PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 7900, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF S. 3373, PROTECTING OUR GOLD STAR FAMILIES EDUCATION ACT; PROVIDING...
Joseph D. Morelle (Democrat, NY) \u2014 2022-7-13

. Madam , such time as I may consume. prgtoken While this is not on the agenda, and I will remind people that we have a rule that stipulates which bills are in front of us, I note with alarm the suggestion that we ought to change the Constitution when it comes to the Supreme Court, and for fear that we are undermining the confidence of the Court, frankly, I am astonished. prgtoken How about following the current Constitution? prgtoken Forget about amending it. prgtoken How about following the one that we have? prgtoken I just note that when Merrick Garland was nominated by President in March of 2016, 293 days his nomination went without any action in the United States Senate. Amy Coney Barrett was nominated September 26, a mere 6 weeks, 5 weeks before election day. Senator McConnell and the Senate didn't follow the Constitution which says advise and consent on nominations sent by the President. They did absolutely nothing with the nominee Garland. They didn't seek to do anything. In fact, Mitch McConnell talked about the politics of it. prgtoken Talk about undermining the confidence of the American public in the Supreme Court? prgtoken How about that? prgtoken Yet when President just 5 weeks before a Presidential election made a nomination, it was swiftly pushed through. prgtoken Undermining confidence in the Supreme Court? prgtoken How about confirmation proceedings where Brett Kavanaugh or Neil Gorsuch both said that Roe is settled law; a precedent for 50 years? prgtoken They said it in confirmation hearings. They have said it as Senator Collins has indicated her vote hung on those words. Yet they had no intention of following those words. They misled the American public. prgtoken Undermining confidence in the Supreme Court? prgtoken I am astonished that anyone would even say it. prgtoken Frankly, when we talk about this, we know what the agenda here is. Justice Thomas gave us a clear roadmap of where this is all headed. prgtoken Undermining confidence in the Supreme Court? prgtoken Justice Thomas urged the Court to reconsider all of this Court's substantive due process precedence, including the right to contraception, the right to private consensual acts, and the right to same-sex marriage, characterizing the entire legal doctrine as particularly dangerous. prgtoken Undermining the confidence of the Supreme Court of the United States? prgtoken Now, Justice Kavanaugh, I will say to his credit in his concurrence, said that the Court won't go that far. But we have heard these same assurances from Justice Kavanaugh before, and I think they aren't worth the words on the paper that this is printed. prgtoken We should be very, very concerned. We should be concerned that the American public has lost confidence in the Supreme Court, but not because of the actions of anyone here or the suggestions here. prgtoken How about because of the actions of the United States Senate and the actions of the Supreme Court itsel