[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H5863-H5864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NOMINATION OF DAWN JOHNSEN

  (Mr. CANTOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with deep and growing concern 
over President Obama's nomination of Dawn Johnsen to head up the 
Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. My worry isn't merely her 
position on the question of life. It's that she routinely has taken 
hard-line stances and made extreme statements that cast doubt on her 
fitness to manage the power entrusted to her in a responsible way.
  Ms. Johnsen has claimed that abortion restrictions ``reduce pregnant 
women to no more than fetal container.'' Her arguments have compared 
pro-life advocates to the KKK and pregnancy to slavery.

[[Page H5864]]

  The Office of Legal Counsel does not need an activist. It needs 
someone with a temperament to accurately inform the administration on 
the legality of policies being contemplated.
  I encourage Members of the Senate, including my Senator from 
Virginia, Senator Webb, to vote against this nomination.

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