Patty Murray

Mrs. MURRAY

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to address the Senate as in morning business.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I come here today to address the current status of the National Labor Relations Board and, in particular, how the rights of workers are being undermined by Republican obstructionism. You see, for decades, Presidents have nominated--and Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have confirmed--NLRB nominees from both parties in order to ensure the agency can enforce laws necessary to protect workers' rights. Yet, for the first time in the history of the Board, we are now left with zero Democratic members on the Board because of Republican inactions. To say this is highly problematic is an understatement. We will be left with zero Democrats, because, yesterday, Lauren McFerran's term expired. Now, Lauren McFerran is a dedicated, highly-qualified, and well-respected public servant. Despite the repeated requests my colleagues and I have sent to the White House, President Trump refuses to renominate Ms. McFerran. Last year, Republicans in the Senate stalled the renomination of another exceptionally qualified nominee to the NLRB, Mark Gaston Pearce. How? Just by simply refusing to hold the vote--instead, allowing that seat to remain empty. Now, workers are confronted with a Board made up solely of three Republicans and zero Democrats to serve on this historically bipartisan agency. That is simply unacceptable. I get it--Board members, nominations, Washington infighting--to many folks, this may seem like ``inside baseball,'' but let me explain what this will mean for everyday people. When workers stand together to form a union, the NLRB ensures that the election is fair. If a worker is fired or unfairly punished because they want to join a former union, the NLRB is there and tasked with protecting their rights. If a company refuses to negotiate fairly with unions who are fighting for higher rates or better benefits or safer working conditions, it is the NLRB that safeguards those rights that have helped build our country's middle class. Quite frankly, the NLRB is a critical worker protections agency, and workers across the country will suffer because of the Republicans' dereliction of duty, especially as the Republican NLRB members are now mired in allegations of ethics issues. They are pursuing an aggressive rulemaking agenda that will gut workers' rights and are undermining efforts that will enforce protections for workers. It is clear that workers in this country today cannot afford, now, an imbalanced and increasingly partisan NLRB. By the way, that is just the latest example of Republicans standing in the way of Democratic nominees. I am still waiting for a Democratic nominee to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after Republicans blocked the renomination of Chai Feldblum last year. I am deeply disappointed by the inaction of the Republicans. I deplore them to return to the normal process. The NLRB must not become a playing field for partisan politics. We need to end this obstructionism and fill these seats without any further delay. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, the Food and Drug Administration plays an important part in our families' everyday lives. When people across the country do anything from using a medical device, to getting a prescription filled, to sitting down together to eat, they rely on the FDA to keep them safe and healthy. There is a lot at stake for our families, and it is critical that we know the FDA's leadership will uphold its gold standard of safety and effectiveness and put people's health and well-being first. I am not convinced that is the case under Hahn's leadership. I have reviewed his records and carefully considered his answers on key issues. I want the Senate to know I was particularly concerned by his evasive response when it came to how to address skyrocketing youth e-cigarette use. Just a few months ago, the Trump administration promised it would take action and pull non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products from the market until after the FDA had reviewed them, only to reverse its course. We need a leader at the FDA who will fight for our families and stand up to this administration on this important policy. When Members from both sides of the aisle asked him about this, he refused to commit to follow through on the promising step President Trump decided to abandon. So given his answers--or lack thereof, really--on this concerning issue, I am voting no on this confirmation.

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 in morning business.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, last week, when I joined my colleagues to recognize Senator Isakson, I mentioned that when Johnny says he is going to get something done, you know it will get done. The bill we are getting ready to pass today in a few hours, the Over-the-Counter Monograph Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act, which he has worked on with Senator Casey, proves it once again. Every day, people head to their local pharmacy or retail store for over-the-counter medications to deal with a cough or a sore throat or a stomach ache. Every day, parents across the country turn to the medicine cabinet after someone comes home with a scrape or a bug bite or poison ivy. Every day, there are countless other health concerns people look to treat quickly, safely, and effectively with over-the- counter drugs. That is why this legislation is so important. The pace of scientific discovery seems to speed up every day, but the over-the-counter monograph system--the system for how these drugs are regulated and brought to market--has not kept pace. The current system has not changed, actually, since 1972, and it sorely needs to. Right now, even after the science has made clear that small changes to the monograph, or recipe, for an over-the-counter drug might make it safer or more effective, it can take years for those changes to be approved under the current outdated process. Even small changes to a drug label, including changes regarding important new safety information, can be held up for years. The Over-the-Counter Monograph Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act takes long-needed steps to address this problem and streamline the way over-the-counter drugs are regulated and brought to market. These changes will allow the Food and Drug Administration to do more to protect public health and make sure over-the-counter drugs, ingredients, and labels reflect the latest science. It will also encourage the development of new products to better meet the needs of patients. The legislation allows the FDA to collect user fees for reviewing over-the-counter drugs to make sure it has the resources it needs to do this important job. Many families rely on over-the-counter drugs each day for a lot of different reasons. It is very important that these medications and the labels we turn to for information about them are safe, that they are effective, and that they are as up-to-date with the latest science as possible. Thanks to the efforts of Senator Isakson and Senator Casey, this bill we will vote on this afternoon will help accomplish that by updating the over- the-counter monograph system for the first time in decades. I know how important this bill has been to Senator Isakson and how he has worked so hard on it for many years. I want to tell him how grateful I am. I want him to know that I am particularly grateful for his commitment to getting this done for families back in Georgia and across the country. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I thank Senator Casey for his leadership on this important issue and agree wholeheartedly with his statement on S. 2740, the Over-the-Counter Monograph Safety, Innovation, and Reform Act of 2019.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an FDA detailee on my HELP Committee staff, Michael Varrone, be granted floor privileges through August 2020.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, HBCUs, Tribal colleges, and other minority-serving institutions--or MSIs--are an essential part of our entire higher education system, and those institutions serve nearly 6 million undergraduate students, a large majority of whom are students of color or Native students. Funding for those critical institutions should never be up for debate, and now, because of this, it will not be. I am so glad we have reached a bipartisan deal that will permanently fund HBCUs and MSIs. I know many of our colleagues worked very hard on this, but I especially want to thank Senator Jones for his leadership in pushing to make sure this got done, as well as my partner Senator Alexander, and, of course, Senators Coons, Scott, and Burr. I am also pleased that this legislation streamlines Federal student aid for more than 20 million students applying for aid and nearly 8 million borrowers. Our Nation's outdated and overly complicated financial aid system is forcing students and borrowers to jump through too many hoops to access Federal financial aid and verify their tax returns, which they have already filled out, and to get help if they are struggling to pay their student loans. The FAFSA Act, which has been included in this bill, allows data to be securely shared between the IRS and the Department of Education, making it easier for students to fill out the FAFSA and pay their loans. This bill will strengthen privacy protections and how students and borrowers navigate their financial aid through a streamlined, more efficient process. This bill is also thanks to Jeff Appel, an integral member of Federal Student Aid who recently passed away. I am grateful for his contribution, and I know that he will be sorely missed. There is one more way in which this agreement we have reached is important. This proves once again that we can work across the aisle and get things done when we all stay focused squarely on what is best for students. We have a lot of work ahead of us to make higher education in our country more affordable and accessible and to hold schools accountable for student outcomes and ensure student safety on campus. I am hopeful that we can build on this bipartisan progress we have seen so far as we continue working together to reauthorize the Higher Education Act in a comprehensive way. Again, I want to thank all of my colleagues for their work on this, and I look forward to more to come.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I am so glad to have the chance to be here today to recognize Senator Johnny Isakson. He is a dedicated public servant to the people of Georgia and is a dear friend of mine here in the Senate. I am pretty sure every single person here in the U.S. Senate building would say the same. I have had the good fortune to have been office neighbors with Senator Isakson for several years now, and like any good neighbor, Senator Isakson has made it very clear that his door is always open whenever I need someone to help work out a problem, to swap stories, or to just share a laugh. Over the years, in working together and in walking together to the Senate floor, we have managed to take a lot of steps to help the families and the veterans back in our States and across the country. I remember back when Senator Alexander and I were working to replace No Child Left Behind, and I kept telling him that early childhood education just had to be a part of this. After I pushed and pushed and pushed, Senator Alexander finally said to me: OK. Go talk with Johnny. If you two can work something out, I will accept it in the committee. I knew right then and there that we were in business because I knew Senator Isakson was someone who really cared about early childhood education and who also knew how to work with people across the aisle. He understands not everyone is going to have the same ideas, but he listens to other people. He respects their views, and he works so hard to find common ground so as to pass something that can actually help our families, and that is exactly what happened there. When the Every Student Succeeds Act was signed into law, it included a strong focus on early childhood education, thanks to the efforts of Johnny Isakson, and I so appreciate that. It is also exactly what happened when I worked with Senator Isakson to pass support for military caregivers. Throughout that process, every time there was something that tried to derail it, Senator Isakson was right there, working with me to get things back on track, because he understood it was not about politics; it was about people. It was about the spouses and the family members who stepped up to make sure our servicemembers had the support they needed no matter what. That is something that has been clear on every issue Senator Isakson has worked on. He has always known the people behind the words of legislation. He has always understood how personal the work is that we do here for our families back home. That has possibly never been clearer than it was last year when we worked on legislation in the HELP Committee to respond to the opioid epidemic. Senator Isakson spoke up throughout that process about the loss of his own grandson, a victim of the opioid crisis. He shared his family's story in the hope it would help other families who struggle with the disease of addiction so that they would seek and find help. I have no doubt that, because of your work, they did. As usual, the bill that we passed was stronger thanks to Senator Isakson's efforts and thanks to the perspective he brought that always kept families top of mind. Now, of course, Senator Isakson hasn't just brought an important perspective to the Senate but a distinctive voice. A few years ago, we worked together to update our country's workforce training programs. The bill that we passed represented years--and I mean years--of bipartisan effort and was an important step forward for workers in our country. I remember heading back to our offices after the bill passed. I said how excited I was to finally get this done, and Senator Isakson said: Me, too. I was grinning like a mule eating Breyers. Well, we don't have charming phrases like that in the State of Washington, so I am certainly going to miss those. Yet colorful sayings aren't the only reason Senator Isakson's words have always been so notable. The real reason is, when Johnny Isakson gives you his word, you know he is going to keep it. Some people will say something to you just to get you out of the way or it is said without their really meaning it. Senator Isakson never did that. When he said, ``I am going to get this done,'' you knew it would get done. Just as he kept his word to me so many times, I think it is safe to say, as he leaves the Senate, that he kept his word to the people of Georgia. His No. 1 priority has never been to get the most coverage on Sunday talk shows or to start political fights. Instead, his legacy will be that when he came into these halls every day, he came in with the people of Georgia in his head and in his heart and that he did the absolute best he could do, each day, to make their lives better. I am so grateful I have been able to work with him throughout our time together here in the Senate, and I know so many families are grateful, as well, for the tremendous work he has accomplished. I am going to miss having a friend like Johnny Isakson across the aisle and down the hall from me. Johnny, as you head home to Dianne and your family and the State that you love so much and the State that you have done so much for, I hope, when you think back on all of the work you have done, you will still grin like a mule eating Breyers. Thank you so much. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I want to turn to the nomination that is pending before the Senate and that we will be voting on as soon as I finish my remarks. I have come to the floor many times to speak in opposition to President Trump's ideologically driven, deeply partisan judicial nominees and to express my frustration that under Republican leadership, the Senate is rubberstamping one lifetime judicial nomination after another. The Republican leaders have been willing to rubberstamp these nominees whose qualifications are in doubt. A record number have been deemed unqualified by the American Bar Association, whose impartiality is virtually nonexistent and who are, without a doubt, chosen for their commitment to upholding President Trump's agenda rather than to upholding our Nation's laws. These nominees have sided with shady for-profit colleges rather than with student loan borrowers--just like the President's Department of Education. President Trump's nominees have followed his footsteps on healthcare, ruling and speaking against expanding affordable healthcare to more families. They have allowed major corporations to skirt rules that are intended to help address the urgent threat of the climate crisis. Perhaps most consistently, President Trump's judicial nominees have adhered to rigid, backward, deeply harmful ideology when it comes to reproductive healthcare. One called Roe v. Wade ``radical abortion rights.'' Another pushed pseudoscience and claimed that birth control can lead to suicide. The vast majority of women and men in our country would agree that these are not positions you would want a supposedly impartial judge to espouse. Unfortunately, what I have just laid out pales in comparison to what we know of the judicial nominee we are considering today, Sarah Pitlyk. Ms. Pitlyk, whom the American Bar Association rated as ``unqualified,'' has actively worked to erode women's access to birth control and abortion. She even defended legislation that would have allowed landlords to have evicted their tenants and employers to have fired their employees simply because they had used birth control or had gotten pregnant before they had gotten married. These views are already wildly invasive and disqualifying. Unfortunately, there is more. Ms. Pitlyk has also not only expressed her personal bias against assisted reproductive technology, or ART, but she has actually authored briefs that have argued that surrogacy and ART have ``grave effects on society.'' I am very proud to have personally worked to expand access to in vitro fertilization, or IVF, especially for our military families who struggle with infertility, and I firmly believe all families who face this painful challenge should have our strong support. My good friend the junior Senator from Illinois, who has spoken powerfully about her struggles with fertility and how IVF gave her the opportunity to realize her dream of motherhood, wrote in a letter to our colleagues: ``As a mother who struggled with infertility for years and required IVF to start my family, I would be one of the many Americans who could never enter Ms. Pitlyk's courtroom with any reasonable expectation that my case would be adjudicated in a fair and impartial manner.'' Given Ms. Pitlyk's record of supporting cruel policies that would punish women for accessing basic healthcare like birth control, her support for banning women from exercising their right to abortion, as well as her personal bias and professional actions against starting a family via assisted reproductive technology, I believe a vote in favor of Ms. Pitlyk's nomination would be indefensible. That is why I ask my colleagues on the Republican side to stop and really consider this vote. If confirmed, Ms. Pitlyk's tenure on the courts will last for decades--well beyond President Trump's last day in the White House. That would mean, for years and years, decisions would be made that we can only expect would harm women and families, restrict women's access to reproductive healthcare, and even potentially jeopardize their ability to become parents. In other words, a vote for Ms. Pitlyk now will keep hurting people long after the President's name-calling on Twitter doesn't drive headlines anymore. I urge all of my colleagues to do the right thing for women and families today and for years to come and join me in opposing this nomination on the floor. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I want to thank Senators Murphy and Blumenthal for their tremendous leadership that we are here on the floor today to speak about. I come today not just as a Member of the Senate representing my home State of Washington but as a former educator, as a mother, and as a grandmother devastated by how the gun violence epidemic is tearing apart our families and ravaging our communities in every State. I am furious at Republican leaders who continue to stand by and do nothing while more and more lives are lost, just as I was after Newtown, Parkland, Sutherland Springs, and Marysville in my home State of Washington. I could go on. We don't have to continue this cycle of violence, heartbreak, and inaction, and we are here today to emphasize that there is action we can take right now because earlier this year, the House passed H.R. 8-- meaningful, bipartisan gun safety legislation--to address this terrible crisis through universal background checks and other popular reforms. But in the 260 days since H.R. 8 passed the House, it has languished here in the Senate despite repeated calls from myself and my Democratic colleagues for a vote. That is why 58 days ago, following the tragic events at El Paso, Dayton, and Midland, I joined my Senate Democratic colleagues here on the floor to try to break the cycle and demand that we address the scourge of gun violence in this country by taking a vote here in the Senate on H.R. 8, which would install universal background checks--a policy that, by the way, is supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. In the face of Republican apathy, people across the country raised their voices even louder, demanding action to end the endless wave of gun tragedy, so much so that after this summer's string of horrors, President Trump bowed to public pressure and made a commitment to finally act to address the gun violence epidemic. After months and years of inaction and far, far too many lives lost, it was the first sliver of hope in a long while--that the President and Senate Republicans would finally put the safety of our families over their allegiance to the NRA and do something substantive about ending this Nation's gun violence epidemic, working with Democrats toward commonsense reforms to end gun violence and keep people safe. Now, more than 2 months later, President Trump has betrayed his pledge to address this tragic epidemic as if the past summer never even happened. Once again, he has chosen to abdicate his responsibility to keep our families and our communities safe and has broken yet another promise he made to the American people, kowtowing to the NRA and its unpopular, hard-right agenda to stymie commonsense gun reform as soon as mass shootings were out of the headlines. Well, I can assure you, Senate Democrats and I are going to keep fighting for commonsense gun safety reforms, like universal background checks, even when gun violence isn't making a headline that day, because while President Trump continues carrying water for the NRA and Senate Republicans continue hiding behind President Trump, Democrats here understand that Congress has a duty to act to protect lives, and that the President's cowardice absolutely should not set Congress's agenda. While President Trump's backtracking on this serious issue is disgraceful, I ask my Republican colleagues to remember that we are not beholden to the President or to the gun lobby and that we do not need President Trump's permission to vote on bills or to act to save lives. In fact, in States across the country, we have been able to take on the gun lobby and make meaningful progress to address this crisis. In my home State of Washington, we have closed background check loopholes, and we have enacted extreme risk protection orders. We were able to accomplish those things because of the advocacy of groups like Moms Demand Action across my State, the Washington State Alliance for Gun Responsibility, Everytown for Gun Safety, March for Our Lives, and so many more, as well as the dedicated volunteers and activists behind those organizations, the brave people who have been out making their voices heard and putting pressure on lawmakers to do their jobs to end this senseless epidemic, people like Jane Weiss, who lives in Mill Creek, WA. After she tragically lost her niece to gun violence, Jane joined the fight to pass lifesaving legislation in Washington State by putting pressure on her State lawmakers and won. There are people like Jane all across the country who are speaking up and fighting back, even when it means reliving some of the hardest moments of their lives, in order to prevent others from suffering as much as they have. That is hard and brave work to do, but there is absolutely nothing hard or brave about simply having a vote on bipartisan, House-passed legislation to ensure universal background checks. To the contrary, it is the height of cowardice not to hold that vote while families across the country wonder which movie theater or shopping mall or synagogue or mosque or church or community space is next and while students spend their time in school on active shooter drills while they should be learning. Unfortunately, cowardice is what we are seeing from far too many Republicans here in the Senate and in the White House when it comes to protecting families from this scourge of gun violence. I want to be clear. I hope my Republican colleagues allow this legislation to pass today, but if they don't, for Jane and so many others, Senate Democrats are going to keep shining a spotlight on the inaction on gun violence here in the Senate and the broken promises coming out of the White House. We are going to keep making the case, building support, and we will not give up until this is done. I yield the floor.

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 to speak as in morning business.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, as President Trump and the Senate Republicans continue to press forward with their relentless attacks on families' healthcare, the Democrats are going to continue to make clear just what is at stake by lifting up stories of patients and families across the country, starting with Natasha from my home State of Washington. Because of a diagnosis she received when she was young, Natasha had long believed she could not conceive, so she and her partner were particularly surprised last year to get the news that she was pregnant. With that unexpected news, came all sorts of questions, including whether they could handle the cost of things like maternity care, postpartum care, and newborn care. Fortunately, Natasha's family had coverage through Medicaid, so all of the medical costs she had been so concerned about were completely covered. Instead of worrying about how they would pay for the healthcare she needed, she and her partner were able to focus on getting ready to welcome the newest addition to their family. Natasha's story shows why families across the country are so worried as the Republicans continue down the damaging path they have been on for years. Since day No. 1 of the Trump administration, the Republicans have been working to raise families' healthcare costs, take away their coverage, and make healthcare lower quality. In the Senate, the Republicans have stood with President Trump as he has tried to implement draconian caps on Medicaid through his Trumpcare bill and has proposed budgets that slash funding for Medicaid. They have also stood by as President Trump has implemented a gag rule on title X-funded clinics--jeopardizing reproductive healthcare for millions of patients. The Republicans are also opposing the Democrats' efforts to lower skyrocketing prescription drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate on behalf of patients and to reverse President Trump's steps to promote junk insurance plans that do not protect patients with preexisting conditions and do increase families' healthcare costs. The Republicans are even cheerleading a partisan lawsuit that will be catastrophic to families across the country. We could get a ruling on this lawsuit any day now. If the Republicans get their way, protections for the over 100 million people in this country with preexisting conditions could be thrown out the window. Millions of families who are covered through the exchanges and Medicaid expansion could be thrown off of their healthcare, and young adults could be kicked off of their parents' plans before they turn 26. Patients could also be stuck paying tens of thousands of dollars for their care as caps on their out-of- pocket costs are eliminated, as caps on their lifetime and annual benefits come back--even for those, by the way, who are covered through their employers' plans--and as essential benefits that make sure their coverage includes things like prescription drugs and emergency care go away. For patients like Natasha, the Republicans' healthcare agenda would be a disaster. Not only would it gut Medicaid, which helped her to get the help she needed, but if the Republicans succeed in this lawsuit, insurance companies could discriminate against patients like her for having preexisting conditions, including, by the way, being pregnant, and insurance companies could choose not to cover essential health benefits like maternity care. The junk plans President Trump is already promoting leave patients facing similar problems today. In fact, as part of their application process, many of those junk plans ask patients whether they are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant. That is because these junk plans are already allowed to deny coverage, exclude benefits, or charge higher premiums for patients with preexisting conditions. The Republicans' approach to patients' healthcare--making it more expensive, harder to get, and lower quality--is clearly designed to work for big insurance companies, not for people like Natasha. Her story is one of many. In fact, it is one of tens of millions. There are so many other families across the country who are seeing their well- being being put at risk by the Republicans' harmful healthcare agenda. Yet we have seen before what can happen when people share their stories, when we lift those stories up, and when we put faces or names to the people the Republicans could hurt with their policies. When the Republicans tried to jam through their Trumpcare bill, we stopped it because people across the country fought back, and they spoke up. As President Trump and the Republicans continue using every tool they can to try and undermine families' healthcare, the Democrats are going to be here to continue to remind our colleagues on the other side of the aisle that everything we do and don't do in the Capitol has real consequences for real families, especially when it comes to issues like healthcare, which every family has to deal with. Whether it is losing coverage right as you finally have the chance to start a family or whether it is being rejected because you have a preexisting condition, we are going to continue lifting up those voices who aren't on the Senate floor, and we are going to continue making clear what the GOP's healthcare plan would actually mean to people's lives. This isn't a matter of politics for families; it is a matter of life and death, and we aren't going to let the Republicans forget it. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I have come here before to call out Senate Republicans and their unwavering support for President Trump's efforts to pack our courts with partisan and ideologically driven picks, but the nominee I am speaking against today is truly uniquely unfit to serve a lifetime appointment--a lifetime appointment--on a Federal court: Steven Menashi. Mr. Menashi has a deeply disturbing history of disparaging comments against women, communities of color, immigrants, and the LGBTQI community. He unabashedly helped to roll back protections for vulnerable communities. He defiantly refused to answer basic questions from U.S. Senators, both Democrats and Republicans, about the policies he worked on while advising the President. He has time and again put extremism and ideology ahead of the rule of law, and he has proven himself incapable of serving as a fair and impartial judge. As if his record of extremism and partisanship wasn't bad enough, we now know that Steven Menashi not only helped but was the key architect in Secretary DeVos's efforts to illegally deny relief to student borrows who were cheated by predatory for-profit colleges. These policies that Mr. Menashi provided ``legal advice'' for were subsequently ruled to be in violation of Federal law. Secretary DeVos's policy on borrower defense led to her being held in contempt of court. Whether Mr. Menashi did not understand Federal law or whether he advised the Secretary of Education to blatantly ignore it at the expense of students, the fact is that this latest revelation undoubtedly and unequivocally disqualifies him from serving a lifetime appointment on a Federal court--or, at least, it should. Tomorrow, the Senate will take a critical vote. This is a vote on whether the Senate once again rubberstamps President Trump's unprecedented effort to remake the Federal judiciary on a partisan ideological basis. It is a vote that shows whether Republicans are willing to support a judicial nominee whose actions--his own actions-- have been found to violate the law as recently as just a few weeks ago. I implore my Republican colleagues to consider not just Mr. Menashi's record of bigotry and the harm he helped cause to cheated and defrauded students, but also his blatant disregard of the rule of law. When casting their vote, I ask my colleagues not to worry about what the President might say on Twitter, but to worry about the rule of law and to worry about the idea yet another partisan nominee getting a lifetime on the Federal bench who doesn't. It is that simple. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am here to once again shine a spotlight on Senate Republicans' unwavering support for President Trump's efforts to remake the Federal judiciary and to make clear how this is going to hurt families, women, and communities in Washington State and across our Nation. I have come here before to call out Senate Republicans for rubberstamping this President's judicial nominees--many of whom have no business sitting on the Federal bench--and for gutting precedent and norms to allow this President to jam-pack our courts with his hard- right, ideological picks from Neil Gorsuch to Brett Kavanaugh and down the line. In fact, earlier this week, the majority leader pointed out how Senate Republicans have cleared the way on the floor for the Senate to take up even more Trump judges by poisoning the appropriations process and generally turning the Senate into a legislative graveyard. Led by the majority leader, Senate Republicans have ignored the standards we have held for decades when considering judicial nominees and opened the door to people who lack even the most basic qualifications to sit on the Federal bench. For starters, today the Senate is slated to take up the nomination of Lee Rudofsky for Arkansas' Eastern District. Mr. Rudofsky has a long history in Arkansas of working to deny women access to reproductive healthcare. He defended Arkansas' law that would ban abortion at 12 weeks as an ``ideal vehicle'' for the Supreme Court to ``reevaluate'' and ``overturn'' Roe v. Wade. On top of that, Mr. Rudofsky has also previously argued in favor of efforts to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. He defended a State law that could have resulted in the closure of every reproductive healthcare clinic that provides abortions in the State, and he has worked against hard-fought progress for equality for LGBTQIA people. Does that sound like a judge who is going to protect the rights of women and others and who will put aside his own partisan notions to ensure equal protection under our laws for everyone? It does not. Take Sarah Pitlyk, whom President Trump has nominated to a district court in Missouri. Missouri is reeling from this administration's repeated attacks on women's healthcare and reproductive health where there is currently only one clinic in the entire State that can perform abortions. Ms. Pitlyk has worked throughout her career to limit access to a wide array of reproductive healthcare services, not just abortions. She has expressed opposition to surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, and even the use of contraception. To be more explicit, she called birth control ``evil'' and a ``grave moral wrong''--birth control. It is the 21st century, and no matter what the extreme anti- abortion men in the White House want us to believe, birth control is healthcare, full stop. We cannot have judges on the bench who are so ideologically driven as to think women are morally wrong for using it. Even beyond her rigid ideology, Ms. Pitlyk is also woefully unfit on the merits to become a Federal judge. In fact, the American Bar Association unanimously determined that Ms. Pitlyk is ``not qualified,'' writing that Ms. Pitlyk ``has never tried a case as a lead or co-counsel'' and ``has never examined a witness.'' Does that sound like someone who will uphold the rule of law justly and apply the laws of our land fairly--someone rated as ``objectively unqualified'' and who has demonstrated no commitment to protecting individuals' fundamental rights? Again, unfortunately, the answer is no. Then there is Steven Menashi, whom President Trump has nominated to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. We know Mr. Menashi has a deeply disturbing history of disparaging comments against women, against communities of color, against immigrants, and the LGBTQIA community. As if his extreme views aren't bad enough, we know that in his role in the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Education, Mr. Menashi also worked on Secretary DeVos's cruel rollback of title IX protections for survivors of sexual assault and protections for students regardless of sex. Under his tenure, Secretary DeVos has moved us toward a dangerous system of unaccountability and secrecy where LGBTQIA students could be subject to cruel discrimination at school. Additionally, I am incredibly concerned about Mr. Menashi's confirmed role in being one of the architects of Secretary DeVos's efforts to violate the law by undermining protections for student borrowers who were cheated by predatory for-profit colleges--students whose rights are, at this moment, being undercut by people in our Federal Government, such as Mr. Menashi, who should be doing just the opposite. People deserve to trust that the women and men who serve as our Federal judges will ensure equal protection for all and apply the law fairly and without bias. I ask again: Considering Mr. Menashi's troubling record of undermining critical rights and questions surrounding his involvement in Secretary DeVos's shameful efforts to ignore the law, does he sound like someone who deserves a lifetime appointment to our Federal bench, someone who will uphold our rule of law? Confirming judges to our Federal courts is one of our most important duties as Senators. It is one that I take very seriously. I am deeply disturbed by the harm these individuals, if confirmed, may inflict upon women, on families, and some of the most vulnerable members of our communities. Let me be clear about these nominations. Nothing less is at stake than the integrity of our judicial system and the future of our democracy. We have to maintain the high bar we set for Federal judges, and these judges I have mentioned are just three examples of how far we have fallen. It is not too late. I know my Republican colleagues know what a farce this process has become and how supremely unqualified these nominees are. I know they are aware of the irreparable harm people like these will have on the credibility of our judicial system. That is why we have to stop this parade of unqualified, ideologically rigid nominees to our Federal judiciary. When it comes to our courts, nothing is more important than ensuring we are sustaining a system that people can trust--one that upholds our laws, one that seeks justice without bias or favor or agenda. I urge my colleagues to join me in rejecting Mr. Rudofsky's nomination, as well as the nominations of Ms. Pitlyk and Mr. Menashi and any nominee offered by President Trump who does not meet our high standards, and in returning to a thoughtful, rigorous, bipartisan process of selecting only the most qualified judges to a lifetime appointment on our Federal courts. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, in reserving the right to object, earlier this year, the House passed the SECURE Act--a bipartisan package--in a nearly unanimous vote of 417 to 3. This bill has overwhelming bipartisan support, and it takes many good steps toward improving retirement security for families across our country. It would help Gold Star families, small businesses, long-term and part-time workers, and more. With families in our country, nationwide, in the middle of a retirement crisis, we should take the opportunity we have right here in front of us today to offer them some relief as soon as possible. This bill, the SECURE Act, has wide bipartisan support here in the Senate, and Democrats are ready to pass it today as is. But now we have a few Republican Senators who want to sidetrack it with last-minute amendments, including proposals that are not in the interest of working families and will kill any chance this bill has of becoming law. For example, one of the amendments strips out an important provision the House made sure to include, while another one tries to jam back in a proposal that the House took out before it passed it so it could pass by an overwhelming margin. Well, let me be clear. Democrats don't think families relying on this relief should have to wait while Republicans try to chip away at it. We want to pass this bill today as it is, which is why I would like to ask the Senator from Pennsylvania to modify his unanimous consent request; that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 1994, which is at the desk, the SECURE Act, the bipartisan House bill; and that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, it is very disappointing on this side that there is an objection to this bill that addresses so many important issues. It has broad bipartisan support. Instead of working to pass this bill in front of us today, some Senators have focused on tacking on amendments that don't help families and do not make this a better bill; therefore, I object.

Mrs. MURRAY

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

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, while I am so sad to be here, I am always glad to have the opportunity to recognize Senator Kay Hagan. There are certain people who carry with them a warmth and kindness that lift up others, even in places that are not always warm or kind and even when the going gets tough. Kay was exactly that kind of person and one of the best examples I can think of. She wasn't only that--not at all. As another mom in the Senate, I saw how deeply she was dedicated to her family--her husband, Chip, and her children, Jeannette, Tilden, and Carrie. Kay was smart, witty, and fierce, and she was an unwavering champion for North Carolina families and communities. Nine years ago almost to this week, Kay came to the floor to advocate for health reform, and she did it as she always did--by putting North Carolinians first. Kay came here and she shared the story of Tim and Marilyn, a family from Mooresville, NC. They had racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt because Marilyn's preexisting condition meant her only option was a high-cost, high-deductible plan. Kay called powerfully for protections for preexisting conditions. Nearly a decade has now passed since the Affordable Care Act became law, so not everyone remembers how, in that fight, every single Senate vote mattered, and there were certainly some Senators who listened to the pundits and the naysayers at the time who wanted the bill to fail. Kay tuned out all of that and listened to people from her home State, like Tim and Marilyn, instead, and because she did, more than 4 million North Carolinians with preexisting conditions have protections in law today. They have the peace of mind Kay wanted so badly for Tim and Marilyn and every one of her constituents. Democrats are going to be talking a lot about healthcare this week, and in particular, we are taking a very important vote on upholding those protections that Kay fought so hard for. So especially throughout this week, I will be thinking about Kay. I will be thinking about the difference her love for her State has made in the lives of people across North Carolina and our country. I will be grateful, as so many others are, for her amazing friendship, her wisdom, and her willingness to stand up for what is right. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, this afternoon, I join with a number of my colleagues to put Republicans on notice that their healthcare charade is coming to an end. Tomorrow, the Senate will go on the record and make clear, once and for all, whether they stand with patients and families who are counting on them or with President Trump and big insurance companies. Tomorrow, Democrats will force the Senate to vote on our bill to reverse President Trump's rule that undermines protections for people with preexisting conditions and promotes junk health plans and higher costs for families. For too long, Republicans have been making empty promises on healthcare, while taking harmful steps that make things worse for patients and families. Time after time, Democrats have asked Republicans to work with us to actually make healthcare work better for patients and families, but, time after time, Senate Republicans have said no. In fact, there has been no greater cheerleader for President Trump's relentless attacks on families' healthcare and no greater obstacle to passing solutions to repair the damage than Senate Republicans. This isn't just a hypothetical conversation. Any day now--any day now--we could get a ruling on the partisan lawsuit brought by President Trump that would undermine healthcare for over 100 million people by ending protections for people with preexisting conditions, stripping away coverage families got through the exchanges and Medicaid expansion and letting young adults get kicked off of their parents' insurance before they turn 26. A Republican win on this could absolutely drive up costs by scrapping the caps on patients' out-of-pocket costs, while bringing back lifetime and annual caps on their benefits--even for those insured through their employer--and ending essential health benefits that require insurers to cover prescription drugs, maternity care, mental healthcare, emergency care, and more. When Senate Democrats took a stand against this dangerous lawsuit and introduced this legislation to fight for patients and protect their care, Senate Republicans ducked for cover and did not bring it to a vote, just like they have done with Senate Democrats' efforts to bring down drug prices through impactful steps like Medicare negotiation, or to restore funding to help people find the care that is right for them when open enrollment starts this week, or make coverage more affordable for working families. Democrats in the House have already made progress on some of these steps, from successfully joining the lawsuit to fight for patients to passing legislation that would restore navigator funding, reverse President Trump's harmful junk insurance rule, and more. Republicans in the Senate have blatantly failed to live up to their promise to fight for families' healthcare instead of working with us on these steps to help our families and protect patients with preexisting conditions--to do what families sent us here for. They have buried each of these solutions in their legislative graveyard so that they don't even have to admit on the record that they aren't doing anything to help protect families' care--well, not tomorrow. Tomorrow, Democrats are going to bring forward a bill to ensure protections for preexisting conditions that Leader McConnell cannot bury and Republicans can't hide from. Tomorrow, every single one of us is going to have to go on the record about where we really stand on families' healthcare and protections for preexisting conditions. Tomorrow, we will be voting on Democrats' legislation to reverse a step President Trump took to work a tool that was meant to encourage innovation into one that encourages States to eliminate protections for patients with preexisting conditions, increases costs, undermines essential health benefits, and promotes harmful junk insurance plans that can charge vulnerable patients more and cover less. Letting President Trump's rule stand could leave millions of patients with higher premiums, higher out-of-pocket costs, and no affordable options to get the healthcare they need. Our vote tomorrow to reverse this rule that takes protections away from patients and gives power back to insurance companies offers a very clear test about who Senators are actually fighting for. People across the country are going to be watching tomorrow and taking note of who is pushing for solutions to protect their care and who is blocking them, who is trying to repair the damage President Trump has caused and who is trying to cause even more harm, who is fighting for their healthcare and who is fighting against it. I hope each and every one of my Republican colleagues think long and hard about the promises they have made to their constituents and how they are going to look them in the eye after the vote tomorrow. I hope each of them finally decides to do the right thing and stand up for families' healthcare, even if it means being a Republican who stands up against President Trump. I believe issues as important as families' healthcare should come before party, and I hope we will see tomorrow that Republicans agree. Thank you. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I want to thank the Senator from Virginia for bringing forward this CRA that we will be voting on that will allow us to affirmatively from the Senate say: We want to protect people with preexisting conditions and people from these junk plans that really take away the protections that are so important and that every family counts on. So I really appreciate that from the Senator. When it comes to healthcare, families across our country have repeatedly seen President Trump and Republicans say one thing and do the exact opposite. Despite proclaiming themselves somewhere along the line as the ``party of healthcare,'' despite making empty promises to fight for families and people with preexisting conditions, the cornerstone of Republicans' healthcare policy has been to attack the care families really rely on with their massively harmful TrumpCare proposals--the junk plans that you just heard about--and waivers that chip away at patient protections, and, of course, that partisan lawsuit which the court could rule on any day. Let's make it clear. If Republicans get their way in court, they are going to throw the lives of patients across the country into chaos and uncertainty by striking down those protections for preexisting conditions by stripping away health insurance from tens of millions of people covered through Medicaid expansion or the exchanges. It will get rid of the lifetime and annual caps that are on patients' out-of-pocket costs, while bringing back caps on their benefits, even for those who are insured through their own employers--so this applies to everyone--and ending essential health benefits that require insurers to cover things like prescription drugs or maternity care, mental healthcare, emergency care, and a lot more. While Republicans have been advancing their attacks on families' healthcare, they have also been blocking commonsense solutions that Democrats are out here pushing for--like legislation to bring down drug prices through impactful steps like Medicare negotiation or making coverage more affordable for our working families and protecting patients with preexisting conditions from the Republicans' reckless lawsuit. Now, Democrats in the House have also passed legislation to restore funding that President Trump cut, to help people find the right care for themselves, to reverse President Trump's harmful junk insurance rule, and to actually defend patients from that partisan lawsuit that Republicans are pushing to upend healthcare as we know it. Now, what have Leader McConnell and Senate Republicans done with those solutions that have come over here from the House? Well, they have buried each and every one of them in a legislative graveyard, while brazenly and inaccurately claiming they care about fighting for patients or protecting preexisting conditions. I am here to say today that Republicans' transparent healthcare charade is coming to an end. Soon, as you heard, Democrats will force a vote on legislation that Senator McConnell cannot bury in their legislative graveyard, meaning every Senator here is going to have to go on the record as to where they really stand on healthcare--whether they stand with families or with President Trump and his schemes that take power away from patients and give it back to the insurance companies. Our legislation will reverse a step that President Trump took to warp a tool meant to encourage innovation into one that encourages States to eliminate protections for patients with preexisting conditions, increases costs, and promotes those harmful junk insurance plans that can charge vulnerable patients more and cover less. President Trump's junk plans can flout protections for preexisting conditions, meaning that they can discriminate against patients-- patients like Lily. She is a high school student from Gig Harbor, WA, and has cystic fibrosis; or Julie, who is a four-time cancer survivor from Mercer Island; or Javi, who is a college student in Seattle with mental health needs; and millions of other patients across the country with preexisting conditions. Letting President Trump expand the use of these junk plans will leave patients with higher premiums, higher out-of-pocket costs, and fewer affordable options to get the healthcare that they need, and President Trump's rule could even be used to cut financial help for patients who need it the most and take benefits away from the sickest patients, even if they don't buy that junk insurance. This is absolutely unacceptable and exactly why the vote Democrats are going to be forcing is so important. These patients across the country and in my State deserve to know that we have their backs, that we are fighting against President Trump's efforts to undermine their healthcare, not cheering him on and blocking efforts to stop them. Democrats are going to be out here a lot to talk about this because we know families in the country care about this a lot. We are going to be putting pressure on Republicans to do the right thing--the thing patients and families sent them here to do. If they don't, if they continue their relentless attacks on family healthcare, if Republicans continue to side with President Trump and his efforts to take protections away from patients and give that power back to the insurance companies, we are not going to give up. Democrats are not going to let up. We will double down. We are going to make sure that families know which party is offering solutions to protect their care and which one is blocking them, which party is trying to repair the damage President Trump has caused and which party is trying to cause even more harm, which party is fighting for their healthcare and which one is fighting against it. We are going to be out here day after day to keep pushing Republicans to do the right thing, to stand up for patients and families even if it means standing against President Trump. Madam President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

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