Floor Statements

I announce that the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) and the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) are necessarily absent.

Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Hawley to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.

Judge Hawley's significant courtroom experience--as both a public defender and as a magistrate judge--will make him an excellent addition to the bench.

After graduating from the University of Illinois at Chicago and the DePaul University College of Law, Judge Hawley clerked for Judge Michael P. McCuskey on both the Illinois Third District Appellate Court and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, as well as for Judge James

D. Heiple on the Illinois Supreme Court.

Following his clerkships, Judge Hawley joined the Federal public defender's office for the Central District of Illinois. He served in that office for nearly 15 years, becoming the chief Federal public defender in 2011.

As a public defender, Judge Hawley litigated over 300 appeals in the Seventh Circuit, directly supervised over 1,000 appeals, and filed two briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2014, Judge Hawley was selected by the district judges of the Central District to serve as a magistrate judge. Since joining the bench, he has presided over 26 trials that have gone to verdict or judgment. In 2023, Chief Judge Sara Darrow designated Judge Hawley as the executive magistrate judge for the Central District.

Judge Hawley has the strong support from myself and Senator Duckworth. In addition, he was rated unanimously ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association.

I urge my colleagues to support Judge Hawley's nomination.

I announce that the Senator from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) and the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) is necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Kaine), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), and the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) are necessarily absent.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I am honored to serve as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the committee members work hard to protect freedom, advance justice, protect equality, and bring balance to our Federal authorities.

Over the past 4 years, we have advanced well-qualified nominees to the Federal bench who reflect the reality of America. We have made significant progress on issues important to our Nation. For many of us, the outcome of last week's election was not what we wanted, what we fought for, or what we voted for. But my priorities for the committee have not changed because of the election. I will continue to work on issues that are important to all Americans: judicial confirmations, reproductive rights for women, fixing our broken immigration system, and gun violence protection.

I am especially proud of the committee's contributions to one of the most important accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration: confirming highly qualified, independent, evenhanded judges to the Federal bench. During the Biden administration, the Senate has confirmed 213 well-qualified judges to lifetime appointments on the Federal bench. One-fourth of all the Federal judgeships have been filled in the last 4 years, and counting.

Aside from their exceptional qualifications and respect for the rule of law, these judges represent historic demographic and professional diversity. Under President Biden's leadership, the Senate has confirmed more Black women to the Federal circuit courts than all Presidents combined, including--and I am proud to say this--the first ever Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. She is exceptional.

We have confirmed a historic number of Asian-American, Latino, and LGBTQ+ judges. We have also confirmed more circuit judges with experience as public defenders than all other Presidents combined.

The American people deserve a Federal judiciary which looks like America and reflects our reality. Until the end of my tenure as chair, I will continue to urge my colleagues to support the confirmation of these well-qualified and diverse judicial nominees.

Mr. President, 2 years ago, six rightwing judicial activists sent us back in time. And I am referring, of course, to the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. I guess it was a crowning achievement for the Republican-led, decades-long campaign to overrule Roe v. Wade and eliminate fundamental reproductive rights in America.

The Dobbs ruling has turned out to be one of the most dangerous decisions ever handed down by the Supreme Court. It overruled nearly 50 years of court decisions and, for the first time, stripped away a constitutional right from Americans. Overruling Roe v. Wade has unleashed a healthcare crisis unimaginable. Following the decision, nearly two dozen States have either banned or restricted access to abortion or are in the process of doing so. Many of these bans provide no exceptions for victims of rape and incest, and many utterly fail to protect the health and lives of mothers. Some of these bans are written in a way that can limit access even to contraception.

During my time as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, we have held multiple hearings on the impact of the Dobbs decision and the need to safeguard reproductive rights. I share the concerns of many Americans about what a second Trump administration could mean for women's reproductive rights and healthcare.

The majority of Americans support a woman's right to choose, and whatever further turmoil President-elect Trump may unleash on access to reproductive health care, we will not stop fighting for our Nation's women and families.

Mr. President, on another issue, our Nation needs immigrants now more than ever. They are a vital part of the American history and the American success story of the future.

I am deeply concerned that the incoming President has campaigned on deporting children and families who have lived in this country for years. Mr. President, you have met these people. I have, too. We count on them every day in so many different ways. When we look at what the incoming President has proposed, I worry about what is going to happen when these children and their families are deported from this country. It could be devastating to our economy.

If the DACA Program alone is struck down, experts predict our economy will lose $11 billion-plus yearly in lost wages. Without continued immigration, the U.S. working-age population will shrink by 6 million by the year 2040. As Americans retire, this could lead to a 23-percent reduction in money being paid into the Social Security fund for our retirees.

If we genuinely want to boost the American economy and resolve labor shortages, we need to provide a path to citizenship for those who have long contributed to our economy and society.

I have worked for years to pass bipartisan legislation to fix our broken immigration system. Such legislation is needed to secure the border and protect American workers from outsourcing companies that exploit temporary workers. We need immigration reform to protect the children of temporary workers who age out of legal status when they turn 21, as well as Dreamers, recipients of TPS, farmworkers, and other essential workers.

There are Members of this U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives who sincerely, positively believe that we should not let one more immigrant into this country. That is an unrealistic and a mean-spirited approach to the challenge we face.

I believe we all agree--I certainly do--that we need to make certain that everyone coming into this country has the potential of making this a better nation. We should not be opening our doors to anyone who is dangerous to America, period. We can say that on a bipartisan basis, I am sure.

Secondly, we cannot absorb every person in the world who has the ambition to live in this country. We have to have an orderly system.

But let's be honest about who these people are. Somewhere across America--maybe in the city of Chicago--parents dropped off their kids at daycare

today. It is an undocumented worker who is taking care of your little granddaughter or daughter at that daycare facility. They are also the people who are taking care of your mothers and grandmothers in nursing homes. They made sure that Mom got down to breakfast this morning and didn't slip and fall in the hallway. They stood next to her. Do you want to deport that woman who helped her to breakfast this morning? I don't. If she is not breaking the law and she is a positive part of America's economy, let's make her part of our future and find a way to do it.

We had a comprehensive immigration bill not that long ago that passed with an overwhelming majority here in the U.S. Senate. There was a process there which I was part of writing that makes a difference in the way we approach immigration. We should be doing something positive on a bipartisan basis to deal with this issue and not be swearing at the people who are talking about change as being somehow un-American.

Fighting for our Nation's immigrants in the right way will continue to be one of my highest priorities.

Mr. President, as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, it is my great privilege to help lead the confirmation of the Biden-Harris administration's judicial nominees. It is one of our committee's most important tasks, and confirming fair, evenhanded judges who are dedicated to the Constitution is one of my priorities as chair. But it is even more of an honor to help confirm judges from my State of Illinois.

Today, I would like to take a moment to say a word in support of April Perry, who has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She is highly qualified and will strengthen the Federal bench.

Ms. Perry is a highly accomplished litigator whose breadth of experience in the government and the private sector makes her an outstanding nominee. A double graduate of Northwestern University, Ms. Perry clerked on the Seventh Circuit before serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois for more than a decade. In that role, she investigated and prosecuted a broad range of criminal cases.

Additionally, Ms. Perry served as the Civil Rights and Hate Crimes coordinator, the Project Safe Childhood and Violence Against Women Act coordinator, and the Narcotics and Gangs Deputy chief in the U.S. attorney's office. Following this, Ms. Perry served in the Cook County State's attorney's office and has since expanded her legal experience as in-house counsel at GE Healthcare. Suffice it to say, Ms. Perry has proven herself an experienced, talented litigator with a dedication to the rule of law.

Ms. Perry was rated ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association and has the strong support of Senator Duckworth and myself. I urge my colleagues to support her nomination.

vote on perry nomination

I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman) and the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons) and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Manchin) are necessarily absent.

I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons) and the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Schatz) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Byron B. Conway to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Born in Green Bay, WI, Mr. Conway earned his B.A. from Santa Clara University in 1998 and his J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 2002.

After graduating from law school, he worked as an associate at Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown LLP in Milwaukee from 2002 to 2006. There, Mr. Conway handled a variety of cases including misdemeanor and felony criminal matters involving drug offenses, battery, burglary, and white- collar crimes.

Since 2006, Mr. Conway has worked at Habush Habush & Rottier S.C. (Habush), first as an associate and most recently as a shareholder. His practice at Habush has been devoted primarily to civil litigation, the majority of which has centered on personal injury claims. Mr. Conway's cases have involved, among other things: explosions, environmental contamination, product defects, workplace accidents, workers' compensation, motor vehicle accidents, nursing home neglect, premises liability, and insurance coverage disputes. Throughout his 22-year legal career, he has tried 20 jury cases.

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Mr. Conway as ``qualified,'' and his nomination is strongly supported by his home State Senators, Ms. Baldwin and Mr. Johnson.

With deep ties to Wisconsin and significant litigation experience, Mr. Conway is prepared to serve honorably as a district judge on the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

I am proud to support his nomination.

I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons) is necessarily absent.

I announce the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons) is necessarily absent.