[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.

                          ____________________