Jerrold Nadler

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. Madam Speaker, H.R. 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, would restore access to justice for survivors of sexual assault or sexual harassment who are forced to settle their disputes against their harassers and abusers in a private system of arbitration that is often stacked against them. Arbitration was originally developed as an alternative to the court system for parties of relatively equal bargaining power to enter into voluntarily. In recent decades, however, forced arbitration clauses have become ubiquitous in our lives, largely in the form of take-it-or- leave-it contracts between very large companies and individual consumers. As a result, these clauses have rendered our court system, in which plaintiffs have far stronger protections, inaccessible to far too many. Nowhere is that trend more apparent or problematic than in the workplace. It is projected that, by 2024, 80 percent of private-sector workers will be forced to sign an arbitration clause when accepting employment. And consider that, over the past 5 years, employers prevailed over their employees in 98 percent of these arbitration cases. But these numbers cannot capture the true human toll of forced arbitration. Last November, the Judiciary Committee heard powerful testimony from four survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment about their harrowing experiences and the deep wounds they continue to carry with them to this day. It was a hearing none of us will forget, and we appreciate these brave women coming forward and sharing their stories. Each of these women was subject to horrific treatment by a person with power over their lives. Then, when they sought to hold their assailants accountable in court, they were forced to relive the trauma of their harassment and assault to find that their only recourse was a secretive arbitration process that was stacked against them. Forced arbitration clauses, buried deep in the fine print of the paperwork required as a condition of employment, have bound workers to a system in which they are nearly guaranteed to fail, foreclosed the possibility of ever having their day in court, and in almost every case taken away their right even to discuss their experience. The company gets to pick the judge and the jury, truncate the discovery process, choose the law applied, and prevent all appeals. When the company wins, it can request that the victim pay its attorney's fees, and it can ensure that misconduct never sees the light of day. H.R. 4445 removes these barriers to justice for survivors of sexual assault or sexual harassment by giving them a real choice of whether to go to court or to arbitrate their claim. In doing so, this legislation ends this unjust and, frankly, repulsive system in which American companies are better off retaliating against victims of sexual assault than taking responsibility and holding perpetrators responsible for their horrific actions. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter to Members of Congress dated February 4, 2022, and a letter to House leadership dated February 7, 2022, both from organizations in support of H.R. 4445. February 4, 2022. Re Pass the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (HR. 4445). Dear Members of Congress: On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write in support of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (H.R. 4445), a bill that would provide important new opportunities for individuals who experience sexual harassment and assault to seek justice without being forced into closed-door and secretive forced arbitration proceedings, where the deck is too often stacked against them. Today, individuals are routinely forced to sign an arbitration clause to resolve disputes as a condition of obtaining a job or purchasing a good or service, often through language buried in fine print. Many individuals who sign such documents have no idea they have waived the ability to enforce their rights in court. Arbitrators are often chosen and paid by companies. There is no public record of the proceedings or the outcome, and rarely an opportunity to appeal the arbitrator's decision. Many who come forward with reports of sexual harassment or sexual assault, cannot afford legal counsel. The arbitration clause may force them to bear some of the significant costs of the arbitration. The resolution of their disputes may fail to make them whole for the harm they have suffered. The lack of public accountability enabled by forced arbitration has played a harmful role in allowing sexual harassment and assault to persist in the shadows. In the four years since #MeToo went viral, thousands of individuals, disproportionately women, have come forward to share their experiences--many several years after the fact--and to demand justice. When women and all those who have experienced assault and harassment share their stories, it gives others the courage to come forward as well. But when women who report such conduct are forced into arbitration, that secretive process with no public accountability further silences survivors, and employers and companies can continue to employ and protect serial sexual harassers. The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act is an important step towards restoring power to survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment by ensuring they will not be forced into arbitration. It is admittedly a partial solution, as no individual should be forced to waive their ability to fully enforce their rights to be free from other forms of unlawful harassment, discrimination, and exploitation, whether as workers, as consumers, as patients, or as students. We are therefore hopeful that as a complement to this bill, Congress will quickly take up and pass the FAIR Act (H.R. 963) and Restoring Justice for Workers Act (H.R. 4841), which would ensure that companies can no longer circumvent the legal system by forcing individuals into arbitration. But the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act represents an important partial restoration of individuals' rights to seek accountability and justice. Accordingly, we urge you to support this legislation. If you have any questions, please contact Emily Martin (emartin@nwlc.org) at the National Women's Law Center. Sincerely, National Women's Law Center, National Employment Law Project, National Employment Lawyers Association.

Mr. NADLER. I thank my colleagues, Representatives Bustos, Griffith, Jayapal, and Buck, for their leadership on this issue. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Bustos), the sponsor of this bill.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a distinguished member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), a distinguished member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon), another distinguished member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Garcia), another distinguished member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Ross), another distinguished member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, removes barriers to justice for survivors of sexual assault or sexual harassment by giving them a real choice of whether to go to court or to arbitrate their claim after the dispute has arisen. Mr. Jordan is right. Many such victims, if given the choice, will choose to go to court. Why shouldn't they? In arbitration, they lose 98 percent of the cases. The employer wins 98 percent of the cases in arbitration. Why? Well, for one thing, the employer picks the arbitrator, and the arbitrator is paid. So, naturally, the arbitrator wants to rule in such a way that he or she is likely to get hired again. But 98 percent of the cases brought by women who have been sexually harassed who are in forced arbitration are lost by them. That is why this bill is necessary. If we want to give women who have been sexually harassed a fair chance at justice, we must pass this bill. If we want to give women who have been sexually harassed a fair chance at winning against their employer who did the sexual harassment or allowed the sexual harassment, we must pass this bill. That is why this critical measure is supported by a broad coalition of public interest organizations, including the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the National Partnership for Women and Families, RAINN, and many others. Not one single group that deals with sexual violence opposes this bill. Only employer organizations oppose this bill because it stacks the deck in their favor. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues, Representatives Bustos, Griffith, Jayapal, and Buck, for their leadership on this issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier).

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, in closing, I thank Mr. Buck for offering this helpful amendment. I thank Ms. Speier, and I thank all the people who have been so helpful on this bill. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I rise to thank Joe Graupensperger for his many years of service to the Committee on the Judiciary. Joe came to the Committee after working at the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he handled a range of issues related to federal criminal law. He had previously practiced law in Washington, DC, and got his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. Joe was already a veteran of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice when he came to the Hill in 2009. Our Chairman at the time, John Conyers, Jr., brought him onto the team to handle crime policy for the Committee. Chairman Conyers's faith in Joe was well placed. Joe is, today, the Chief Counsel of our Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security--and in his span of service, Joe has drafted dozens of laws, run hundreds of hearings, and, without question, helped to improve the lives of millions of Americans. Joe's track record speaks for itself. He has played a role in every major criminal justice reform effort that has been signed into law in the past dozen years, including the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, as well as laws to improve the National Instant Background Check System, address the rape kit backlog, reform surveillance practices, and establish rights for survivors of sexual assault. In fact, last Congress alone, under Joe's leadership, the Crime Subcommittee advanced more than a dozen bills that were ultimately signed into law--despite a divided Congress and a Republican President. He has ensured that several other measures were signed into law this Congress as well. This is Joe's last month as Chief Counsel for our Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Although we congratulate him on his engagement and wish him well on his move to Texas, we will miss his leadership, his friendship, and his steadfast dedication to justice for all. Simply put, our country is better off because of Joe's work as a public servant. I thank Joe for his service to the Committee, and wish him the best of luck with this exciting next chapter.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute and to honor the life and legacy of Marilyn Bergman, who passed away on January 8, 2022. Marilyn was an accomplished songwriter and a longtime President of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). I offer my most sincere condolences to her family and friends on her loss. A native New Yorker, Marilyn broke barriers as one of a relatively few women in the then-male-dominated songwriting business in her early career and as the first woman to serve as President of ASCAP, a position she held for a decade and a half. Over the course of her long and impressive career, Marilyn wrote the lyrics for many iconic songs as part of a songwriting duo with her husband Alan, including the Academy-Award winning ``The Way We Were'' and ``The Windmills of Your Mind,'' as well as songs for the film Yentl and the theme songs to a number of popular television shows. During the course of her illustrious career, she was nominated for sixteen Academy Awards, winning three times, as well as earning four Emmy Awards and two Grammy Awards. Among her many accolades, in 1980 she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In addition to her work as a lyricist, Marilyn was a tireless advocate to protect the rights of songwriters. In 1985, she became the first woman elected to the Board of Directors of ASCAP. She later served as President and Chairman of the Board and presided over unprecedented growth in the organization. Through her leadership of ASCAP, she was a strong partner to Congress, and particularly to the Judiciary Committee, in its work to support the music industry and to protect the rights of creators. Among her accomplishments, she worked to help pass the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a landmark piece of legislation governing copyright and the internet. This is but one example of her diligent efforts to ensure that songwriters and music creators can sustain a living through their creativity notwithstanding the dramatic changes in technology that occurred during her leadership in the industry. Marilyn is survived by her husband, Alan, her daughter, Julie, and her granddaughter, Emily. Marilyn will be remembered by many Americans for her artistic talents, as her lyrics graced our lives in so many ways. She will also be remembered by many songwriters for her strong advocacy on their behalf. May her memory be a blessing.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank Melissa Connolly for over eight years of service to the constituents of New York's 10th Congressional District. Melissa's career in the House began in 2009 as a Legislative Assistant to former Representative Jerry Costello following her graduation from Duke University's School of Public Policy and the University of Pennsylvania. After working with former Representative Shelley Berkley, Melissa joined my office in 2013, rising from Legislative Assistant to become my Legislative Director. As Legislative Director, Melissa has been a trusted and valued advisor who helped set and manage my policy agenda. She also played a significant leadership role in my Washington DC office, serving as a mentor and a resource for junior staff, and I appreciate and have relied on her skill and experience in managing our team. Melissa also helped staff me in my role as Dean of the New York Delegation, which included coordinating meetings with the New York Delegation and other elected officials from the City and State. Throughout her tenure in my office, Melissa established herself as an expert on issues relating to women and families and as a critical resource for other staff on Capitol Hill working on those issues. She worked tirelessly with the Education and Labor Committee, women's and labor rights organizations, and businesses to help pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act on the House floor with a strong bipartisan vote. Her countless hours of work building support for this legislation should pave the way for it to become law soon and to improve the lives of millions of Americans. Melissa also worked closely with my Judiciary Committee staff on several important initiatives, including legislation extending the deadline to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which passed the House twice. She also helped lead the Judiciary Committee's work to protect women's fundamental right to abortion, springing into action after Texas enacted its abortion ban to help plan a hearing to spotlight the devastating impact of the law. She approaches the topic of reproductive freedom and health with the knowledge, passion, and energy that makes her an extremely effective policymaker. In addition to these issues, Melissa has managed a broad portfolio over the course of her 13 years on the Hill. She worked to help pass and ensure effective implementation of the Affordable Care Act and helped fend off numerous Republican attacks designed to repeal it. She has worked diligently with stakeholders to build support for the Living Donor Protection Act, which would protect living organ donors from high insurance premiums and remove barriers to organ donation. She has also long led my office's effort to increase funding for both Section 8 housing and Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS in the annual appropriations bills. Her efforts to build support for these programs has translated into millions of dollars of additional funding for people in dire need of support. They may never know her name, but she has, nevertheless, improved countless lives through her efforts. Twenty years later, my office continues to work on issues stemming from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Melissa was essential to our efforts to extend and expand the 9/11 health and victim compensation programs that have distributed more than $9 billion to the families of first responders and survivors of these attacks. The health care program has helped care for tens of thousands of Americans with 9/ 11 related health conditions and Melissa helped organize the most recent Judiciary Committee hearings on the programs that led to their long-term extension. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Melissa not only smoothly managed her legislative team's transition to a remote work environment, but she also worked tirelessly to advocate for the needs of New Yorkers and keep my constituents informed of our efforts. She effectively advocated for specific legislative provisions to assist New York's hospitals, mass transit, small businesses, arts institutions and museums, and tenants, and she worked doggedly to see that these provisions were included in the comprehensive bills that were passed to address the pandemic and economic collapse that followed. She also planned and implemented our COVID-19 communication strategy with our communications and community liaison staff, including drafting issue- specific, weekly e-newsletters, setting up web pages explaining the CARES Act and Heroes Act benefits, and creating toolkits for constituents seeking assistance. I would be remiss if I did not mention Melissa's husband, Mike Connolly, and her children, Maisie and Robert. Both of her children were born during her tenure in the office, and for me and the rest of our team it has been a pleasure watching them grow up, hearing their stories, and occasionally receiving their artwork, many of which are displayed throughout the D.C. office. Finally, Melissa has a great attitude, a good sense of humor, and is a joy to work with. She has sound judgment, excellent people skills, and a deep understanding of how Congress works. My staff and I are lucky to have worked with her for all these years, and we will surely miss her as she moves on to new endeavors in the private sector.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the one hundredth anniversary of SAJ: Judaism that Stands for All. Originally named the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, the synagogue's founding in 1922 was a historic moment in the growth of Judaism in America. One hundred years later it remains a cornerstone of Jewish life in New York City. SAJ was founded by Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of the 20th Century. Rabbi Kaplan developed an understanding of Judaism as an evolving civilization, later becoming known as Reconstructionist Judaism. For decades, SAJ served as Kaplan's experimentation field. There, Americans Jews could take pride in drawing from their Jewishness to support their Americanness, and their Americanness to support their Jewishness. SAJ joined the rapidly growing synagogue community on New York's Upper West Side, a neighborhood rich with Jewish life. SAJ has long stood for social justice, equality, and progress. It is a place where all are welcome, including LGBTQ+ and interfaith families. In 1922, it hosted the first bat mitzvah in the United States. Today, it is led by all-female clergy and staff. Rabbi Alan Miller, who served as rabbi of SAJ from 1961 to 1992, introduced to the sermon the idea of ``the open microphone,'' where congregants can share their reactions as part of a dialogue. Originated at SAJ, the open microphone is now utilized by rabbis across Jewish denominations. Today, we celebrate SAJ's commitment to advancing justice in the Upper West Side, in New York City, and in the world beyond. We celebrate its one hundred years of bold, intellectual curiosity and one hundred years of enriching Jewish life.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Protecting Our Democracy Act. Transparency and accountability are the bedrock of our democratic system. They are the essential guardrails that protect against unchecked executive power. Unfortunately, the Trump administration exposed certain vulnerabilities in the fabric of our democracy by engaging in conduct that was once unthinkable, and like the reforms enacted post-Watergate, we must now act to prevent similar abuses from a future President. Although many of these provisions were informed by our experience with the prior administration, they are pointedly not anti-Trump measures. Rather, they are forward looking, and they protect against the abuses by future Presidents of any party. Importantly, many of them are also based on proposals that have bipartisan support. I am especially proud of the provisions in this bill that fall within the Judiciary Committee's jurisdiction. These include requiring an expedited, streamlined process for enforcing Congressional subpoenas in court. This would prevent an administration from stonewalling Congressional oversight and then evading accountability for years while the courts resolve the issue. To address abuses of the clemency power, the bill requires additional transparency, and it reaffirms that abuses of the clemency power can form the basis of a bribery scheme and that self-pardons are prohibited. It pauses the statute of limitations on Federal offenses during a President and Vice President's term in office to ensure that they can be held accountable for criminal conduct just like any other American. And it addresses improper communications between the White House and the Department of Justice, an all too common occurrence under the last administration. Madam Speaker, when the Nation's Founders wrote the Constitution, after having just fought a war against a tyrant, they stood fast to a key principle, that the executive must not be a king and must instead be accountable to Congress, to the people, and ultimately, to the rule of law. It is vital that we reassert this important principle. The Protecting Our Democracy Act would restore these and other checks and balances that are so fundamental to our democracy. I urge all Members to support this vital legislation.

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this en bloc amendment, and particularly to the Burgess amendment. The Burgess amendment would strike one of the most important provisions in the bill, one that ensures that a sitting President or Vice President can be held accountable for their actions, just like every other American. This provision is necessary in order to close a dangerous loophole in the law created by DOJ policy, most recently embodied in the legal opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel, which holds that a President cannot be criminally prosecuted during his or her term in office. Under current law, throughout the entire period that a President is presumed by some to be immune from prosecution, the statute of limitations continues to run on any offenses he or she may have committed. Since most Federal criminal offenses carry a 5-year statute of limitations, a President who is not prosecuted while in office for a crime he or she may have committed could end up evading justice altogether if the statute of limitations runs out before their term is over, particularly if they are elected to a second term. Allowing complete immunity from criminal prosecution merely because of the office a person holds would make a mockery of the rule of law. It is a maxim of our system of justice that no man is immune from the law, that no man can be a judge in his own case. Statutes of limitations are an important element of criminal law. As a general matter, they provide a necessary balance between protecting defendants from delay and allowing prosecutors adequate time to investigate and charge cases. But the law has also long recognized that certain limited exceptions to this general rule are necessary. The case of a sitting President, whose prosecution is barred under Justice Department policy, fits comfortably among such exceptions. It is necessary, therefore, to simply pause the statute of limitations to ensure that the Presidency is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. We must not strike this essential provision, because every person, no matter his or her title or office, must be held accountable under our laws. I urge strong opposition to this amendment. Mr. Speaker, I want to mention one other thing. We have heard our friends across the aisle talk about Donald Trump, and they say that former President Trump did nothing wrong. Democrats, by and large, say he did a lot of things wrong. But that is irrelevant to this debate. This bill has nothing to do with President Trump any more than the post-Watergate reforms had to do with Richard Nixon. Richard Nixon's conduct taught us certain lessons, and Donald Trump's conduct taught us certain lessons. The legislation before us is the result of those lessons.

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, those lessons are for us to use to protect the future. That is what this legislation is about, to protect the future from a President, of any party, who may violate the law, who may aggrandize power. That is what this is about: the future, not the past. So when I hear our Republican friends talk about Donald Trump and talk about how he wasn't convicted, et cetera, it is irrelevant. We are talking about the future, not the past. For the future, it is necessary to pass this bill, and for the future, it is necessary to defeat this en bloc amendment.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5982.

Mr. NADLER

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5705.