week, we can figure out the floor of the Senate, but they have days before a Presidential election.
how to recapture that spirit of biparti- done so, I fear, at great cost to this And with her death, most of our Repub-
sanship we saw this spring, to nego- body and quite possibly to our democ- lican colleagues changed their tune al-
tiate in good faith, come to an agree- racy. most overnight.
ment—and fast. Our constituents need When our Founders carefully de- Today, with more than 220,000 Ameri-
it. Let’s get it done. signed our system of checks and bal- cans dead and more than 8 million
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