[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 41 (Thursday, March 7, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1725-S1727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Nomination of Eric E. Murphy
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, judges are making decisions around the
country right now on voting rights, on civil rights, on LGBT rights, on
women's rights, on healthcare, on sentencing, and on corporate power.
Several times over the last couple of years, this body has said no even
though almost every Republican in this body--all with good, government-
paid health insurance, all with good salaries, all well-dressed, all of
the above--has tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act or take away
Medicaid or take away consumer protections so that people who have
preexisting conditions would have their insurance canceled. They all
stood on that.
Do you know what? Because millions and millions were affected, enough
people in this country said no and pushed back and stopped the
Republican majority from taking away the protections for preexisting
conditions, and they stopped insurance companies from canceling
people's insurance who got too sick and too expensive and who could
never get insurance in the first place.
So do you know what those in the Republican majority did? They went
through the courts. They voted for and supported Supreme Court Justices
and district judges and circuit judges who have put their thumbs on the
scales of justice and have picked corporations over workers, chosen
Wall Street over consumers, and chosen insurance companies over sick
people. Over and over again, this body tried to do it, but democracy
rose up and said: No, you aren't going to take our health insurance.
No, you aren't going to let the insurance companies run everything. No,
you aren't going to let Wall Street run everything. No, you aren't
going to do it.
Do you know what? Because they couldn't do it through Democratic
participation and because they couldn't do it by going down to Mitch
McConnell's office, who is the Republican leader--they couldn't walk
down the hall, all of their lobbyists, and stop that from happening--
they decided to try doing it through the Federal judiciary. Remember
what I said. They have put their thumbs on the scales of justice. They
have chosen Wall Street over consumers. They have chosen insurance
companies over sick people. That is what this vote is about. That is
what this judge is all about today.
This body confirmed a judge yesterday who would limit rights for a
generation. These are judges who are almost all inexperienced. These
are lawyers who are in their thirties or early forties. They are not
who we used to pick. President Obama used to do this; President Bush
often did this; and President Bush, Sr., used to do this. They would
pick sort of--``prudent'' would be the word that President Bush, Sr.,
would use--wise, prudent lawyers who believed in public service and
didn't believe in some far-right agenda
[[Page S1726]]
whereby they would put their thumbs on the scales of justice and hurt
workers and hurt consumers. They picked middle-of-the-road, thoughtful,
prudent judges who actually believed in civil rights--shocking--who
actually believed gay people should have a chance in this country, and
who actually believed workers should get a fair shot.
Do you know what? Because they have picked judges who have put their
thumbs on the scales of justice, we see the rich are getting richer and
richer, and we see the middle class in New Hampshire and in Ohio and in
Nebraska getting squeezed over and over and over again.
We see what has happened to this country. We see lobbyists going down
the hall to Senator McConnell's office, who is the Republican leader,
writing tax bills. Do you know what that tax law does that President
Trump signed? Do you know what it does? It says, if a company shuts
down in Lordstown, OH, which General Motors has done this week--4,500
people have lost their jobs--General Motors will pay a tax rate of 21
percent. Do you know what? Under the Trump tax law, they can move south
of the border and pay a tax rate of 10\1/2\ percent.
In other words, they get a 50-percent off coupon. Companies that shut
down production in Omaha or in Manchester or in Cleveland and move
overseas get a 50-percent off coupon on their taxes. That is what these
fights are about. These fights are about the special interests that run
this Senate, the companies that outsource, and the drug companies and
Wall Street. Heck, the White House looks like a retreat for Wall
Street.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time is expired.
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask for an additional 5 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. BROWN. This issue today we are about to vote on is about Eric
Murphy. It is about confirming a very young, very inexperienced lawyer
in Cleveland whose claim to fame is that he argued against marriage
equality in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case. It is why Jim
Obergefell has spoken out against his nomination.
Here is what he said. He actually argued that marriage equality would
be disruptive--disruptive--to our Nation. Telling people who love each
other that they can marry is disruptive to our Nation? Who does that
harm? Why would it matter? A couple in Atlanta or Decatur or a couple
in Sioux Falls or Topeka or Omaha or Lincoln or Manchester or Laconia
or Cleveland or Mansfield--why would it matter? Why would it be
disruptive?
This gentleman whom we are about to--I know every Republican, except
maybe one courageous one, will vote for him because that is how we do
it nowadays. You can't win through the democratic process; you win
through the back door of the judiciary. That is what they are going to
do. They are going to vote for a man who said it is disruptive to allow
people who love each other to marry. He will make decisions on the
rights of LGBTQ couples. Some in this body like to claim they support
people regardless of their orientation. He has moved to restrict access
to contraceptives for women. We are going to have women Republicans
vote for somebody like that? He has defended Big Tobacco, as if there
is any defense for addicting our children to tobacco.
We have had huge public health victories, but let's go back. Let's go
back on voting rights. Let's go back on supporting public health. Let's
go back on equal rights for people. Let's go back on civil rights. Is
that what we are going to do today?
But maybe most despicable, on this day today 54 years ago, in Mr.
Figures' State of Alabama--my wife has visited this bridge five times,
crossed it since then--54 years ago, John Lewis, our colleague down the
hall--you know, just on the other side of the special interest majority
leader's office down the hall--John Lewis--I think he was 25 years old
at that point--got his head beat in by Alabama State troopers. Do you
know why? Because he wanted people to register to vote. He wanted
people to have their full rights. That happened 54 years ago today--the
day we are going to vote on Mr. Murphy.
Mr. Murphy defended Ohio's voter purge, taking registered voters off
the rolls. He led the efforts to take away Golden Week in Ohio, passed
by a Republican legislature on a bipartisan basis. He defended
restrictive voter ID and provisional ballot rules.
This weekend, Connie and I walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. We
saw foot soldiers who had been beaten up 54 years ago as they were
trying to cross this bridge. We listened to their stories. These men
and women were beaten. Many of them were 15, 16, 18, 20 years old. They
did that so that in the future, they and their children would have the
right to vote.
But judges around this country, judges supported by this majority--
none of whom think for themselves when it comes to voting on these
nominations--all the way up to the Supreme Court, they are dismantling
these rights.
I can't imagine my Republican colleagues who came here from Georgia
and Kansas and Nebraska and Montana--and I think he is going to vote
right--I just can't imagine they came here thinking: I am going to take
the oath of office--right in that corner--and do you know one of the
things I am going to do? I am going to vote to restrict voting rights.
I am going to vote to tell gay people they can't marry. I am going to
vote to take away workers' rights. I am going to vote for judges who
put their thumbs on the scales of justice and choose corporations that
outsource jobs over workers. I am going to choose Wall Street over
consumers. I am going to choose big health insurance companies, with
their multimillion-dollar salaries for executives, and hurt sick
people.
I can't believe that is why any of you came. So please vote no on
Murphy. Please. As the 54th anniversary of Selma happens right about
this time of day--I think they tried to cross the bridge around noon--I
ask my colleagues to vote no.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired.
The Senator from Georgia.
Mr. ISAKSON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 60
seconds.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. ISAKSON. Madam President, I just want to say to the gentleman
from Ohio that I have been to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I went there
with John Lewis. John Lewis is a great American. I supported title
V and the Civil Rights Act. So I appreciate your remarks and your
candidness, but all of us should not castigate all the rest of us and
throw us in groups because all of us are free thinkers, independent
thinkers, and are committed to the betterment of the United States of
America and seeing to it that everybody has a vote who deserves a vote,
and I will always fight for that.
I yield the floor.
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 30
seconds.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I appreciate Senator Isakson's work as
the leader of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, his bipartisan work to
advance the causes of veterans in our country.
I was in Columbia, SC, last week, and a veteran who had attempted
suicide seven times told us that veterans are more than paintings on
the wall, and Senator Isakson embodies that as somebody who advocates
for those veterans. I thank him for that.
Mr. ISAKSON. I thank the gentleman.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all postcloture time
is expired.
The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Murphy
nomination?
Mr. SCHATZ. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Perdue).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Jones) is
necessarily absent.
[[Page S1727]]
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Young). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 52, nays 46, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 39 Ex.]
YEAS--52
Alexander
Barrasso
Blackburn
Blunt
Boozman
Braun
Burr
Capito
Cassidy
Collins
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Cruz
Daines
Enzi
Ernst
Fischer
Gardner
Graham
Grassley
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
McConnell
McSally
Moran
Murkowski
Paul
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shelby
Sullivan
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Wicker
Young
NAYS--46
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coons
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Feinstein
Gillibrand
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Kaine
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
Manchin
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--2
Jones
Perdue
The nomination was confirmed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the
President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
____________________