[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 133 (Friday, August 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NOMINATION OF JUDGE BRETT KAVANAUGH TO THE SUPREME COURT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 10, 2018

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues in the 
Congressional Black Caucus to voice my opposition to President Trump's 
nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 
stakes could not be higher: Judge Kavanaugh is not the Justice that our 
nation needs, nor deserves. Voting rights, women's reproductive rights, 
and affirmative action are all under threat.
  Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation could redefine the Supreme Court, and 
threatens to undermine some of our nation's most important rights for 
decades to come.
  Judge Kavanaugh's nomination poses a threat to voting rights. When 
the state of South Carolina tried to enforce a draconian voter ID law, 
the Obama Administration blocked the law. When the case was referred to 
the US District Court, Judge Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, 
upheld the voter I.D. law saying, ``the South Carolina Law has neither 
a discriminatory effect nor a discriminatory purpose. Moreover, South 
Carolina did not act with a discriminatory purpose.'' The three-judge 
panel, led by Kavanaugh, upheld the law. The bill was signed by former 
Governor, and now UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
  Kavanaugh's nomination also poses a threat to reproductive rights. 
The landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision not only gave women access to 
basic health care rights, but it also strengthened a woman's right to 
choose. We've seen this playbook before, Mr. Speaker; Republicans will 
stop at nothing to end Roe as we know it. They will chip away it. They 
will undermine it. They will erode it.
  And we know that women of color and women from low-income communities 
will be the most adversely impacted by restrictions on access to 
reproductive healthcare.
  From Kavanagh's tacit approval of Justice Rehnquist's dissent in Roe 
vs. Wade, to his own dissent in the 2017 ``Jane Doe'' vs. HHS case 
saying, ``(we can't allow) a new right for unlawful immigrant minors in 
U.S. Government detention to obtain immediate abortion on demand,'' it 
is clear Judge Kavanaugh will be receptive to cases prohibiting women's 
right to choose.
  Finally, while Judge Kavanaugh has never written a judicial opinion 
on affirmative action, he has written an amicus brief for the Center 
for Equal Opportunity, an organization opposed to the consideration of 
race in college admissions decisions.
  If affirmative action were to be limited or ended, historically 
disenfranchised students would have fewer opportunities to access 
mainstream institutions of higher learning.
  As a co-chair of the Congressional Pro-choice Caucus, and as a member 
of the Congressional Black Caucus, I will keep fighting to protect 
women's reproductive rights, voting rights, and affirmative action. We 
must urge the Senate to oppose Trump's dangerous nominee who represents 
a direct threat to our values as a nation. We can and must stop the 
nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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