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[Page S1508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Nomination of Neomi Rao
Mr. President, one other brief comment, as some colleagues will be
coming to the floor in a bit, and I want to join them in speaking about
the DC Circuit Court nominee Neomi Rao. I stand with them in opposing
this nomination.
In the era of #MeToo, when women are sharing their stories about
assault and abuse, we don't need a judge who has written that women who
drink are to blame if they are then sexually assaulted.
We do not need a judge who blocked a critical equal pay measure
intended to help close the wage gap.
So I join with colleagues in encouraging, at the appropriate time, a
``no'' vote on this nomination.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that both Senator
Menendez and I be permitted to speak for up to 5 minutes each prior to
the roll call vote on the Desmond nomination.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am delighted to join the Senator from
Michigan today, to add to her comments about the replacement for now-
Justice Kavanaugh after he was confirmed to the Supreme Court last
year, and I want to remind my colleagues about the people who spoke up
during Justice Kavanaugh's nomination and the critical issues that they
spoke about.
Women stood up. They rallied. They marched. They made clear they do
not want to go back to the days before the Roe v. Wade decision
affirmed their right to make their own healthcare decisions.
Incredibly brave survivors, such as Dr. Ford and so many others, said
they wanted to be heard and believed, not silenced.
Families across the country said they wanted a Justice who would
interpret the law fairly and objectively, without partisanship--someone
whose priority is the Constitution and people across the country, not
President Trump and his extreme agenda.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, it is clear that President Trump
and Republicans in Congress aren't listening to women or survivors or
families, because the next nominee for the DC Circuit Court fails on
each and every count I just listed.
As we speak, Neomi Rao is enacting the Trump agenda in her role as
the head of the Agency that reviews and approves the Trump
administration's changes to regulations impacting so many people in
communities who stood up to oppose Justice Kavanaugh's nomination.
Under Ms. Rao's leadership, the Trump administration finalized a rule
that prevents healthcare providers from even informing patients who
come to title X-funded health centers about where to go to get safe--
safe--legal abortions and places new, burdensome, medically unnecessary
requirements on title X-funded health centers, designed specifically to
prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving these funds, meaning millions
of patients may lose a source of quality, affordable, basic healthcare
they trust.
Ms. Rao has helped put forward rules that would make it harder for
members of the LGBTQ community and women to get the care they need by
allowing providers to turn them away simply because of who they are or
because they want birth control.
I also want to take a few minutes to address Ms. Rao's deeply
concerning comments about rape and sexual assault. While in college,
she wrote that ``a good way to avoid a potential date rape is to stay
reasonably sober.''
Let's be clear. It is never a survivor's fault, ever, that someone
raped or sexually assaulted them.
Ms. Rao was given an opportunity to explicitly reject those comments
and failed to do so. She then sent a letter attempting to walk them
back, but her actions speak louder than a letter sent during a
nomination process, and her actions on this issue have been harmful.
In her role within the Trump administration, Ms. Rao has helped
Secretary DeVos to roll back protections that help survivors get
justice when they are sexually assaulted on campuses. In other words,
at the same time that Ms. Rao claims her views have changed on sexual
assault and consent, her actions are aligned with those who believe
what she wrote in college. To the survivors I hear from and those who
bravely spoke out against Justice Kavanaugh and so many others, Ms.
Rao's actions are what matters.
Ms. Rao is also listening to corporate lobbyists instead of
scientists when it comes to climate and our public health and is
advancing rules that would allow more discrimination in our Nation's
housing programs. Unfortunately, it seems that on many issues, where
President Trump wants to do damage and hurt families, Ms. Rao is right
behind him with a rubberstamp, just like Justice Kavanaugh and so many
others President Trump has nominated to the bench.
We need judges who will do what workers and families expect of a
judge--to interpret our laws according to the Constitution and what is
best for our country, not according to politics and what is best for
President Trump. That is why I am strongly opposing her nomination, and
I hope all of our colleagues will join us in doing so.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
