[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 43 (Thursday, March 17, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S1560]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NOMINATION OF MERRICK GARLAND

  Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, yesterday President Obama nominated 
Federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy left by 
the death of Associate Justice Scalia. The President has done his job. 
Now it is time for the Senate to do ours, to use advice and consent on 
this nominee, not to treat that as an option but as an obligation.
  It is my sincere hope that in the coming days and weeks, all of my 
Senate colleagues will join me in meeting the nominee and evaluating 
him based on his merits and on his record and that Republican 
objections about this individual be laid aside so that at least they 
can look at his qualifications, his judicial temperament, and his 
record.
  Chief Judge Garland has served the U.S. Court of Appeals since 1997. 
Let me stress that he has served on this important court for almost 20 
years. He was previously at a law firm as a partner. He served as U.S. 
attorney for the District of Columbia and as Deputy Assistant Attorney 
General in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. 
Finally, he served as a U.S. circuit judge earlier in his career.
  He is highly qualified as a nominee. America deserves to have a fully 
functioning court, and they deserve to have Senators who will do their 
job in reviewing this nominee. The Supreme Court cases that impact our 
fundamental rights and our operations of government--including the 
extent of property rights, privacy rights, the balance between civil 
liberty and national security, how to ensure equal protection under the 
law, and how to guarantee adequate and due process--are all things that 
deserve to have a full Supreme Court.
  We need a fully functioning Court to keep the balance that we have in 
our system--the checks and balances throughout our government. We 
cannot delay the consideration of this Supreme Court nominee.
  President Obama had an obligation to fill this vacancy on the Court. 
He did so by making this nomination. His duty does not end just because 
this is an election year.
  The Senate has a constitutional obligation now to provide the advice 
and consent to the President on this nominee. That is a job that we 
should all take very seriously. The American people deserve no less. In 
fact, the Supreme Court Justice who grew up in the State of Washington, 
William O. Douglas, was nominated and confirmed within 16 days. That is 
right--16 days.
  President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Justice Douglas on March 
20, 1939, to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court on a seat vacated by 
Justice Brandeis. Justice Douglas was confirmed by the Senate on April 
4, 1939. He went on to serve on the Supreme Court for 36 years.
  So it can be done. While I am not saying it has to be done in the 
short amount of time that took--16 days--I do believe that we can get 
this nominee done in an efficient time. If you look at the record of 
most of the Supreme Court nominees, it has been, on average, 70 days. 
So we have plenty of time to make this consideration and make this 
decision. Yet Senate Republicans have manufactured their own artificial 
barrier to this debate of the Supreme Court nominee, basically saying 
that they don't believe we have to take up consideration of this issue.
  I am asking them: Please, take Judge Garland's phone calls. Please 
make your schedule available to meet with him. When we return, please 
schedule a hearing to consider his nomination. Then, do what the 
American people want us to do; that is, do our job and actually vote on 
consideration of Judge Garland. This is in the interest of the American 
people. I know that Senate Republicans want to say they want to wait. 
But we cannot wait a full year to get another nominee on the Court.
  The Senate has confirmed Supreme Court Justices in the final year of 
a Presidency more than a dozen times. During the last year of President 
Reagan's final term, Justice Kennedy was unanimously confirmed by a 
Democratic-controlled Senate. So the Republicans on the other side of 
the aisle, and many out there in the party, are saying they want to 
just allow a minority to drive the interests of the party and delay, 
delay, delay.
  Well, in my opinion, you are delaying justice. In fact, you are 
taking some of the gridlock that has existed in this building and are 
just moving it across the street to the Supreme Court. We cannot have 
delays and gridlock in our judicial system. We need to do our job and 
move through this process. Today, I am urging my colleagues to have a 
hearing, ask the tough questions, and finally hold a vote.
  Let's show the American people that we can do our job and that we can 
vote for or against this nominee. But you have to first meet with him, 
take his phone calls, and schedule a hearing.
  The Seattle Times recently wrote: ``The hyperpartisan milieu of 
Congress this election year must not thwart the framers' intent.''
  The Olympian newspaper in our State wrote:

       The Republican Party's intransigence in Congress is 
     legendary. But the new refusal to consider any appointment of 
     a new justice to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Obama is 
     an outright abuse of power.

  So, if the other side continues to refuse a nominee until a new 
President is sworn in, it would mark the longest period in the history 
of the Senate, since the Civil War, to fill a vacancy. All the 
positions on the Supreme Court are essential. My constituents and 
people all across America expect the Senate to do its job, regardless 
of whether it is an election year or not.
  So I hope that, as our forefathers and Framers of our Constitution 
put together a government that works, those here in the Senate will 
take the phone calls of Judge Garland, take the meetings, schedule a 
hearing, and make sure that we vote on this nominee this year.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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