[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 17 (Wednesday, February 1, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RECTIFICATION FOR MERRICK GARLAND

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Al Green) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in April of 1963, literary 
history was made when Dr. King published his letter from the Birmingham 
jail.
  In that letter, Mr. Speaker, Dr. King proclaimed: ``Injustice 
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'' Mr. Speaker, these words 
were true then and they are true today. Injustice anywhere is still a 
threat to justice everywhere.
  And, Mr. Speaker, when the Republican leadership decided to hold up 
Merrick Garland, they did more than hold up a nominee. They did more 
than prevent him from being heard. They did more than approve him such 
that he could become a Justice on the Supreme Court. They did more than 
prevent President Obama from having the opportunity to appoint a 
nominee to the Supreme Court, Mr. Speaker.
  When they held up Merrick Garland, they hijacked justice. They 
hijacked justice and prevented the American people from having the 
opportunity to hear of the credentials of Merrick Garland so that he 
could receive just consideration. They didn't have to approve him, but 
they should have in the sense of justice. They should have given him 
the opportunity to be heard.
  They hijacked justice. When you hijack justice, this type of 
injustice cannot go unchecked. We cannot allow the legitimization of 
that hijacking to take place today.
  If we move forward with the nominee being proposed by the Republican 
leadership by the President of the United States, this would be an 
effort not only to legitimize, it would legitimize the process that 
they employed to hijack justice.
  I refuse to stand with those who would hijack justice. The American 
people refuse to stand with those who would hijack justice. The 
American people are demanding that a just system be in place.
  The only way a just system can be in place is for what happened to 
Merrick Garland to be rectified. This is not retaliation that I am 
speaking of. This is not retaliation. This is rectification.
  There has to be rectification for what happened to Merrick Garland, 
and rectification requires that the Senate take up Merrick Garland. I 
believe the American people want the Senate to take up Merrick Garland 
so that he, too, can receive justice; so that this country can receive 
justice; so that the American people can receive justice; so that they 
can hear about Merrick Garland's credentials.
  Yes, the current nominee has great credentials, but so does Merrick 
Garland. There are many adjectives that can be used to describe the 
current nominee, but there are many great adjectives that can be 
utilized to describe Merrick Garland.
  Merrick Garland deserves his day. Without his day, we cannot go 
forward in a just way. So I encourage the American people to do that 
which is just; contact those who have a voice in this and say to them: 
Do not approve any nominee until there is justice for Merrick Garland 
and justice for the American people, justice for what occurred when 
they hijacked a nominee to the Supreme Court, hijacked a nomination, 
hijacked an opportunity. Hijacking cannot be tolerated.
  Dr. King was right; injustice anywhere is still a threat to justice 
everywhere. But he also went on to say immediately thereafter that life 
is an ``inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of 
destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.''
  This hijacking that took place last year is going to impact all in 
this country indirectly because every person in this country will be 
subjected to the rulings of a Supreme Court with a nominee that will 
have an asterisk by his name because his opportunity exists as a result 
of a hijacking that took place.
  Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and we ought to 
realize that this injustice cannot be tolerated and must be rectified. 
It is not retaliation. It is rectification.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the Senate.

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