Patty Murray

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President.

Mrs. MURRAY. Reserving the right to object, I do appreciate the Senator from Kansas's focus and leadership on this issue. I am glad we were able to work together to include a provision similar to this bill in our PREVENT Pandemics Act that we did pass out of the HELP Committee by an overwhelming vote earlier this year. Along with Ranking Member Burr, we are very focused on getting the PREVENT Pandemics Act passed into law. These reforms are overdue and vital to keeping our families safe. The Senator's provisions within that package, as well as many others, are really key to making sure that our country is prepared for future pandemics. I do hope we can continue to work on this bill in a bipartisan way and get it passed and put into law shortly. So while I look forward to continuing to work with the Senator from Kansas on this issue within the PREVENT Pandemics Act package, if he is asking today for unanimous consent to pass it, I object.

Mrs. MURRAY. Reserving the right to object, earlier this year, when we passed the PREVENT Pandemics Act out of our HELP Committee in an overwhelming bipartisan vote, we were able to include amendments from my colleague from Kansas and others to bolster oversight of the federally funded research involving pathogens of pandemic potential and make sure that we do have appropriate guardrails in place. I appreciate the leadership my colleague from Kansas has shown on this issue. I know it is important to him. However, I am concerned this new bill brought forward today is far less targeted than the provisions the Senator from Kansas and I worked on within PREVENT and would have significant and unintended consequences for U.S. biomedical research. Instead of passing this bill, I would respectfully ask my colleague from Kansas to keep working with me and Ranking Member Burr to get his related provision and the rest of our PREVENT Pandemics Act across the finish line. I thank the Senator from Kansas for his work and his focus on this issue. I really think we can continue to make bipartisan progress in the next few weeks on getting the PREVENT Pandemics Act and the Senator's provision he and I worked on into a good place and finally getting that much needed package signed into law. For those reasons, I object today.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I want to start by recognizing the overwhelming victory for the right to abortion in Kansas last night. Since the day the Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion and upended the lives of women across the country, the American people have been using their voices to speak out against Republicans' extreme bans. And now, for the first time since the Dobbs decision, they have had the chance to speak with their votes, and they sent a message loud and clear: People do not want their fundamental rights stripped away. They will not forget Republicans' cruelty in dragging us back half a century, and when abortion is at stake, they are not going to stay on the sidelines. Last night, the people of Kansas sent a message as clear as any I have ever seen in politics. Now, today, we are going to see if Republicans are finally getting that message or if they are going to continue to ignore the American people, because Democrats are here today with legislation to protect doctors providing legal abortion care and make sure they can do their jobs, practice medicine, and save lives without the threat of legal action. I really can't believe that we need this bill at all. We are talking about doctors who are following the law and simply want to provide care to their patients. It is not enough for Republicans that their cruel abortion bans have meant appointments that have been canceled; prescriptions that have been denied; doctors who have been forced to wait until patients got sicker, to wait until women are actually at death's door before they can provide lifesaving care. Nope, they are going to go further than that. Now they are coming after doctors providing legal abortion care too. I really can't emphasize that enough. These doctors are following the law and are still facing legal threats and harassment. Right now, in Indiana, a doctor is being investigated after providing an abortion for a 10-year-old who was raped. Think about that. A doctor is being investigated after doing their job, after simply providing healthcare--care that can be lifesaving, care that was entirely legal in their State, care that, up until the Republicans' far-right Supreme Court overturned Roe, was legal across the country. The fact that Dr. Bernard is being investigated after just doing her job and helping her patient is chilling. I want to be very clear. While Dr. Bernard's story may be in headlines across the country, she is not the only doctor facing threats, and she will not be the last. At this very moment, Republican State lawmakers are drafting legislation that would make it a crime to provide abortion care to a resident even in another State where it is legal. From talking with doctors back home in Washington, I can tell you, they are following this closely and they are worried. I have heard from providers back in Spokane and across Washington State who are worried that they could face lawsuits that threaten their practices and their livelihoods just for doing their jobs, just for providing care that patients need--care that is, once again, completely legal in my State. So Democrats are here today standing up for doctors. We have been drafting a bill of our own, the Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Healthcare Act, and we are proud that Dr. Bernard herself supports this bill. I want to thank my colleagues Senator Rosen from Nevada, Senator Lujan from New Mexico, and Senator Padilla from California for their partnership and critical work on this bill, as well as my colleague Representative Schrier from my home State of Washington, who is leading the legislation in the House. This is another simple bill to address a threat we know is far too real. The Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Healthcare Act will protect doctors providing legal abortion care and make sure that they can practice medicine and save lives without fear of legal threats and intimidation. It will make clear that the attacks we have seen on doctors are unacceptable; that politicians should not be harassing or scaring or investigating or threatening or punishing doctors for providing care that is perfectly legal, that patients want, and that, in many cases, is even necessary to save lives. Democrats are going to try to pass this bill right now because we believe no doctor should be punished for caring for patients and providing legal abortion care. And if Republicans who have claimed they don't want to punish doctors actually mean it, if those words are more than just an empty talking point, more than another broken promise, they will stay out of the way and let us get this done today. But if they don't--if they block us like they blocked the legislation to protect the right to travel across State lines for an abortion, or like they blocked the legislation to expand family planning services, or like they blocked legislation to protect the right to contraceptives--their obstruction will continue to speak louder than any of their hollow claims about actually caring for patients or families or women. And even if they stop us from getting this bill done today, they are not going to stop us from continuing to put them on the record and hold them accountable for their positions. They are not going to stop us from doing everything we can to protect the rights and the people they are putting in grave danger. And they are going to have to answer to the people they represent--to patients, to providers, to families-- whose lives they are turning upside down. Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 4723 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, we have now seen time and again, over the last few weeks, that when it comes to protecting rights and providing healthcare for women and patients and families, Republicans' promises are empty and their positions are extreme. Democrats just offered a bill to protect the rights of providers to be able to provide abortions in legal States. Democrats recently offered a bill to protect the right to travel across State lines to get an abortion. They blocked it. We offered a bill to expand our Nation's longstanding Family Planning Program. They blocked that. We offered a bill to protect the right to contraceptives, and they blocked that too. Today, again, we offered a bill simply to protect doctors performing legal abortions, and they blocked that too. Each one of these bills was incredibly straightforward. Each one of these is common sense. Each time, Republicans have stood in the way of basic protections of Americans' reproductive freedoms. Democrats are not giving up, and, as we saw last night, the American people are not either. We are going to fight for the right to an abortion. We are going to fight for doctors who are doing their jobs and doing what is best for their patients. We are going to fight for women making their own decisions about their own bodies, their families, and their futures. And we are going to make sure everyone knows and no one forgets exactly who is standing in the way, exactly where Republicans stand in this fight. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I have nine requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, it has been nearly 60 years since the Supreme Court decided Griswold v. Connecticut and affirmed Americans' right to privacy and, with it, their right to contraception. So you would think this would be a settled issue, and for the vast majority of Americans, it is. The right to birth control is overwhelmingly popular. It turns out that people want to be able to control their own bodies and make their own decisions about starting a family. Yet, as we just saw, somehow, in the year 2022, this is not a settled issue for Republican politicians. We have seen some of my Republican colleagues not only block this but try to deny reality, try to say this isn't an issue or claim that Democrats are somehow wasting time. Well, that is pretty rich because I can't help but remember how we all heard some Republicans saying the Supreme Court would not overturn Roe as well, how they tried to claim Democrats were ``overreacting'' even as they stacked our courts with anti-abortion judges and worked for decades to chip away at abortion rights. Now we are seeing the nightmare we warned about become reality: women unable to control their own bodies and get the abortion care they need--a nightmare Republicans tried to deny and are still trying to deny even as it happens, even as 10-year-olds are having to travel across State lines for an abortion after being raped, even as women are now being left bleeding for days, waiting for treatment for their miscarriage. So when Republicans say they support the right to birth control, my issue isn't simply that I am skeptical; it is that I know better. Let's be clear. When I say that I know better, I don't just mean in my gut; I mean I have heard Republicans' own words. I am watching their own actions. Justice Thomas said explicitly in his concurring opinion in Dobbs that he wants the Court to reconsider Griswold, which affirmed the right to contraception. The senior Senator from Tennessee said the Griswold decision was unsound. That alone would be scary enough, but Republicans aren't just talking about undermining access to birth control, they are already taking action. Read the legislation from Republicans in Idaho, Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Michigan, which would, in fact, outlaw Plan B and IUDs. Talk to women who have already gone to the pharmacy, only to be denied their birth control or Plan B. Yes, this is already happening to people. Just last week, 195 House Republicans voted against the Right to Contraception Act, and now today, they have blocked it in the Senate as well. The evidence of where Republicans actually stand on birth control is overwhelming. They aren't standing for women. They aren't standing for families. They aren't standing for a right nearly all Americans support. They are simply standing in the way. I want to thank the junior Senator from Massachusetts, the junior Senator from Illinois, and the junior Senator from Hawaii for their work with me on the Right to Contraception Act that Republicans just blocked. I know we are going to all keep working on this. I do want to set the record straight because so many of the arguments we have seen from Republicans don't add up. They are trying to distract from their extreme position. We won't let them. This bill is incredibly straightforward, so you simply cannot say you support the right to birth control and then block this bill. I hope everyone will listen closely because here is what this bill actually does. It simply codifies Americans' right to birth control into law. That is it. You don't have to take my word for it; read it yourself--it is all of 15 pages. It protects a right people depend on and makes sure no one can take that away. We are talking about a really basic and really fundamental right here. Since that right was affirmed half a century ago, generations of Americans have used contraception to control their own future, to manage and treat their healthcare needs, and start a family when they are ready to. For them, it is not political, and it shouldn't be political here in Congress either, especially when protecting this right is supported by a majority of Democrats, a majority of Independents, and, yes, even a clear majority of Republicans. The American people are watching closely. They were watching previously when Senate Republicans blocked us from protecting the right to travel across States to get abortion care. They were watching last week when Senate Republicans blocked expanding support for our Nation's longstanding Family Planning Program. They were watching when the vast majority of Republicans in the House voted against the right to birth control. And they are watching right now as Republicans block a bill that preserves the right to use condoms, take the pill, get IUDs, and buy Plan B, as Republicans refuse to let us protect that right and pass this bill and continue denying the threats that are already undermining that right. This is a basic, fundamental right. Mark my words, the American people will not forget Republicans blocking us from getting this done. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleagues Senator Klobuchar, Senator Wyden, Senator Hirono, and so many others who have been out here speaking on behalf of women and their ability to make their own healthcare decisions after the disastrous decision from the Supreme Court. And it has been now almost a month since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ended the right to abortion, and really upended healthcare for women across this country. And every single day, women and providers and patients have been shouting from the rooftops about how damaging this is, how women's lives are now at risk. Every single day we are seeing the horrors caused by Republicans' oppression: women forced to stay pregnant and give birth when they don't want to; patients denied prescriptions that they need; a 10-year-old forced to travel across State lines to get an abortion after being raped; a woman experiencing a miscarriage left bleeding for 10 days as providers were not clear if they could treat her due to Republicans' extreme bans. And all the while, Republicans have been trying to ignore the devastation that they have caused. And even more cruelly, they have been trying to distract us, telling us that what we are seeing isn't really happening. They have tried to say it won't undermine birth- control access, even as patients have been denied Plan B. They have tried to say we don't need to protect the right to travel for abortion care, even as some Republicans are already writing and introducing bills to take that right away. They have even tried to say their extreme bans won't undermine care for ectopic pregnancies or miscarriages, even as providers have already been forced to change the standard of care because Republicans' dangerous abortion bans making them perform riskier, invasive surgeries than would otherwise be necessary or even sit on their hands until patients' vital signs drop before they can do what is needed to save lives. It really is unconscionable. And despite what we have heard from Republicans, it is happening right now in this country. And I know I am not the only one who is entirely unconvinced by Republican words about wanting to support women and families. I am skeptical when one Republican Senator said: We have to start thinking in terms of some of these things . . . to be more supportive of families and mothers. I am skeptical when another one said: It's not just a matter of saying, ``We are pro-life.'' It's a matter . . . of promoting and allowing these people who are making very difficult decisions with their lives to make sure we can help. I was, frankly, surprised when, just last week at a hearing that I chaired on how this Dobbs decision threatens women's health, the junior Senator from Kansas claimed he believes that ``family planning opportunities need to be expanded.'' He even promised to continue supporting ``robust funding.'' Here is the chance to match that rhetoric with action because Senator Smith and Senator Warren and I have a bill right here that would do exactly that. In fact, it is even called the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act. I know Senator Smith cares a lot about this. While she can't be here right now due to COVID, I want to thank her for her leadership on this and explain what this bill does for her. This bill is pretty simple. It almost couldn't be simpler. It takes our Nation's longstanding Family Planning Program, title X, and provides the strong mandatory funding title X needs now to support patients across the country. That is it. It is very easy. It is very straightforward. If Republicans really mean what they are saying, if they are really serious about expanding access to family planning, there is no reason why we cannot get this done right now. After all, we are talking about a program that has a long history of bipartisan support. We are talking about a program that was signed into law by a Republican, President Nixon, way back in 1970. We are talking about a program that helps patients get the birth control they need, the STI testing and the treatment they count on, the cervical and breast cancer screenings that could save their lives, and the support they need to plan a family on their own terms. This isn't just the popular thing to do, although helping patients get the birth control they need is an overwhelmingly popular thing to do; this is the right thing to do. Let's get this done. It should not be controversial. It simply expands our Nation's longstanding Family Planning Program--a program, I should note, that we included in our bipartisan funding bill earlier this year. Just a few months ago, some Republicans were adamantly against any increases for this program, but now, as we hear, they are changing their tune and claiming they do want to support families. They do want to expand family planning services. They want to do exactly what this bill does--unless, of course, they don't mean it, and it is simply rhetoric or just another Republican distraction from the reality that has been ushered in. Right now, the Republicans will have a chance to go on the record on whether they actually support family planning, whether they actually want to help people get birth control. And believe me, the same people Republicans have been trying to ignore--the same people who are having their healthcare undermined, their lives upended, their controls over their own bodies taken away--are going to be watching us closely, and they are not going to forget how much or how little Republicans' promises are worth. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged from further consideration of S. 4550 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, there you have it--the real Republican position on expanding family planning summed up in two simple words: ``I object.'' As much as Republicans are talking now about supporting women's health, as hard as they might try to pretend that they do support family planning services, when they have been given a chance today to do exactly that--to expand a program with a long track record of helping women get the care they need; a long history, I remind all of us, of bipartisan support--they stood in the way. Let's be clear. The bill that the Republicans blocked today does not fund abortion. The truth is, title X only provides services like birth control, STI testing, cancer screenings--services Republicans claim to support. We are not proposing anything radical or groundbreaking; we are simply saying we should expand the national Family Planning Program that already exists, the one President Nixon signed into law decades ago, the one we have already funded before in a bipartisan way many times. Title X is a program that is already providing patients family planning services and contraception, STI testing and treatment, screenings for breast cancer and cervical cancer, and more. I know that because I have met with title X providers and patients in my home State of Washington many times. I would strongly urge my colleagues who block this bill to do the same. Listen to those patients. Listen to the doctors. Listen to the nurses in their States. This is a program we already know helps so many people, and it can help more. I can't say I am surprised by Republican objections today. I can't say this is the first time Republicans have said one thing about women's health and done the opposite, and I think we all know full well it won't be the last. My message to the American people who are witnessing this: Pay attention. Pay attention. The Republican agenda is no to family planning, no to your right to travel for the healthcare you need, and no to your constitutional right to abortion. Senate Democrats and I will not stop holding them accountable for empty promises or for the devastating harm their extreme abortion bans are now inflicting on so many patients and families. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, yesterday, I chaired a hearing focused on driving home the devastating repercussions of the healthcare crisis Republicans caused by overturning Roe and ending the right to abortion. At that hearing, doctors and patients and experts spoke directly to the chaos and harm Republicans are causing. Tens of millions of women across the country now live in States where abortion has been banned or is likely to be banned soon. Republicans have ripped away every woman's ability to decide for herself whether or not to keep a pregnancy. And it forced them to be pregnant when they do not want to be. Republicans are denying women control over their own bodies, endangering their health and putting patients and providers in impossible, indefensible situations: doctors unsure if they can save their patients without being punished; pharmacists unsure if they can fulfill a prescription; people unsure if they will be able to get Plan B, unsure if they will be able to use IVF to start a family and afraid they could get reported or investigated or even arrested for having a miscarriage. And so many women forced to travel across State lines to get the reproductive care they need. People forced to drive miles and miles just to get the care that could save their lives. Good God, this should be unthinkable. But as we saw at yesterday's hearing, that is exactly the sort of oppressive regime, exactly the sort of nightmare reality Republicans have chosen to champion. My colleague, the junior Senator from Kansas, actually said the fall of Roe was ``a positive development.'' Leader McConnell even called it a ``gigantic leap forward.'' My colleagues really think the devastation, the harm playing out across this country is positive? That is despicable. Of course, another thing we saw at that hearing is that Republicans will do anything they can to change the subject from the damage that we will see, to ignore the reality of how deadly their policies are. News flash: When you force someone to be pregnant, they are going to notice; they are going to remember; and they are going to be painfully aware of the difference between their personal decision and the reality Republican politicians are forcing on them. And the horrifying thing is Republicans aren't just trying to mislead about the real impact of this cruel agenda, they are pushing for a national abortion ban. And Republican lawmakers have already set their sights on ripping away the right to travel. Let's be really clear what that means. They want to hold women captive in their own States. They want to punish women and anyone who might help them for exercising their constitutional right to travel within our country to get the services that they need in another State. I hope everyone really absorbs how extreme and how radical and how un-American that is. I mean, just imagine what bans like that would mean for people. In my home State of Washington, the city of Clarkston is separated from Lewiston, ID, by a river--just a bridge, that is it. People cross that bridge every single day, without a second thought. And they cross State borders just like it every day, by the millions. Surely, we can all agree that crossing that bridge, crossing any State border to go to the doctor and get healthcare you need should not be a crime. Surely, that is common sense. Surely, every Republican who has railed against Big Government could agree with me about that. I will be honest, based on the shameless hypocrisy I have seen this week, I doubt it. But we are about to find out because we are about to request we pass a bill that my colleague from Nevada, along with Senator Gillibrand, Senator Whitehouse, and I, introduced on Tuesday, the Freedom to Travel for Healthcare Act. It is telling that some Republicans are already saying that this is a solution in search of a problem. Well, let's be clear about the problem because it is real and it is imminent. Conservative legal organizations are right now drafting legislation to ban travel for abortion. It was discussed at two anti- abortion conferences already. Republican Texas legislators are saying out loud they are working with the National Association of Christian Lawmakers to draft bills restricting travel modeled after their barbaric, vigilante abortion ban. And there is already legislation introduced in Missouri to ban abortion travel. Anyone telling you this is not a threat is not paying attention or they are just trying to mislead you. So there is a problem. Now, here is the solution. What this bill does is simple, it protects every American's constitutional right to travel across State lines and to travel in order to get or provide a lawful abortion. It prevents States from restricting or impeding Americans' right to travel to access care and ensures there is legal recourse if States attempt to restrict that right. And it protects healthcare providers who are licensed to provide abortions in the States where they are practicing. This should not be controversial. We should all agree, Americans have a right to travel within the United States and get the reproductive care they need. So I urge my colleagues to support this proposal and to work with us to make sure that Americans get access to the healthcare they need where they need it. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

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

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, every Senator here has a serious responsibility to make sure that our veterans get the support and help they are promised after their service to our country, and that includes making sure that those who have been harmed by toxic exposures during their service get the service and care they deserve. It seems pretty simple, but I hope we can hold up our end of the bargain today. My dad was a World War II veteran--he was a Purple Heart recipient-- and when he got really sick with multiple sclerosis, help from the VA made a huge difference for my family. So I want to really thank Senators Tester and Moran for their persistent work on this bill. I am glad we have come to a bipartisan agreement on the PACT Act because it does matter, it will help people, and it will save lives. Right now, the reality is that too many veterans are living with chronic illness and respiratory diseases as a result of toxic exposures from their time serving our country in uniform. I have heard countless stories about the challenges they have faced struggling to get access to VA care and benefits they have earned, and that is unacceptable. I believe very strongly that no one who put their life or health on the line for our Nation should face hurdles getting the care or medical treatment they need as a result of that sacrifice. When they signed up to serve, we told them we would have their backs long after their service, so if we are going to live up to our promise, then we need to pass comprehensive legislation to ensure all veterans have access to the VA services they deserve. Simply put, we need to pass this PACT Act. With this bill, generations of toxic-exposed veterans would finally be able to get the high-quality care they need, and the VA will get the resources needed to process claims efficiently and better serve our veterans. I remember, back when I was 22 years old, I interned at the Seattle veterans hospital. I have visited with and met with VA staff in every part of Washington State. The doctors, the nurses, and everyone else working at our VA medical centers really care about this work, they care about this Nation, and they care about their mission, but they need us here in Congress to care just as much and fight just as hard for their patients, our veterans. That is really what this bill is about. When VA was considering closing or reducing services in Walla Walla, I fought back to make sure that our veterans in rural Washington were able to see a doctor without having to drive 2 hours or longer, sometimes through a lot of rain and snow. About 1 in every 10 residents in Washington State is a veteran, and I am privileged enough to serve on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. It is my job to be a voice for Washington State veterans who are in Seattle or Spokane or Walla Walla or anywhere, and that is a job I take seriously. That is why I have been continually pressing the VA Secretary to cut redtape and make sure the VA caregivers program works for everyone who needs it, the way we wrote it. It is why I introduced the Helping Heroes Act to get families and kids of disabled veterans the assistance they need. It is why I will keep doing everything in my power to hold the VA accountable for its really unacceptable rollout of the electronic health record system in Washington State. There is a lot we need to do to really make sure the VA works for veterans, but passing the PACT Act, getting this done, is an important and meaningful process. Washington State veterans deserve the very best the VA has to offer, and there should be absolutely nothing controversial about making sure all veterans across all generations who are suffering from chronic illness get the care they have earned. I am glad to see we have bipartisan support for this bill. Let's get it done and to the President's desk. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

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

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the following Senators be permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each prior to the scheduled votes: Murray, Wyden, and Brown.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I come to the floor today to support the nomination of Lisa Gomez as the Assistant Secretary for the Department of Labor's Employee Benefit Security Administration, or EBSA. EBSA has the massive task of helping retirees recover the benefits they are entitled to and forcing protections for people who get their healthcare coverage through their job, and overseeing millions of retirement plans, health plans, and other welfare benefit plans. We need a strong leader at EBSA who will protect families' savings and futures and make sure people get the benefits they deserve under Federal law. We need someone like Lisa Gomez. Ms. Gomez is a highly respected professional in the field of employee benefits law, who has represented a wide range of health plans, retirement plans, and more. And I am confident as Assistant Secretary she will fight to hold employers accountable to the law, ensure workers get the benefits they are owed, and protect families' financial security, and I strongly urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm her.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to print the following letter in the Record.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, this is a dark, enraging moment for our Nation. I have made that clear already, and so have so many of our Democratic colleagues. But I am speaking on the floor today because we cannot back down for a minute. We cannot lose sight of the terrifying reality that Republicans want to end the right to abortion, and they are within weeks of accomplishing that goal. Very soon, the Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe v. Wade and fulfill Republicans' decades-long goal of controlling women's bodies and rolling back everyone's fundamental right to decide whether or not to start a family. Let me say that again because it is shocking, and it is true. In a matter of weeks, women across the country will lose a constitutional right they have had for half a century. The steady march forward to secure women's rights that generations before us fought for will be reversed, and my daughter and granddaughters will have fewer rights than I did. Women will be forced to carry pregnancies to term when it is not right for them, and Republicans will be responsible. This is the future that they have been fighting for. This is the America that they want, and they are not done yet. Republicans are hell-bent on rolling back the clock. Last week, they blocked our bill to protect Roe and the right to abortion, but they are not going to stop at overturning Roe and shredding patients' rights to make decisions about their own bodies. In States across the country, Republican lawmakers are banning abortion without exceptions. They are targeting people who help a women get an abortion, doctors who are providing essential healthcare, friends and family members who are just supporting a loved one, and even the drivers just doing their job and helping patients get to medical appointments. Republicans are working around-the-clock to make it harder for women and families to control their own futures. They are coming after the birth control and IUDs that tens of millions rely on to plan a family on their own terms. They are coming after Plan B. They are even putting patients' ability to get the IVF care they need to help start a family at risk. My Republican colleagues right here in the Senate have made clear that they have their sights set on something really extreme: They want a nationwide ban on abortion. Republicans aren't content with some States banning abortion and creating health crises that spill across State lines; they want to eliminate the right of every woman in America to get an abortion in Washington State and everywhere else. It is not hypothetical, and it is not some far-off worry. It is appalling, and it is completely backward. Republicans want to force us all with them into their time machine, but we are not going to let them. Democrats are fighting Republicans' increasingly extreme policies at every step of the way. In the coming weeks, we are going to remind each and every American of the rights that Republicans want to rip away. We won't allow Republicans to run and hide from the reality of their extreme agenda. We are going to be on the floor each week highlighting how Republicans are doing everything they can to hit rewind on our rights, highlighting every protection and freedom that Republicans are ripping away from people across the country, and we are going to show the country how Republican policies hurt everyone. We are going to expose the Republicans' radical and unpopular views on everything from abortion to family planning to sex ed. We are going to make clear who is hurt most by their extremism. This fight did not end when the Republicans blocked the Women's Health Protection Act last week--far from it. People across the country are fed up with Republicans' attacks on their rights. They are fired up, and they are fighting back, and so am I, and so are my Democratic colleagues. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now vote on confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 718, the nomination of Susan Grundmann, as provided under the previous order, and that following disposition of that nomination, the Senate proceed to the consideration of the Powell nomination and at 1:45 p.m., vote on confirmation of the nomination.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

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