[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9379]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       REPUBLICAN ABUSE OF POWER

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, Senate Republicans are preparing to blow 
up 200 years of tradition in the U.S. Senate, abusing their power in 
order to force through a few judges who have been unable to earn a 
bipartisan consensus for their lifetime judicial appointments.
  Democrats have helped confirm 95 percent of President Bush's judicial 
nominees. The few that our Democratic colleagues in the Senate have 
opposed are those who have had serious questions raised about their 
independence, fairness, and record on issues involving our most vital 
rights.
  Republicans are willing to attack the constitutional system of checks 
and balances and change the rules of the Senate in the middle of the 
game, all of this for seven extreme judges.
  Senate Republicans know full well the impact their nuclear option 
will have on the bipartisanship that is necessary for a productive and 
effective Senate, but they simply do not care. If Senate Republicans 
are successful at abolishing the rights of the minority, what is next?

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