[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 12, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S6117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



          Republican Agenda and Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, the Senate recently completed what was 
easily the most productive August in memory. We passed six 
appropriations bills with full debate on the Senate floor. We passed 
the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act. We confirmed 25 
appointees to important jobs in the administration. We confirmed 17 
Federal judges to the bench, and we set up votes for another 8 earlier 
this month.
  When I was home in Wyoming, I talked to a number of people around the 
State, and they were pleased to see how much we are actually getting 
done. I can state that they absolutely think we should keep up this 
pace.
  Maybe the most important thing that people expect us to deal with 
quickly is confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. I 
believe we are off to a good start with confirmation hearings for Judge 
Kavanaugh, which were held last week in the Judiciary Committee.
  What people who watched the hearings learned was that Judge Kavanaugh 
is well respected, mainstream, and a highly qualified individual for 
this important job. What people also saw is that some Members of the 
opposite party--the Democrats in the Senate--are totally unwilling to 
give him fair consideration.
  Senators have been given access to more than 500,000 pages of records 
from his time as a judge and throughout his career in public service. 
That is three times the amount of information that any other Supreme 
Court nominee has ever produced. For some nominees of the Supreme 
Court, these kinds of documents are very important. They can tell us a 
lot about how a nominee thinks and about how he or she might approach 
the job of being a Justice. It is especially important when that person 
under consideration has never served as a judge before, and sometimes 
that is all we have to look at. But that is not the case with Judge 
Kavanaugh.
  Judge Kavanaugh has served on the circuit court of appeals for 12 
years, and he has written opinions in over 300 cases. If anyone wants 
to know what he will act like as a judge, then they can just look at 
how he has already acted as a judge for the past dozen years.
  These documents, these opinions he wrote in the 300 cases on the 
court in which he is serving, are the documents that matter. They are 
the ones that tell us how he approaches being a judge. Senators have 
had access to these court opinions since the day Judge Kavanaugh was 
nominated 8 weeks ago. If Democrats would just take the time to read 
through these opinions, they would see that Judge Kavanaugh is 
extremely thoughtful and is independent. He is absolutely devoted to 
preserving the rule of law and protecting the separation of powers that 
is the basis of our Constitution. If Democrats don't want to read 
through all these documents and these decisions, well, they can focus 
on the 13 cases where the Supreme Court adopted Judge Kavanaugh's 
reasoning. That is how much respect other judges and Justices have for 
the careful and compelling decisions he has written.
  One case dealt with a regulation put out by the Environmental 
Protection Agency. Judge Kavanaugh found that the Agency had exceeded 
its authority under the law when they wrote the regulation. Judge 
Kavanaugh wrote that ``it is not our job to make the policy choices and 
set the statutory boundaries, but it is emphatically our job to 
carefully but firmly enforce the statutory boundaries.''
  The Supreme Court agreed with Judge Kavanaugh's reasoning.
  One constitutional scholar pointed out that ``Judge Kavanaugh 
commands wide and deep respect among scholars, lawyers, judges, and 
justices.''
  Another legal scholar said that Judge Kavanaugh is ``one of the most 
learned judges in America on a variety of issues, ranging from theories 
of statutory interpretation to separation of powers.''
  A third law professor agreed. He called Judge Kavanaugh ``a true 
intellectual--a leading thinker and writer on the subjects of statutory 
interpretation and federal courts.''
  Finally, if it is even too much for some Democratic Senators to read 
through all the glowing reviews of Judge Kavanaugh's career, they could 
just look at what he has actually said. Look at his own simple, 
straightforward summary of his judging philosophy. In a speech last 
year, he made it very clear. He said: ``The judge's job is to interpret 
the law, not to make the law or make policy.''
  This view--that the judge's job is to interpret the law, not to make 
the law or make policy--and every example I have seen from Judge 
Kavanaugh's record is squarely in the mainstream of America's thinking 
today.
  Despite all of this information being available, some Democrats are 
trying to say that they still want even more documents. They are hoping 
against hope that if they request another 500,000 pages, they can delay 
things a little longer. Well, let me assure you, it is not going to 
happen.
  I think that most Democrats who have been making the most noise 
really don't want more documents. That is because so many of the 
Democrats complaining the loudest are the same ones who said that they 
have already made up their minds and made announcements that they are 
planning to vote against the nominee. Some were saying it before the 
nomination was even announced.
  From the very beginning, liberal activists called on Senator Schumer 
to do everything in his power to keep this seat empty for as long as 
possible. There are several Senators on the other side of the aisle who 
have gladly taken up this challenge from the far left corners of their 
base.
  I hope that more reasonable Democrats will reject the calls for 
needless delays and dangerous obstruction. I hope there are Democrats 
in the Senate who are willing to listen to what Judge Kavanaugh 
actually said during his hearing. I hope there are Democrats who are 
willing to read some of the hundreds of thousands of pages of 
documents. I hope there are some Democrats who are willing to listen to 
the experts who are describing Judge Kavanaugh as ``one of the most 
learned judges'' in our country.
  It is clear that Judge Kavanaugh has the right approach to being a 
judge. It is clear that he is a person of solid character and that he 
has a strong intellect. It is clear that America needs Judge Kavanaugh 
on the Supreme Court and that it is time for Democrats to give up this 
pointless obstruction.
  Thank you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.