Maggie Hassan

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Thank you very much. Senator Murray, I have been very concerned, as you know, with Mrs. DeVos's lack of understanding of issues facing students with disabilities. My son Ben's experience in public education was made possible because there were so many families and advocates who came before my family to make his inclusion possible. Before IDEA, students who experienced disabilities in an institutional setting often didn't get an education at all and were often mistreated. Yesterday when I spoke on the floor, I discussed a woman in New Hampshire named Roberta who had been in our State school before IDEA was passed and gave accounts of terrible experiences there. Do you also have concerns with Mrs. DeVos's lack of understanding of the challenges faced by students who experience disabilities and her lack of commitment to ensuring that all students have a free and appropriate public education?

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr President, today I wish to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Tom Burack and honoring his more than a decade of service to the State of New Hampshire. As commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, he has been a strong advocate for our State and our environment. Our economic vitality as a State hinges on our pristine lakes and rivers, our clean air, and our strong protection of these natural resources. Under Tom's leadership, the department has focused on combating the serious challenge of climate change and ensuring that New Hampshire citizens and visitors have access to clean air, water, and land while providing excellent customer service--all of which is critical to our State's economy and future success. This includes the development of the 2009 Climate Action Plan, New Hampshire's entrance into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, RGGI, the creation of the MtBE Remediation Bureau, and the formation of the State Government Energy Committee, among many others. Tom has also led and facilitated a voluntary, informal network of State agency commissioners for 8 years, helping to bring agencies together to improve the operations of and drive innovation and efficiency in State government. He is a leader on the regional and national levels as well, including envisioning and coleading an overall modernization of how environmental protection services are delivered nationwide through a joint State-tribal-Federal initiative known as E- Enterprise for the Environment. All of these actions and the many others that are too numerous to list have helped to strengthen our environment, protect public health, and combat climate change. New Hampshire's natural resources and scenic beauty must be protected, and doing so requires strong collaboration. As commissioner, Tom embodied New Hampshire's ``all-hands-on-deck'' spirit, working collaboratively with our neighboring States on issues like RGGI, local communities on issues like water quality and contamination, other State agencies on issues like State government energy efficiency, and partners at the Federal level. New Hampshire and our country have benefitted enormously from Tom's vision, energy, and leadership, and I thank Tom for his tireless dedication to protecting our environment and his immense contributions that have helped make New Hampshire a special place to live, work, visit, and raise a family.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, before getting to the matter at hand, I thought I would take a minute to congratulate the New England Patriots, the Kraft family, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and all of the Patriots players and fans everywhere for the greatest comeback victory in Super Bowl history. They really demonstrated the grit and determination and resilience that New Hampshire and New England is known for, and we are very, very proud of them. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in opposing the nomination of Betsy DeVos to serve as the Secretary of Education. Our Nation recognized early in its history that public education is a necessary foundation for our democracy. It is critical that we continue to support a strong public education system that prepares all of our young people to participate in our democracy and to compete in the 21st century workforce. All public officials, regardless of their party affiliation, should share a reverence for the importance of public education to our country's success, both now and into the future. They must show a commitment to enforcing our laws so that all students have the opportunity to succeed. I agree with my colleagues that Mrs. DeVos has not shown a commitment to or an understanding of these principles, and that is why I oppose her nomination. This nomination process has been extremely disappointing from the start. Mrs. DeVos failed to provide critical information on her finances. Members of the HELP Committee were only given 5 minutes to question Mrs. DeVos on her views on our Nation's education system. In the questions she did answer before the committee, Mrs. DeVos demonstrated a complete lack of experience in, knowledge of, and support for public education. She was unable to address basic issues-- issues any New Hampshire school board member could discuss fluently. She showed that she lacks an understanding of issues facing students with disabilities. She has potential conflicts of interests that she still has not answered basic questions about. She supports diverting taxpayer dollars to private schools without accountability requirements. As Governor of New Hampshire, I supported public charter schools. They play an important role in driving innovation in education and in providing additional opportunities for nontraditional learners, but they must meet the same standards as other public schools. In Detroit, Mrs. DeVos led efforts to oppose accountability requirements, even for for-profit charter schools. In her testimony before the HELP Committee, she declined to support enforcing accountability requirements. It is clear that Mrs. DeVos would pursue policies that would undermine public schools in my home State of New Hampshire and across our Nation. In the past several weeks, thousands of Granite Staters--including students, parents, teachers, principals, and superintendents--have called and written into my office. They have shared their concerns about Mrs. DeVos. They understand that she is completely unqualified for this position. Our children, their families, and our Nation deserve better than a Secretary of Education who does not value public education. Ensuring access to public education for every student is an issue that is deeply personal to my family. Shortly after my husband Tom and I welcomed our first child into the world, our son Ben, we found out that he had severe and pervasive physical disabilities. It became clear to Tom and me that we were going to need a little bit of extra help if our son was going to have the kind of future we all want our children to have. We were lucky because we found that help in our community--not only among friends and neighbors but in a public school system that welcomed Ben. I still remember the day that a schoolbus pulled into our driveway. We wheeled Ben onto the lift and up into the bus, and off he went at age 3 to his first day of preschool--a publically funded, inclusive preschool. As I sat on the stoop and watched the bus pull away, I found myself thinking that if Ben had been born a generation or two earlier, Tom and I would have been pressured to put Ben in an institution. There wouldn't have been the resources in our community or in our school system to include Ben. But because of the work of the champions--the families, the advocates--who went before the Hassan family, Ben was able to go to school in his hometown. He was able to learn and to make friends, to do what we all want our children to do. That is the power of public education. It is the power of making sure that all kids are included. Our family was able to live like any other family and feel like any other family because Ben could go to school in his hometown. As Ben went from preschool to elementary school to middle school to high school, we found that his peers accepted him, interacted with him, and grew with him. I still remember a day when I got a call from one of Ben's teachers, saying that the tire on his power wheelchair had gone flat. That is the type of call that a parent of a child with complex needs dreads because it means that you have to stop everything--because if the wheelchair can't move, your child can't go through their day. But instead of my needing to take a day off from work and pursue the repair of Ben's chair, it was other students in our Career and Technical Education Center in Exeter who came forward and said: ``We can fix that.'' Their education preparing them for a trade and a career served Ben's needs that day beautifully. Both Ben and his peers learned that day. Ben's experience in public education was made possible because of so many advocates, educators, and families who came before our family. But this was not always the case for students who experience disabilities. When I served in the New Hampshire State Senate, I grew to know a woman named Roberta. Roberta, born in the early 1950's, had spent a good portion of her life in our State's school for individuals with disabilities. Roberta left that State school as we began to work, after the passage of the IDEA, to bring people out of institutions and into the communities. Later, as Roberta learned to advocate for herself and tell her story, she recorded some of her memories from the Laconia State School, the separate school--so-called school--for students with disabilities. Roberta wrote: Some of the attendants and residents at the Laconia State School sexually, verbally, emotionally and physically abused and assaulted me. The staff said they did this to me because I misbehaved or acted silly. The attendants and residents there hit and kicked me with their hands and feet. They pulled my hair, whipped me with wooden or metal coat hangers, wet towels, hair brushes, mop and broom handles, hard leather belts, straps, rulers and hard sticks, stainless steel serving utensils and clothes. Roberta adds: Additionally, they bullied me by laughing at me and calling me names. They spat at me, bit and pinched my arms and other body parts causing me pain. The employees and supervisors at the institution threw buckets of cold water on my body, clothes and all. They said that the cold water would calm me down. Roberta's experience was, unfortunately, what life was like for some students with disabilities before IDEA. Years later, after Roberta left Laconia State School, after she was reintegrated into her community, she appeared before a State senate committee that I was chairing because she was the main proponent of a law that we passed in the New Hampshire State Senate to remove the word ``retarded'' from all of our State statutes. Roberta knew that it was the judgment of people who first interacted with her, people who believed she had intellectual disabilities, that caused her parents to believe that they had to put not only Roberta but her sister Jocelyn in an institution. Both Roberta and Jocelyn happened to have the misfortune of being born with disabilities. It is that contrast between Roberta's experience and my son's that keeps me focused on the importance of making sure that we include all children in our public school system but also that we have the laws in place to ensure that they get the free appropriate education that all American children deserve. Unfortunately, Mrs. DeVos has demonstrated a lack of understanding of the challenges facing students with disabilities. At our hearing earlier this month, I questioned Mrs. DeVos on whether she would enforce IDEA. Not only did she decline to assure Senators that she would enforce the law to protect students with disabilities, but she was confused about whether IDEA was indeed a Federal law to begin with. While I am pleased that Mrs. DeVos later clarified that she is no longer confused about whether IDEA is a Federal law, she has done nothing to reassure me that she would enforce it or that she understands how fragile the gains we have made under IDEA are. The voucher system that Mrs. DeVos supports has often, intended or not, hurt individuals who experience disabilities. Children and families lose legal protections enshrined in the IDEA. In some cases, students and their families have to sign away their civil rights before they can receive their vouchers. Yet many of the private schools that take those vouchers--the schools that Mrs. DeVos wishes to push students to--lack basic resources or accommodations for children who experience disabilities. So if a family determines that the school that has accepted their voucher really does not have the resources or the expertise to educate their child, they have no legal recourse. Mrs. DeVos's unfamiliarity with IDEA, her comments on students with disabilities was something my office heard about often from Granite State parents who contacted the office with concerns about her nomination. A mother from Hopkinton, NH, wrote to tell me about her daughter who attends Hopkinton High School and experiences severe disabilities--is nonverbal and requires assistance for all aspects of her daily care. This mother wrote: Despite all of this, because of the extraordinary support we have received, she is living a rich and loving life at home and is part of the public school system. I have no confidence that Betsy DeVos would understand or support the role that public schools have for taking care of all students. This mother also called Mrs. DeVos's lack of understanding of IDEA ``appalling.'' I also heard from a parent from Concord, NH, who said: My stepdaughter currently has a 504 plan for both a physical and cognitive disability at Concord High School, who, incidentally, are doing an excellent job of working with her to make sure her learning needs are met. My children deserve a future and so do all children. This parent said she was feeling ``vulnerable'' as a result of Mrs. DeVos's nomination. Parents all across our Nation deserve to know that the rights of their children will be protected, and they are rightfully concerned with Mrs. DeVos's nomination. In New Hampshire, I am proud of our work to build a future where every child can get the kind of education they need to be competitive and successful leaders in the 21st century economy. Just last week, I visited Souhegan High School in Amherst, NJ. Souhegan has become a pioneer in competency-based education. I visited numerous classrooms where students were doing hands-on lessons in Earth science, in literature to make sure they could master the material before them in a way that would stick with them. They were great examples of what we have learned about the importance of hands-on, project-based learning, how much better students retain information, knowledge, problem-solving skills, when they actually have a problem to solve, and how important it is for them to learn to collaborate with their fellow students, just the way we expect people to collaborate as a team in the workplace. After I visited the classes, the students at Souhegan had formed a panel to talk with me. There, students with a variety of interests, backgrounds, and education levels talked to about how important it was for them to have control of their own learning, to learn in a way, in a style that worked for them to work with their peers and build off of each other's strengths and learn from each other. I also talked with them about New Hampshire's pilot, project-based competency assessment program called PACE, something that New Hampshire received waivers to do over the last year, and they are in the process of continuing right now. New Hampshire is piloting a program that moves us away, just as was recommended and foreseen by the Every Child Succeeds Acts from high-stakes, one-time testing to project-based assessments that are built into the project-based competency learning they are doing. We are seeing great success with this pilot, and schools across the country are beginning to adopt it as well. That is the power of strong, innovative public education. This was an approach developed by teachers and parents and students and our Department of Education and our statewide school board as well as local school boards together. Just as we have important initiatives surrounding project-based learning in New Hampshire, we also have strong public charter schools. I still recall a visit to our North Country Charter School in one of the more rural parts of New Hampshire, a school that was formed--a regional effort--to allow students for whom traditional high school was not working, whether it be because of their learning style, because of particular events that were happening in their home, or other emotional or developmental issues. It allows them to come together and go to school in a way and in a place that works for them, keeping them in school, helping New Hampshire meet its goal set in law that no child drop out of high school before age 18. The strength of the students I saw at the Country Charter School graduation was extraordinary; students who would overcome particular challenges, whether it was personal, whether it was academic--speaking for themselves and about themselves and their vision of their own future to a crowded, excited room of friends and family. That is another kind of public education that supplements our statewide public education system and is something we can work together to do, holding all schools accountable. The vision that Mrs. DeVos, on the other hand, outlined and has devoted much of her work to, would dismantle the progress we have made, diverting taxpayer dollars to private, religious, and for-profit schools without accountability requirements. Mrs. DeVos advocates for a voucher system that leaves out students whose families cannot afford to pay additional tuition costs, and leaves behind students with disabilities because the schools do not accommodate their complex needs. In his book, ``Our Kids,'' Robert Putnam notes that education should be a mechanism to level the playing field, but today the inequality gap is growing because affluent students start better prepared and are more able to pay. Putnam also points out that daycare and transportation needs constrain the amount of choice that poor parents have when it comes to voucher programs. We should all be working to fix that gap, but the voucher programs that Mrs. DeVos advocates for threaten to increase the gap. The system that Mrs. DeVos advocated for in Detroit, MI, has undermined public schools and hurt students in the process. In 2014, Michigan taxpayers spent $1 billion on charter schools, but laws regulating them are weak and the State demands little accountability. The Detroit Free Press reported on the Detroit school system, finding a system where school founders and employees steered lucrative deals to themselves or to other insiders, where schools were allowed to operate for years despite their poor academic records. The Detroit Free Press described a system with no State standards for those who operate charters and where a record number of charter schools, run by for-profit companies, refuse to detail how exactly they are spending taxpayer dollars. One Detroit mother said that Mrs. DeVos's ``push for charter schools without any accountability exposed my children and their classmates to chaos and unacceptable classroom conditions.'' In Florida, the McKay Scholarship Program voucher for students with disabilities that Mrs. DeVos has pointed to also raises significant concerns, including no due process rights for students under IDEA, no accountability requirements for participating schools, and absolutely no evidence of student success. Additionally, the McKay voucher often does not cover the full cost of the private school, leaving parents responsible for tuition and fees above the scholarship amount, not to mention responsibility for transportation. This puts students and their families at risk. Rather than taking the approach we have in New Hampshire, where charter schools supplement a strong public education system, this system of unaccountable schools destabilizes and undermines public schools. Now, given that Mrs. DeVos's goals for K-12 education are what they are and the fact that we were only given 5 minutes to question her at the hearing, many key issues facing American students were not discussed at all in her confirmation hearing. In particular, we did not talk about higher education. When I was Governor of New Hampshire, I was proud of our work to make college more affordable, building a 21st century workforce pipeline for our businesses. We froze tuition for the first time in 25 years at our public university system, and we actually lowered it at our community colleges. We engaged in increasing and more robust job training efforts, where we partnered businesses with community colleges or other learning centers to make sure we were engaged in the kind of job training that would prepare students for the 21st century economy. I was hoping that at our hearing for Mrs. DeVos's confirmation, we would discuss higher education, but issues relating to higher education have been lost altogether in this discussion. What is clear, though, is that Mrs. DeVos has absolutely no experience in higher education. Her written responses following our hearing were troubling. On student debt, Pell grants, reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and job training efforts, her responses were vague and offered no vision for issues that are critical to millions of Americans. When asked about for-profit colleges, which have had a history of taking advantage of students, including but not limited to our veterans, Mrs. DeVos said she was agnostic--that is her word--about the tax filing status of higher education institutions. That is just not acceptable. I believe we should be expanding Pell grants. We should lower the interest rates on student loans. We should be expanding apprenticeship and job training opportunities. We need to crack down on predatory for- profit colleges. We need an Education Secretary who understands and is able to focus on higher education, and it is clear that Mrs. DeVos does not have that experience or focus. Mr. President, our Founders understood that public education for our citizens was essential to the functioning of our democracy. In 1786, Thomas Jefferson wrote: I think by far, the most important bill in our whole code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom, and happiness. Generation after generation has worked to build on those ideals, including, as we do that work, more and more Americans in the process and creating a system that gives all students an opportunity to succeed. We need an Education Secretary who is committed to upholding that principle, not rolling our progress back, and we should all be working together to ensure that we have strong neighborhood public schools, not dismantling them. I join with my colleagues here today and the thousands from my State who have made their voices heard. We need just one more vote to defeat this nomination and to make clear that the Senate truly values our Nation's public schools. I surely hope that there is another Senator willing to break with the President and vote against this woefully unqualified nominee. We all have learned in this wonderful country of ours, with each generation, as we include more and more people who have been marginalized, left out, who weren't counted, that when we include them, we certainly honor their freedom and dignity--important and sufficient, of course, in its own right. Then when we do that, we also unleash the talent and energy of everyone, and that strengthens us all, helps us thrive, helps our economy grow, and makes sure that America not only leads but deserves to. It is our job in the Senate to listen to the thousands speaking up for our children and for the public education system that serves all Americans. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in opposing the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General of the United States. Now more than ever, it is critical to have an Attorney General who is an independent defender of our Constitution, who puts the rule of law before all else, and who is committed to ensuring that all Americans have equal access to justice. Unfortunately, I do not believe that Senator Sessions is fully committed to enacting those principles, and every American should be concerned that he will not independently stand up to President Trump. Senator Sessions was one of Trump's earliest supporters and has been a key source of influence for the President's actions. White House Strategist Stephen Bannon recently wrote to the Washington Post: ``Throughout the campaign, Sessions has been the fiercest, most dedicated, and most loyal promoter in Congress of Trump's agenda, and has played a critical role as the clearinghouse for policy and philosophy to undergird the implementation of that agenda.'' In the wake of President Trump's first few weeks in office, in which he signed dozens of Executive orders--including the un-American backdoor Muslim ban--it was reported that Senator Sessions played a role in influencing the President's policy and strategy. My office has heard from thousands in New Hampshire who have had serious legitimate concerns about the President's actions in his first few weeks. I am concerned by reports that Senator Sessions pushed for an even more aggressive approach. The Washington Post reported: ``The Senator lobbied for a `shock-and- awe' period of executive action that would rattle Congress, impress Trump's base, and catch his critics unaware. . . . `' Senator Sessions' record in Congress and his history of standing against the constitutionally protected rights of millions of Americans is deeply troubling. These are issues that my office has heard from constituents across New Hampshire. As a resident from Merrimack wrote: ``Pick a current civil rights issue and Sessions is on the wrong side of history.'' I do not have confidence that Senator Sessions would be an independent Attorney General who would put the rights of all Americans before the whims of this President, and that is why I oppose this nomination. I am incredibly proud that my home State of New Hampshire understands that the values of inclusion and equality are at the very core of what makes us American and at the core of our constitutional system. We believe in freedom and the value of every person, and that is our duty and our destiny--to extend the same freedoms we enjoy to all of our people. We value human rights and we see inclusion and equality as core principles in our laws. These values have helped our State become a leader in advancing the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community, recognizing that all people deserve the legal right to fully participate in the social, civic, and economic life of our communities. Years ago, New Hampshire led the way in becoming one of the first States in the Nation to pass marriage equality, and I took great pride in casting my vote for that legislation as a State senator. When we passed that legislation, we made clear once again that when we as a State or a country bring people in from the margins into the heart and soul of our democracy, we all get stronger. About a year after we took that step in New Hampshire to enact marriage equality, I was sitting on a plane in the window seat, and the man next to me noticed my name on the notebook I was reading and said: Aren't you elected in New Hampshire? What do you do there? I told him I had been a State senator. He looked at me and said: Did you have anything to do with marriage equality passing? Now, I wasn't sure what this man's point of view was as I sat next to him on this plane ride. I said: Well, yes, I was in the New Hampshire Senate, and I voted to pass marriage equality. He said: I want to thank you for it. I am a recruiter for one of our State's largest employers, and marriage equality is one of the best recruitment tools we have. I asked him to expand a little bit on that. He said: It isn't that we have any particular percentage of LGBTQ applicants or employees that is unusual, but the fact that New Hampshire passed marriage equality signals to people we are trying to recruit that we are an open and inclusive State, where everybody is welcome if they are willing to work hard and do their part to move us forward. During my time as Governor, we continued to fight for progress for the LGBTQ community, including issuing an executive order to prohibit discrimination in our State government on the basis of gender identity or gender expression. Unfortunately, Senator Sessions' record and previous comments call into question whether he will enforce the Federal laws designed to promote equality and protect the LGBTQ community. Senator Sessions has been a vocal opponent of marriage equality, going as far as to label same-sex marriages as dangerous. In 2004, he stated: ``But I do believe that it is not disputable that adopting a same-sex marriage culture undermines and weakens marriage.'' Following the Supreme Court's 2015 decision that guaranteed marriage equality in all 50 States, Senator Sessions said: ``The marriage case goes beyond what I consider to be the realm of reality.'' As Attorney General, it would be Senator Sessions' job to implement and defend this ruling. I am extremely concerned that he would not follow through with that responsibility. Senator Sessions has also worked to undermine the Federal hate crimes law designed to protect LGBTQ Americans. In explaining his vote against the 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, Sessions argued that Federal protections for LGBTQ Americans were not necessary. When debating the law, Sessions said: ``I am not sure women or people with different sexual orientations face that kind of discrimination.'' Following Senator Sessions' nomination as Attorney General, Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard, for whom that law was named, wrote a letter for the Human Rights Campaign opposing Sessions' nomination. Shepard wrote: In 1998 my son, Matthew, was murdered because he was gay, a brutal hate crime that continues to resonate around the world even now. Following Matt's death, my husband, Dennis, and I worked for the next 11 years to garner support for the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act. We were fortunate to work alongside members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, who championed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act with the determination, compassion, and vision to match ours as the parents of a child targeted for simply wanting to be himself. Senator Jeff Sessions was not one of these members. In fact, Senator Sessions strongly opposed the hate crimes bill--characterizing hate crimes as mere ``thought crimes.'' My son was not killed by ``thoughts'' or because his murderers said hateful things. My son was brutally beaten with the butt of a .357 magnum pistol. [They] tied him to a fence, and left him to die in freezing temperatures because he was gay. Senator Sessions' repeated efforts to diminish the life-changing acts of violence covered by the Hate Crimes Prevention Act horrified me then, as a parent who knows the true cost of hate, and it terrifies me today to see that this same person is now being nominated as the country's highest authority to represent justice and equal protection under the law for all Americans. As Attorney General, Senator Sessions would be responsible for not only enforcing the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, but a myriad of other Civil Rights laws including the Violence Against Women Act, which includes explicit protections for LGBTQ people. Senator Sessions' very public record of hostility towards the LGBTQ community and federal legislation designed to protect vulnerable Americans, including the Voting Rights Act, makes it nearly impossible to believe that he will vigorously enforce statutes and ideas that he worked so hard to defeat. I agree with Judy Shepherd, and it is clear that Senator Sessions' record shows that he will not stand up for the rights of LGBTQ Granite Staters and Americans if he becomes Attorney General. There are other issues of concern as well. I have always fought to protect a woman's constitutionally protected right to make her own health care decisions and control her own destiny, and I always will. Roe v. Wade is a landmark decision that protects women and their access to abortion. It guarantees a fundamental right for women, and it affirms that a woman has the right to decide whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy without government interference. Sessions' record leaves questions on whether he will enforce the law in this area. During his time in the Senate, Sessions has been dedicated to opposing a woman's constitutional right to safe and legal abortion. He voted to grant legal status to an embryo. He has repeatedly voted to deny women in the military the right to use their own private funds for abortion care at military hospitals. He has said that he would like to see a woman's constitutional right to make her own health care decisions overturned. This is unacceptable for a nominee to lead the Department of Justice whose role would be to uphold the very law that he seeks to overturn. We also know that a woman's right to make her own health decisions isn't just a matter of freedom. It is a matter of health. It is also a matter of economics and finances. When women have to pay more for their health care, and it puts them in an economic disadvantage. As Governor, I restored family planning funds and pushed to restore State funding to Planned Parenthood because I know how critical access to these services are for the women and families of my State. Planned Parenthood provides critical primary and preventive health care services to thousands of New Hampshire women, including preventive care, birth control, and cancer screenings. There are countless stories of women whose lives have been changed as a result of access to Planned Parenthood in my State. A young woman named Alyssa in my State lost her health insurance. She was on her father's health insurance. She was younger than age 26. Suddenly her father passed away, and then she had a medical emergency. She didn't know where to go. Grieving for her father, she was also without health insurance. She turned to Planned Parenthood, and they were able to provide her the care that she needed. Alyssa's story and the stories of thousands of others across our State make it clear why it is essential that we have an Attorney General who will protect a woman's constitutionally protected right to make her own health care decisions. Senator Sessions has voted six times to block patients from accessing health care at Planned Parenthood health centers. Senator Sessions has stated that Planned Parenthood should not receive Federal funds for any services because, among the other health care services it provides, it provides the constitutionally protected care--abortion--that a woman needs when she decides she must terminate a pregnancy. Senator Sessions has opposed women's access to no-cost birth control that is now provided through the Affordable Care Act. Sessions even refused to condemn President Trump's remarks in the ``Access Hollywood'' tapes released last year, saying that he did not characterize the behavior President Trump described as sexual assault. He voted against the 2014 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which is critical for the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women. The Violence Against Women Act was signed into law by President Clinton in 1994 and has been reauthorized by bipartisan majorities in Congress in 2000 and 2005 and signed by President George W. Bush. The idea that the Attorney General of the United States would not support his commonsense legislation to protect women from violence is unacceptable. As Governor, I also fought to expand economic opportunity for women and families. We passed the New Hampshire Paycheck Fairness Act in New Hampshire, making sure that an equal day's work gets an equal day's pay. I also strongly support efforts to expand paid family leave to ensure that workers are able to support their families during times of need at home. I am troubled that Senator Sessions has worked to roll back the progress of equal pay. Senator Sessions voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and has consistently voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act. I am far from the only one in New Hampshire who opposes the idea of Senator Sessions as our Nation's top law enforcement officer. I have heard from many of my constituents regarding the impact of Senator Sessions' nomination on women's right. One constituent wrote: I truly fear for the future of women's rights and my daughter's right to an autonomous life if Jeff Sessions is confirmed. The bottom line, Senator Sessions has a record of undermining the civil and constitutional rights of women in this country. On another topic, in recent weeks there has been much discussion about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, otherwise known as IDEA, and the fact that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos seemed confused about the fact that IDEA is Federal law and also declined to commit to enforcing it. This contributed to my vote against Mrs. DeVos's nomination yesterday. What is also appalling is Senator Sessions' previous comments on IDEA. In 2000, Senator Sessions gave a speech on the Senate floor suggesting that disciplinary problems in schools stemmed from IDEA. Sessions said: Teachers I have been talking to have shared stories with me. I have been in 15 schools around Alabama this year. I have talked to them about a lot of subjects. I ask them about this subject in every school I go to, and I am told in every school that this is a major problem for them. In fact, it may be the single most irritating problem for teachers throughout America today. He continued. There is no telling how many instructional hours are lost by teachers in dealing with behavior problems. In times of an increasingly competitive global society, it is no wonder American students fall short. Certain children are allowed to remain in the classroom robbing the other children of hours that can never be replaced. There is no need to extend the school day. There is no need to extend the school year. If politicians would just make it possible for educators to take back the time that is lost on a daily basis to certain individuals, there is no doubt we would have better educated students. He added: It is clear that IDEA '97 not only undermines the educational process, it also undermines the authority of educators. In a time when our profession is being called upon to protect our children from increasingly dangerous sources, our credibility is being stripped from us. As I have discussed over the last couple of weeks, the passage of IDEA was a groundbreaking moment in American history for people who experience disabilities in their families. After IDEA was passed, all schools--all public schools in our country--were required to provide a free and appropriate education for children with disabilities. Children like my son, now 28 years old, and a graduate of Exeter High School, who used to be relegated to institutions, subjected to inhumane conditions and maltreatment, treated as truly less than human were included in our public schools. There is not a parent of a child like my son who does not acknowledge that including new people with different needs in any setting can be challenging, but we are Americans, and we are supposed to do challenging things, and that is what IDEA challenged us to do. I have seen the power of inclusion not only in my own home, but in my community and in our schools. I have seen it strengthen other students. Just last week, one of my son's classmates from fifth grade reached out because he had seen the coverage of the hearing concerning Mrs. DeVos's nomination. He said in an email to me: You know, I don't remember much about fifth grade, but I do remember having lunch with Ben. And I remember even now Ben's lighthearted disposition. What a lesson for our children to learn that even if you have severe and debilitating physical disabilities that prevent you from speaking or typing or walking or eating in a typical way, you could be lighthearted and love your life. There are always challenges connected to including new students with different learning styles, different behaviors. But because of IDEA, we have learned how to help those students cope and learn and adjust their behavior. And for anybody to suggest that it is the fault of people with disabilities, that it is their disability that is undermining our education, is appalling. Various groups who represent individuals with disabilities have, therefore, voiced their opposition to Senator Sessions' nomination. The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates has written to the Judiciary Committee arguing that: [Sessions] has compiled a longstanding and consistent record, including public statements, policy proposals, and other various actions that serve to discriminate against the rights and dignity of children and adults with disabilities. Sessions' disdain for special education and opposition to community integration of individuals with disabilities is at odds with the laws, inconsistent with our nation's commitment to supporting individuals with disabilities, and will lead to far higher societal costs in the future. And a constituent with Etna, NH, wrote to share her concerns on Senator Sessions' record on individuals with disabilities. She said: Senator Sessions has a long, well-documented history of active opposition to respect for the human rights of the American citizenry, particularly those of us who experience multiple marginalizations in our society. And as such, he is unfit for the office of Attorney General. It is abundantly clear to me, as a disabled woman, that his Justice Department would not support my equal protection under the law. Americans with disabilities and their families deserve better than an Attorney General who has consistently spoken out against their rights. I also have concerns about Senator Sessions' voting rights record. Voting is our most fundamental right, and ensuring that everyone can exercise that right is critical to making our democracy successful. Everyone deserves representation and the opportunity to vote on who represents them. Throughout his time in office, Senator Sessions has demonstrated an opposition to ensuring that all Americans have the right to vote. In 1986, Senator Sessions called the Voting Rights Act ``an intrusive piece of legislation.'' In 2006, after the Senate passed the Voting Rights Act reauthorization, Senator Sessions joined other Republicans in issuing a highly unusual committee report that sought to undermine the same legislation that they had all just voted to support. Chief Justice Roberts cited the report in his Shelby County v. Holder opinion, which gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Senator Sessions celebrated the Shelby County decision and stated it was, ``good news for the South.'' Since that decision, and despite the passage of voting restrictions in several States by Republican legislatures, Sessions has said, ``I don't think the Supreme Court ruling has damaged voting rights in any real way.'' It is clear that Senator Sessions is not committed to protecting voting rights. Many Granite Staters have written to my office, highlighting Senator Sessions' record on voting rights as a reason that the Senate should oppose his nomination. A constituent from Tilton, NH, said: Our country has battled long and hard to throw off the errors of our past, but voting rights are under assault. Jeff Sessions is not the right person to safeguard the integrity of our voting process, nor can he be trusted to work on behalf of all Americans in the cause of Justice. At a time when we are discussing ensuring equality, justice, and inclusion for all of our citizens, I am reminded of my father's story. My father was born and raised in the segregated South. His father was a traveling shoe salesman, and his mother was a school teacher who, during the Depression, got paid in food stamps. That is what kept the family going. Through hard work, a scholarship, taking on jobs like waiting tables and moving furniture, and a bit of good luck, my dad was able to attend Princeton University. It wasn't long before his studies were interrupted, however, when, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he left to volunteer to fight in World War II, eventually being thrown into the Battle of the Bulge. The Battle of the Bulge marked one of the first times in World War II that White and Black American soldiers fought alongside each other. Thousands of miles away from the school where he had been studying, this young man from the Deep South found himself learning more about the values of equality and inclusion than he ever could have learned back at home. And after my father's experience in that battle, where African-American soldiers fought and died alongside their White counterparts, Dad returned home to a life of working to make the notion that every single one of us counts a reality. Our Founders believed in that principle, that when you count everyone and bring more people in from the margins, we all grow stronger. We know that our Founders didn't count everyone at first, but they had faith that we would continue striving, as our Constitution commands us to, to build a more perfect union, that generation after generation, we would continue to deliver on our Nation's promise of equality. And while the road to greater inclusion is not without significant challenges, time and again, we have persevered to build a better future. We need leaders who are committed to those values and who are committed to enforcing the laws that have included more and more Americans. Senator Jeff Sessions' record shows that he is not committed to those values, and he has demonstrated that he lacks the independence needed to stand up to President Trump. For these reasons, I cannot support Senator Sessions to be the next Attorney General of the United States. I urge my colleagues to vote no on this nomination. Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, I yield my hour of postcloture debate time under rule XXII to Senator Schumer.

Ms. HASSAN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Ms. HASSAN

Ms. HASSAN. On behalf of the thousands of New Hampshire residents--

Ms. HASSAN. Madam Clerk, how am I recorded?

Ms. HASSAN.--who will lose treatment, I vote no.