[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4451-4452]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       MERRICK GARLAND NOMINATION

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Senate Republicans are making history 
but for all the wrong reasons. The Republicans' obstruction of 
President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, is the first 
of its kind in Senate history. Never before has the Senate 
categorically refused to consider a Supreme Court nominee solely 
because the vacancy occurred during an election year. As each day 
passes, the Republicans set some new mark for gridlock.
  For example, in the post-World War II era, the average time between a 
Supreme Court nomination and the nominee's first hearing was 29 days. 
Today is the 33rd day since Merrick Garland's name was put forward by 
President Obama. Already we are 5 days past the average.
  The longest a nominee has been forced to wait for a hearing was 82 
days. That was President Eisenhower's nominee, Potter Stewart, who was 
confirmed at a later time. Republicans vow every day that there will be 
no hearing. So they are well on their way to eclipsing the 82-day mark.
  While that achievement may earn the Republicans a slap on the back 
from the Koch brothers and Senator McConnell--who, by the way, is the 
proud ``guardian of gridlock,'' as he says--Americans take no pleasure 
in this record-setting obstruction. Instead, Americans want Republicans 
in

[[Page 4452]]

the Senate to do their job and give Merrick Garland a hearing.




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