[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1962-S1963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson

  Mr. REED. Madam President, we are debating the President's nominee to 
succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, who has served this country admirably 
and with great distinction.
  As a law student, I was fortunate to have Justice Breyer as an 
adviser, and I remain grateful for his guidance, encouragement, and 
counsel as I began my legal career. I have immense respect and 
admiration for him as a Justice, but even more so as a person.
  When Justice Breyer announced his retirement, I stated my belief that 
the next Justice on the Supreme Court should be someone with Justice 
Breyer's integrity, independence, and keen intellect--someone with 
real-world experience who reflects the depth and breadth of the 
American people. You could not find someone who better fits that 
description than Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, and I rise today in 
wholehearted support of her nomination to the Supreme Court.
  The Supreme Court is a powerful arbiter of justice in our Nation, 
with few checks on the decisions of the Justices once they are on the 
Court. Therefore, a vote on a Supreme Court nominee is one of the most 
consequential that any Senator can cast. The Constitution makes the 
Senate an active participant, along with the President, in the 
confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice.
  Article II, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution states that 
nominees to the Supreme Court shall only be confirmed ``by and with the 
Advice and Consent of the Senate.'' The Senate's role in the 
confirmation process places an important democratic check on America's 
judiciary. As a result, this body's consent is both a constitutional 
requirement and a democratic obligation. It is in upholding our 
constitutional duties as Senators to give the President advice and 
consent on his nominations that I believe we have one of our greatest 
opportunities and responsibilities to support and defend the 
Constitution of the United States.
  As I have stated before, my test for a nominee is simple and is drawn 
from the text, the history, and the principles of the Constitution. A 
nominee's intellectual gifts, experience, judgment, maturity, and 
temperament are all important, but these alone are not enough. I need 
to be convinced that a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court will live up 
to both the letter and spirit of the Constitution. The nominee needs to 
be committed not only to enforcing laws but also to doing justice.
  The nominee needs to be able to make the principles of the 
Constitution come alive--equality before the law, due process, full and 
equal participation in the civic and social life of America for all 
Americans, freedom of conscience, individual responsibility, and the 
expansion of opportunity. The nominee also needs to see the unique role 
the Court plays in helping balance the often conflicting forces in a 
democracy between individual autonomy and the obligations of community, 
between the will of the majority and the rights of the minority. A 
nominee for the Supreme Court needs to be able to look forward to the 
future, not just backwards. The nominee needs to make the Constitution 
resonate in a world that is changing with great rapidity.
  Judge Jackson passes these tests with flying colors. Beyond her 
unquestioned intellectual gifts, her legal career over the past two 
decades demonstrates that she has the deep fidelity to equality, 
justice, and the Constitution required to be our next Supreme Court 
Justice.
  We want Justices to be familiar with the Federal court system. Judge 
Jackson is. Indeed, soon after law school, Judge Jackson chose to clerk 
at three levels of the Federal courts, gaining valuable insights into 
the courtroom and learning directly from incredible jurists, including 
Judge Bruce Selya of Rhode Island, who was President Reagan's nominee 
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, as well as Justice 
Breyer himself.
  We want Justices to understand that a guilty verdict involves the 
hard task of deciding the appropriate punishment. So while many of her 
law school classmates likely plotted paths to law firm partnerships, 
she chose instead to serve as Assistant Special Counsel and, later, 
Commissioner and Vice Chair at the U.S. Sentencing Commission, working 
to prevent unjust disparities in sentencing.
  We want Justices to embody the fundamental notion of fairness at the 
heart of our justice system, that defendants have a right to counsel 
and must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. So Judge Jackson 
chose to serve as a Federal public defender. If confirmed, she will 
bring this valuable, real-life perspective to our highest Court, where 
it is very much needed.
  Over the past 10 years, first as a district judge and then as a 
circuit judge, Judge Jackson has been evenhanded and impartial in her 
decisions from the bench, without regard to partisanship, personal 
views, or ideology. Her opinions showcase an admirable commitment not 
only to fairness but to transparency. She takes the time to ensure that 
the parties fully understand her rulings and that the record clearly 
captures her thought process in deciding a case. She does not hide the 
ball--there are facts, there are arguments, and everyone is invited to 
read and understand them.
  Beyond her career choices and accolades, she demonstrated her 
judgment, maturity, and equanimity during her recent confirmation 
hearings. In the face of hours of questioning, some of it quite 
pointed, political, and discomfiting, she showed incredible patience, 
resilience, and grace. Her independence, integrity, and deep 
understanding of the Constitution shined through in her answers. Her 
cool in that crucible was not only admirable, it was inspiring.
  Judge Jackson is a trailblazer, not in the least because she is the 
first Black woman and first Federal public defender nominated to the 
Supreme

[[Page S1963]]

Court. While her individual accomplishments are personal, Judge 
Jackson's elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court will bring America closer 
to the ideal our country aspires to. Her service on the Supreme Court 
in the years to come will ensure that the Justices better reflect the 
diversity of our great nation and may help restore the people's faith 
in the fairness of the Court and in our justice system.
  It is with great pleasure that I support her nomination to the 
highest Court in the land and urge my colleagues to do the same.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.