S1422 — SENATE February 25, 2019 and Gynecologists, and the American Thom Tillis, Roger F. Wicker, Lindsey The bill clerk read as follows: Graham, Ben Sasse, Roy Blunt, John Public Health Association state that MOTION the bill ‘‘. . . injects politicians into Thune, John Boozman, John Barrasso, Joni Ernst, James E. Risch. We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- the patient-provider relationship, dis- ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the regarding providers’ training and clin- The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby ical judgement and undermining their imous consent, the mandatory move to bring to a close debate on the nomi- ability to determine the best course of calls have been waived. nation of Eric D. Miller, of , to be action with their patients.’’ The Amer- The question is, Is it the sense of the United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth ican Civil Liberties Union states that Senate that debate on the motion to Circuit. the bill ‘‘. . . shows a callous disregard proceed to S. 311, a bill to amend title Mitch McConnell, David Perdue, Mike 18, , to prohibit a Crapo, Johnny Isakson, John Cornyn, for patients in need of compassionate, Pat Roberts, James M. Inhofe, Thom evidence-based care when they face dif- health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in Tillis, Roger F. Wicker, Lindsey Gra- ficult decisions.’’ ham, Roy Blunt, John Thune, John The majority of Americans want the case of a child who survives an Boozman, John Barrasso, James E. more access to reproductive abortion or attempted abortion, shall Risch, Richard Burr, John Hoeven. be brought to a close? healthcare, not less. More than 7 in 10 The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unan- The yeas and nays are mandatory Americans do not want women to lose imous consent, the mandatory quorum access to safe, legal abortion. In 1991, a under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. call has been waived. majority of voters in the State of The question is, Is it the sense of the Washington passed the Washington The legislative clerk called the roll. Mr. THUNE. The following Senators Senate that debate on the nomination Abortion Rights Initiative, declaring are necessarily absent: the Senator of Eric D. Miller, of Washington, to be that a woman has a right to an abor- from North Dakota (Mr. CRAMER), the United States Circuit Judge for the tion. Senator from Alaska (Ms. MURKOWSKI), Ninth Circuit, shall be brought to a S. 311 is another misguided attempt and the Senator from South Carolina close? to reduce women and families’ access (Mr. SCOTT). The yeas and nays are mandatory to reproductive healthcare. I strongly The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there under the rule. oppose S. 311 and urge my colleagues to any other Senators in the Chamber de- The clerk will call the roll. vote no. siring to vote? The bill clerk called the roll. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 53, ator from Nebraska. Mr. THUNE. The following Senators nays 44, as follows: Mr. SASSE. Mr. President, I ask are necessarily absent: the Senator to speak for less [Rollcall Vote No. 27 Leg.] from North Dakota (Mr. CRAMER) and than 1 minute. YEAS—53 the Senator from Alaska (Ms. MUR- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there Alexander Fischer Paul KOWSKI). objection? Barrasso Gardner Perdue Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Blackburn Graham Portman Senator from Vermont (Mr. SANDERS) Without objection, it is so ordered. Blunt Grassley Risch is necessarily absent. Mr. SASSE. Mr. President, over the Boozman Hawley Roberts course of this afternoon, we have heard Braun Hoeven Romney The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. SUL- a whole bunch of things about what is Burr Hyde-Smith Rounds LIVAN). Are there any other Senators in Capito Inhofe Rubio supposedly in this bill. I know that a Casey Isakson the Chamber desiring to vote? Sasse Cassidy Johnson The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 51, lot of people who are opposed to this Scott (FL) Collins Jones bill, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Shelby nays 46, as follows: Cornyn Kennedy Protection Act, sincerely believe the Cotton Lankford Sullivan [Rollcall Vote No. 28 Leg.] Thune talking points that they read from Crapo Lee YEAS—51 their staffs, but, humbly, we have Cruz Manchin Tillis Toomey Alexander Fischer Perdue heard speech after speech after speech Daines McConnell Enzi McSally Wicker Barrasso Gardner Portman about things that have absolutely Ernst Moran Young Blackburn Graham Risch nothing to do with what is actually in Blunt Grassley Roberts NAYS—44 Boozman Hawley Romney this bill. Baldwin Hassan Sanders Braun Hoeven Rounds So as you get ready to cast this vote, Burr Hyde-Smith Rubio Bennet Heinrich Schatz Capito Inhofe Sasse I urge my colleagues to picture a baby Blumenthal Hirono Schumer Cassidy Isakson Scott (FL) who has already been born, who is out- Booker Kaine Shaheen Brown King Collins Johnson Scott (SC) side the womb, and who is gasping for Sinema Cornyn Kennedy Shelby Cantwell Klobuchar Smith air. That is the only thing that today’s Cardin Leahy Cotton Lankford Sullivan Stabenow Crapo Lee Thune vote is actually about. We are talking Carper Markey Tester Coons Menendez Cruz McConnell Tillis about babies who have already been Udall Cortez Masto Merkley Daines McSally Toomey born. Nothing in this bill touches abor- Van Hollen Duckworth Murphy Enzi Moran Wicker Warner tion access. Durbin Murray Ernst Paul Young Warren Thank you. Feinstein Peters NAYS—46 Gillibrand Reed Whitehouse CLOTURE MOTION Harris Rosen Wyden Baldwin Hassan Rosen The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant Bennet Heinrich Schatz to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the NOT VOTING—3 Blumenthal Hirono Schumer Senate the pending cloture motion, Cramer Murkowski Scott (SC) Booker Jones Shaheen Brown Kaine Sinema which the clerk will state. The PRESIDING OFFICER. As a re- Cantwell King Smith The legislative clerk read as follows: minder, expressions of approval or dis- Cardin Klobuchar Stabenow Carper Leahy CLOTURE MOTION approval are not in order. Tester Casey Manchin Udall We, the undersigned Senators, in accord- On this vote, the yeas are 53, the Coons Markey Van Hollen ance with the provisions of rule XXII of the nays are 44. Cortez Masto Menendez Warner Standing Rules of the Senate, do hereby Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- Duckworth Merkley Durbin Murphy Warren move to bring to a close debate on the mo- sen and sworn not having voted in the Whitehouse tion to proceed to Calendar No. 17, S. 311, a Feinstein Murray affirmative, the motion is rejected. Gillibrand Peters Wyden bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to Harris Reed prohibit a health care practitioner from fail- f ing to exercise the proper degree of care in CLOTURE MOTION NOT VOTING—3 the case of a child who survives an abortion Cramer Murkowski Sanders or attempted abortion. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant Mitch McConnell, David Perdue, Mike to rule XXII, the Chair lays before the The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this Crapo, Pat Roberts, John Cornyn, Senate the pending cloture motion, vote, the yeas are 51, the nays are 46. Johnny Isakson, James M. Inhofe, which the clerk will state. The motion is agreed to.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:42 Feb 26, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A25FE6.006 S25FEPT1 February 25, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1423 EXECUTIVE CALENDAR were to choose to let medical stand- NOMINATION OF ERIC D. MILLER The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ards, not politics, drive the care you Mr. President, in the very near fu- clerk will report the nomination. offer to your patients. ture, my Senate colleagues will be For families who struggle with the asked to take an unprecedented vote— The senior assistant legislative clerk painful reality that the children they a vote that never should have been read the nomination of Eric D. Miller, had hoped for could not survive, as is scheduled here in the first place. of Washington, to be United States Cir- tragically the case in many of the Republican leaders are demanding cuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit. cases we are discussing, this legislation that we move ahead and vote on Presi- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- would take precedence over families’ dent Trump’s nominee to serve on the ator from Washington. wishes as they grieve. Ninth Circuit Court despite the fact Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask This bill is government interference that I and my colleague Senator CANT- unanimous consent to speak as in in women’s healthcare, in families’ WELL have not returned our blue slips . lives, and in medicine on steroids. As I on behalf of our constituents in Wash- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without said, it is anti-doctor, anti-woman, and ington State and despite the fact that objection, it is so ordered. anti-family. It has no place in becom- the hearing for the nominee was a total S. 311 ing law. Its proponents claim it would sham. This is wrong, and it is a dan- Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am make something illegal that is already gerous road for the Senate to go down. on the floor to talk about a vote that illegal. So why are we debating this Not only did Republicans schedule this simply should not have taken place legislation that would take women nominee’s confirmation hearing during this evening. It was a vote on yet an- backward when there are so many ways a recess period when just two Sen- other attack from our Republican col- we should be advancing medicine, im- ators—both Republicans—were able to leagues on women’s health and their proving women’s healthcare, and sup- attend, but the hearing included less right to access safe, legal abortions— porting families? As far as I can tell, it than 5 minutes of questioning—less this time in the form of an anti-doctor, is because this bill is about something questioning for a lifetime appointment anti-woman, anti-family piece of legis- that Republicans care about more than than most students face for a book re- lation that medical experts strongly almost any other priority; that, unfor- port in school. oppose. Republicans have spread a lot tunately, is the rolling back of wom- Confirming this Ninth Circuit Court of misinformation about this bill, so en’s constitutionally protected rights nominee without the consent or true let’s be clear what it is not about and and trying to take us back in time be- input of both home State Senators and what it is actually about. fore the Roe v. Wade decision. after a sham hearing would be a dan- This bill is not about protecting in- Since day No. 1 of the Trump-Pence gerous first for this Senate. fants, as Republicans have claimed, be- administration, this party has pulled This is not a partisan issue. This is a cause that is not up for debate, and it every possible stop to appeal to its ex- question of the Senate’s ability and is already the law. This bill is also not treme anti-abortion base. Just last commitment to properly review nomi- at all about ensuring that appropriate week, the Trump-Pence administration nees. Yet, here we are on the Senate medical care is delivered, because it put forward a rule that would prevent floor, barreling toward a vote to con- would make it harder for healthcare healthcare providers at clinics that are firm a flawed nominee, who came to us providers to provide high-quality med- funded through the title X family plan- following a flawed nomination proc- ical care that their patients need and ning program from so much as inform- ess—all because a handful of my Re- deserve. ing patients about where to get an publican colleagues will apparently The leading nonpartisan organization abortion even if that patient directly stop at nothing to jam President of OB/GYNs in our country has said asks them for advice. This rule means Trump’s extreme conservatives onto trusted medical providers across the this bill should never become law. It our courts, even if that means tram- country may not be able to serve calls it ‘‘gross legislative interference pling all over precedent, all over proc- women and men who rely on them for into the practice of medicine’’ and ess, or any semblance of our institu- contraception, cancer screenings, and ‘‘part of a larger attempt to deny tional norms. more—all because Republicans are de- Maybe Republican leaders are hoping women access to safe, legal, evidence- termined to make abortion impossible most Americans aren’t paying atten- based abortion care.’’ In fact, 17 top in the United States. That is just one tion to what is happening right now in health and medical organizations wrote of many examples. the Senate—that somehow tossing out to Congress to insist that Democrats To recap, this bill is completely un- Senate norms in order to move our and Republicans vote this bill down. necessary. It is harmful to women and country’s courts to the far right will go Since this bill is not about infants or families, and it would criminalize doc- unnoticed. appropriate medical care, I am sure tors. It is intended to do nothing ex- Well, I am standing here right now to many people are wondering what ex- cept to help Republicans advance their make sure everyone knows because I, actly it is about. What would this bill goal of denying women their constitu- for one, fear the short- and long-term really mean for women and families tionally protected rights. I am against consequences of letting any President and healthcare providers? it in the strongest terms. Everybody steamroll the Senate on something as If you are a woman, this bill would who cares about women, families, and critical as our judicial nominees—the mean, if you were one of the very, very doctors and about upholding the Con- very men and women who are tasked few women who needed an abortion stitution should be too, so I am glad with interpreting our Nation’s laws and late in your pregnancy, you could be the Senate voted tonight to stop this making sure they serve justice for all legally required to accept inappro- anti-doctor, anti-woman, anti-family Americans. priate, medically unnecessary care— bill from going a single step further. I fear the consequences of aban- care that may directly conflict with The next time Republicans want to doning the blue-slip process and, in- your wishes at a deeply personal, often have a conversation about protecting stead, bending to the will of a Presi- incredibly painful moment in your infants and children, I am happy to dent who has demonstrated time and life—because politicians in Washington talk about the babies and children who again his ignorance and disdain for the decided their beliefs mattered more have been separated from their parents Constitution and the rule of law. than yours. at the border or about improving ac- At a time when we have a President If you are a medical provider, this cess to early childhood education or whose policies keep testing the limits bill would supersede your years of med- about making sure coverage for mater- of law—from a ban on Muslims enter- ical training and your oath to deliver nal healthcare and preexisting condi- ing the United States to a family sepa- the best possible medical treatment to tions is not taken away. These are ration policy at our southern border— your patients. It would apply a one- problems that do exist and that do it is very important, more than ever, size-fits-all set of requirements that need to be solved, and we are just as that we have well-qualified, consensus does not reflect the reality that every ready and willing to work on those as judges on the bench. pregnancy is different, and it would we are to stand up and say ‘‘absolutely Let’s be very clear. Trump cannot subject you to criminal penalties if you not’’ to this harmful bill. steamroll the Senate by himself. But in

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