Floor Statements

Madam President, the Senate gavels back into session to consider more Federal judges, continue working to fund the government, and to find a path forward to protect marriage equality and other critical issues.

Later this afternoon, the Senate will vote on the confirmation of Judge Salvador Mendoza to serve a lifetime appointment on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The child of Mexican immigrant farmworkers, Mr. Mendoza was the first Latino judge to ever serve in the Eastern District of Washington.

And if confirmed today, he would be the first Latino from the State of Washington ever to sit on the Ninth Circuit. In 2014, the Senate confirmed Mr. Mendoza with an overwhelming bipartisan vote, 92 to 4. Today, it should be no different.

If confirmed, Judge Mendoza's elevation will be significant for another reason. He would be the 80th, the 80th--8-0--judicial nomination confirmed under President Biden. That is more judges confirmed under President Biden than were confirmed by this point under President Trump, President Obama, and President Bush. It is something we Democrats are very proud of because the impact of these judges will last for years, if not decades.

And we are by no means done. After Judge Mendoza is confirmed, we will turn to the nomination of Arianna Freeman to serve as circuit judge for

the Third Circuit. She would be the fourth circuit judge nominee we would consider since the beginning of this work period.

Let me say that again. We are going to begin considering the fourth circuit court nominee since we returned from the August State work period. I said judges would be a priority, and this is what that looks like.

And it is my intention, as majority leader, to keep the Senate focused on judges this week and beyond. Our fundamental rights and our democracy itself depend on it.

Madam President, now, on marriage, off the Senate floor, my colleagues continue to have good conversations on very important legislation to codify marriage equality into law. Far from being a theoretical exercise, codifying marriage equality would have a dramatic long-term impact on millions of people.

At a time when our rights are under siege, it would be a much needed shield for scores of Americans at risk of discrimination simply because of whom they love.

For many of us in this Chamber--myself included--passing marriage equality would hit home in a very personal way. I want to thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle--especially Senators Baldwin, Collins, and Sinema--for all the work they are doing to build support for marriage equality legislation.

Over the past several months, I have given them the time and space they have requested to have these talks because I want their efforts to succeed. I know their work is not yet done, and I encourage them to keep going. I truly hope, for the sake of tens of millions of Americans, that there will be at least 10 Republicans who will vote with us to pass this very important bill.

We cannot forget that a mere decade ago--a mere decade ago--marriage discrimination was the law in much of the country. While we are happy that America has made a lot of progress since then, we are not naive in thinking we can't go backward. As we saw earlier this year, it took the Supreme Court just a few weeks to unravel decades of vital precedent on women's rights, gun safety, and environmental protection. And, of course, Judge Thomas has opened the door for the Court to go even further backward when he is saying that cases like Obergefell, which protect marriage equality for now, should be revisited.

So when some Republicans say: Oh, this is unnecessary; it won't happen, remember that is the same thing they said about Roe, and look at where we are today. We should protect marriage equality now, well before the MAGA-controlled Supreme Court steps in.

So I encourage my colleagues to continue these conversations. The American people support protecting marriage rights of same-sex marriages by a large margin so let's get it done.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1032.

Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, September 12, be waived.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, four words are inscribed in the stone above the U.S. Supreme Court: ``Equal Justice Under Law''--``Equal Justice Under Law.'' In many ways, the story of America has been about making those words true for all Americans. Sometimes we take bold steps forward. Other times, unfortunately, we take disturbing steps backward.

We all know that when the Constitution was written, there was not equal justice under law. That is pretty obvious. So many people were excluded from voting and other rights. But we have tried to move forward, and that is one of the beautiful things about America. We keep moving forward. We push.

But, unfortunately, today America finds itself in one of those frightening moments of regression--of regression. A few months ago, tens of millions of women saw their fundamental right to choose taken away before their very eyes. Justice Thomas, in a concurring opinion, suggested that other rights, like the freedom to marry protected in Obergefell might come next.

The mere thought should make us sick to our stomachs. The Senate has a responsibility now to act. Because of this threat, the Senate will hold a vote on the Respect for Marriage Act in the coming weeks so that no American is discriminated against because of whom they love.

My colleagues Senators Baldwin and Sinema and others have worked for months to build bipartisan support for this legislation. I applaud them for their efforts. I hope that we will get at least 10 Republicans to join us to pass marriage equality through the Senate. If the Respect for Marriage Act can win significant Republican support in the House, there is no legitimate reason for Republicans in this Chamber to stand in the way.

Over the past few weeks, we have heard many on the other side say: Well, this vote isn't necessary.

They say marriage equality is not something Americans spend a lot of time thinking about anymore. They want us to believe that the Supreme Court would never do something as reckless as reversing the precedent of marriage equality that millions have relied on for years.

Well, where oh where have we heard that before? The very same people who suggested that Roe was established precedent now want us to think that the Supreme Court won't go further, even though a sitting Justice on the highest Court in the land openly said something to the contrary, and he is often joined by four others.

Lest we forget, marriage equality was not the law of the land a decade ago. Discrimination against LGBTQ Americans still continues to this day. Now MAGA Republicans have escalated their rhetoric against same sex marriage and want to normalize gender discrimination.

MAGA Republicans seem to make it their business to pick on certain groups, not to do things that are positive and move things forward but to sort of just point their fingers at someone and blame them for some abstract reason that really doesn't hurt them at all.

That is where this Republican Party--unfortunately, too many of them--are headed, led by these MAGA Republicans and often fomented by former President Trump.

Earlier this year--here is what I am talking about. This isn't pie in the sky. The Texas Republican GOP, earlier this year, even adopted a party platform. This is of the largest Republican State in the country, the one with the most congressional representatives. The Texas GOP adopted this year a party platform that said ``homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice.''

Let me repeat that. The largest Republican State in the country, its Republican Party, captured by MAGA fervor--absurd fervor--said ``homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice.''

Just yesterday, a judge said that employers can deny access to medication if they believe it would encourage homosexuality. And we all know that these MAGA Republicans and their ilk, led by this man named Leonard Leo, with billions of dollars of dark money, use the courts to move America backward--move the courts to move America backward. And that is what happened yesterday with this judge coming up with this absurd, obnoxious, despicable resolution.

I trust that that radical view of that judge and of that Texas GOP is not something many of us embrace here in this Chamber. But we can't act as if our fundamental rights will stay safe if we aren't willing to safeguard them through legislation. If we are going to let these MAGA judges--rightwing, appointed by Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society--if we are not going to let them move America backward, then we have an obligation to act.

So let me make clear that a vote on marriage equality will happen on the Senate floor in the coming weeks, and I hope there will be at least 10 Republicans to support it.

Mr. President, on the related subject, obviously, of judges, today the Senate will continue fulfilling its constitutional duty to confirm more judges to sit on our Federal judiciary.

It has really been a productive week here on the floor when it comes to judges. Yesterday, we confirmed John Lee to serve a lifetime appointment as circuit judge on the Seventh Circuit, the first Asian American to ever sit on that court.

Today, we will confirm another circuit judge--Andre Mathis--to sit on the Sixth Circuit. When confirmed, Mathis will be the 78th judge we have confirmed under President Biden--more than President Trump, more than President Obama, more than President Bush had confirmed up to this point. It is a great record. We are proud of it, and we aren't done.

Later this afternoon, we will begin working on our third--our third-- circuit court judge of the week, Salvador Mendoza, to sit on the Ninth Circuit. After we vote on cloture today, Members should expect to vote on his confirmation as early as the beginning of next week. Moving forward, it will be one of our top priorities to confirm as many judges as possible. It is one of the best things we can do with our time here on the floor, especially given how many MAGA-type judges President Trump and the Republican majority appointed.

The lion's share of legal disputes never make it to the Supreme Court, giving those who preside in the lower courts immense power to affect the lives of the American people. And, of course, when they get it wrong--as they have all too frequently recently--the results can be disastrous.

Just yesterday, a hard-right judge in Texas, as I mentioned, stripped away Americans' rights to access preventive care. Over 150 million Americans could now be at risk of losing everything from breast cancer screenings to cholesterol screenings, free vaccinations, mental health assessments, and so much more. Add that to the previous case I mentioned before, and you can see that judges are out of control, far away from what most Americans want, foisted upon us by the Republican Senate majority, President Trump, and a small band of rightwing, MAGA billionaires.

In the long run, this decision could mean more people get sick or die needlessly simply because they can't afford preventive care to stay healthy. That is the kind of thing that is at stake when it comes to judges.

It is a frightening reminder of the difference between our side and the hard right, the MAGA hard right, the extreme MAGA hard right. Whether through judges or legislation, the hard right remains obsessed--obsessed--with stripping away people's rights to affordable healthcare. It is dangerous. It is malicious. It is wildly out of step with the American people.

Democrats want something different. We want to protect people's healthcare, not destroy it. We want judges who will preserve long- established precedent, not obliterate it, who will move us forward on our fight to equality, not take steps backward. And in the coming weeks and months, we will maintain a laser-like focus on confirming judges who will do the kinds of things that we believe must be done in America.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1033.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call for the cloture motion filed today, September 8, be waived.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today, we take a solemn and somber pause. A few minutes ago, we learned the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning Monarch in British history. I join with Leader McConnell, with my Senate colleagues, and with all Americans to offer deepest sympathies and prayers to the royal family and to the people of the United Kingdom.

I never had the honor of meeting Her Majesty the Queen myself, but I admired much about her until the very end. It is hard to fathom that today we have to say goodbye because, after all, most Americans--to say nothing of the British people--have never lived in a world without Her Majesty the Queen.

It is a marvel to think that in the same year of Her Majesty's coronation, Harry Truman was in the White House. The world was still coming out of the shadow of the Second World War, entering a bold, uncertain, unchartered future.

In her time, she came to know 15 different Prime Ministers, 14 U.S. Presidents, traveled to well over 100 countries, and made over 200 official state visits. She was the first British Monarch ever to address a joint session of Congress. And thanks to her, the special relationship between the United States and the UK gained even more special significance.

Her reign saw the dawn of the atomic age, the age of the internet, the fall of the Soviet Union, an unprecedented global pandemic. She didn't just witness the great turns of history; she helped shape them over the seven decades--seven decades--of her reign. And every step of the way, she was precisely the kind of leader the moment demanded.

In times of hardship, she was both strong and comforting. In times of joy, she was gracious and dignified. She was a rock, the living embodiment of the virtues that lie at the core of the nation she so proudly led. I dare say we will never see a leader quite like her for as long as we live.

So, today, we join the people of the UK and the royal family in mourning the loss of Her Majesty the Queen. May she rest in peace.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the Mendoza nomination be considered expired; that the Senate

vote on the confirmation of the nomination at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, September 12; and that following the disposition of the Mendoza nomination, the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Freeman nomination.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 727, 858, 1110, 1134; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.