Title: Condemning attacks on Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
Policy area: Law

Summary:
This resolution condemns any disparagement or attack on Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett based on her religious faith or her adoption of two children from Haiti and expresses support for the Senate's advice and consent process.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1156 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1156

             Condemning attacks on Judge Amy Coney Barrett.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2020

 Mr. Biggs (for himself, Mr. Fleischmann, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Gosar, 
 Mr. Perry, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Riggleman, Mr. Bishop of North 
  Carolina, Mr. Schweikert, Mr. Joyce of Pennsylvania, Mr. Budd, Mr. 
Emmer, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Davidson of Ohio, Mr. Johnson of Louisiana, and 
 Mr. Banks) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
             Condemning attacks on Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

Whereas Amy Coney Barrett served as a law clerk in the United States Court of 
        Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit;
Whereas Amy Coney Barrett served as a law clerk in the Supreme Court;
Whereas Amy Coney Barrett served as a professor at Notre Dame School of Law for 
        15 years;
Whereas, on May 8, 2017, President Donald J. Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett 
        to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit;
Whereas, on October 31, 2017, Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed by the Senate to 
        the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit with 
        bipartisan support;
Whereas, on September 26, 2020, President Donald J. Trump nominated Judge Amy 
        Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court;
Whereas Judge Amy Coney Barrett has successfully balanced faith, family, and 
        professional responsibilities, including adopting two children from 
        Haiti;
Whereas Judge Amy Coney Barrett loves the Constitution and respects the original 
        intent of America's Founding Fathers in drafting the Constitution and 
        Bill of Rights;
Whereas, since the start of her Senate confirmation hearing in 2017, Judge Amy 
        Coney Barrett has faced unwarranted attacks on her constitutional right 
        to exercise her religious faith;
Whereas Senator Diane Feinstein attacked Judge Amy Coney Barrett's faith during 
        her 2017 Senate confirmation hearing by stating ``the dogma lives loudly 
        within you'';
Whereas Senator Mazie Hirono recently stated that Judge Amy Coney Barrett's 
        religious views should not be off-limits in the upcoming Supreme Court 
        confirmation hearings;
Whereas in a recent Committee hearing in the House of Representatives, a Member 
        of Congress stated that ``(Catholics) shouldn't have a monopoly on the 
        bench'';
Whereas a recent Reuters Politics headline about Judge Amy Coney Barrett read: 
        ``Handmaid's Tale? U.S. Supreme Court candidate's religious community 
        under scrutiny.'';
Whereas a Newsweek expose on a religious group that Judge Amy Coney Barrett 
        belongs to was forced to print a correction because the headline of the 
        article falsely stated that this group inspired ``The Handmaid's Tale'';
Whereas since Judge Amy Coney Barrett became a leading contender to fill the 
        recently vacated seat on the Supreme Court, her family has come under 
        increased attacks;
Whereas a recent tweet from Ibram X. Kendi, a professor and author, attacked 
        Judge Amy Coney Barrett's decision to adopt two international children, 
        reading, ``Some White colonizers `adopted' Black children. They 
        `civilized' these `savage' children in the `superior' ways of White 
        people, while using them as props in their lifelong pictures of denial, 
        while cutting the biological parents of these children out of the 
        picture of humanity.'';
Whereas John Lee Brougher, a director of a political action committee, tweeted, 
        ``As an adoptee, I need to know more about the circumstances of how Amy 
        Coney Barrett came to adopt her children, and the treatment of them 
        since. Transracial adoption is fraught with trauma and potential for 
        harm, and everything I see here is deeply concerning.'';
Whereas Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian, tweeted, ``. . . many authoritarians seized 
        children of color for adoption by White Christians. Pinochets's regime 
        did this with indigenous kids and Nazis took Aryan looking Poles for 
        German families. Trump takes migrant kids for adoption by 
        Evangelicals.'';
Whereas Vanessa Grigoriadis, a podcast cofounder, tweeted, ``I guess one of the 
        things I don't understand about Amy Comey Barrett is how a potential 
        Supreme Court justice can also be a loving, present mom to seven kids? 
        Is this like the Kardashians stuffing nannies in the closet and 
        pretending they've drawn their own baths for their kids'';
Whereas Dana Houle, a Democratic political consultant, tweeted, ``So, here's a 
        Q: Does the press even investigate details of Barrett's adoptions from 
        Haiti? Some adoptions from Haiti were legit. Many were sketchy as hell. 
        And if press learned they were unethical & maybe illegal adoptions, 
        would they report it? Or not bc it involves her children'';
Whereas Judge Amy Coney Barrett has faced increasingly vicious attacks on her 
        character; and
Whereas Diane Warren, a songwriter, tweeted, ``Amy is like a hybrid of Aunt 
        Lydia and a Stepford wife'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns any attempt to impose an unconstitutional 
        religious test on Judge Amy Coney Barrett or any other 
        individual seeking election or appointment to public office;
            (2) condemns any attempt to disparage Judge Amy Coney 
        Barrett's constitutional right to exercise her religious faith;
            (3) condemns any attack on any member of Judge Amy Coney 
        Barrett's family or her selfless decision to adopt two children 
        from Haiti; and
            (4) supports the Senate's constitutional advise and consent 
        process on the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the 
        Supreme Court.
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