[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 1, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUPREME COURT VACANCY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. MARCIA L. FUDGE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 29, 2016

  Ms. FUDGE. Mr. Speaker, when taking office, every Member of Congress 
swears to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. 
This includes Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, also known as the 
``Appointments Clause.''
   The Appointments Clause clearly states the President has the power 
to nominate Justices of the Supreme Court. Nowhere does this clause 
state the President abdicates this constitutional responsibility during 
a presidential election year. And, nowhere does it state the U.S. 
Senate can make threats against the President for exercising his 
constitutional authority. Our separate branches of government exist to 
provide checks and balances against tyranny, not to hijack 
Constitutional processes for political gain.
   Many Republicans have argued that Supreme Court Justices are not 
typically appointed during presidential election years, and especially 
during a president's last term. To those claims I invoke Mahlon Pitney, 
Louis Brandeis, John H. Clarke, Benjamin Cardozo, Frank Murphy, and 
Anthony Kennedy--all examples of Supreme Court Justices who were 
confirmed during a presidential election year.
   Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and Benjamin Cardozo in 
particular, were confirmed during President Reagan and President 
Hoover's last years, respectively. Justice Louis Brandeis was nominated 
and confirmed in 1916 to replace Justice Joseph Lamar, who died in 
early January of that same year.
   Not only has the Senate voted on and confirmed Supreme Court 
nominees during presidential election years, the process has never 
taken more than 125 days. In fact, on average, nominees have been 
confirmed, rejected, or withdrawn within 25 days. Ample time remains 
for President Obama to work with Congress to approve a nominee.
   However, Republican leadership has once again let politics get in 
the way of doing what the American people elected them to do.
   The Constitution is clear. Just as we honor our First Amendment 
right to freedom of religion or our Second Amendment right to bear 
arms, so should we defend the constitutionality of the Supreme Court 
appointment process. We cannot pick and choose which sections we 
enforce.
   As Members of Congress, we made a promise to our constituents that 
we would ``faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which'' we 
have been elected to. It is the Senate's duty to consider a Supreme 
Court nominee.
   I implore my Republican colleagues: Put politics aside and do your 
job; do not block President Obama's nominee. Rulings handed down by the 
Supreme Court directly affect our economy, security, and civil rights. 
This seat is too important to leave vacant.

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