[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2280]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   SENATE SUPREME COURT CONFIRMATION

  (Mr. TAKANO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the United States 
Senate is failing to serve the American people.
  This week Senate Republicans announced their plan to simply ignore 
President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court with no hearings, no 
votes, no chance for the public to witness an open and honest debate 
over the future of the Court.
  This is what the world's greatest deliberative body looks like under 
Republican control. Refusing to fill the vacancy until the next 
election disregards the will of the American people who elected 
President Obama twice, despite Republicans making it their primary 
mission to deny him a second term.
  It also reflects a dramatic change of heart from Senator Grassley, 
who once said a nominee should be considered, regardless of election 
politics. This is hypocrisy, plain and simple.
  I accept that Senate Republicans have the constitutional authority to 
reject the President's nominee, but I do not accept their refusal to 
even consider that nominee. The American people shouldn't accept it 
either.

                          ____________________