Procedural vote scheduled for 5 30 p. M. Eastern time. Live Senate Coverage here on cspan2. Ck will lead the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Eternal god who has given us the gift of life, consecrate with your presence the way our lawmakers work today. Since they dont know what a day will bring, help them to strive to serve you in faithfulness each moment. In all things draw their minds to the goal of seeking to please you. As they draw near to you, illuminate their paths with your wisdom and grace. Show them how to unselfishly serve your great purposes for humanity, proving themselves worthy of your manifold blessings. And, lord, as millions mourn Supreme CourtJustice Ruth Bader ginsburgs death, send the solace of your comfort. We pray in your unifying name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington d. C. , monday, september 21, 2020. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable josh hawley, a senator from the state of missouri to perform the duties of the chair. Signed chuck grassley, president pro tempore. The presiding officer under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell our nation is mourning the end of an exceptional American Life. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg meant so much to our country. First and foremost, she was a brilliant generational legal mind who climbed past one obstacle after another to submit the very is summit the very pinnacle of her profession. Justice ginsburg was a fixture on our nations highest court for more than a quarter of a century. She was not just a lawyer. No, not just a lawyer but a leader. For majority opinions to impassioned dissents, her lifes work will not only continue to shape jurisprudence but also enlighten scholars and students for generations. By all accounts Justice Ginsburg loved her work because she loved the law. In a more ordinary life story, her courage and continued excellence in the face of multiple serious illnesses would itself be the heroic climax rather than just one more remarkable chapter among so many. On the Court Justice ginsburg was a universe yale admired colleague. Its no wonder Many Americans have taken particular comfort these past days in remembering her famous friendship with her ideological opposite, the late Justice Scalia. Together they made sure the halls of justice also rang with laughter and comedy. They rarely sat on the same side of a high profile decision but still sat together at the opera and most any other time they could manage to be together. So the legal world is mounting the legal world is mourning a giant but Justice Ginsburgs fellow justices, a legion of loyal law clerks and countless many others are mourning a close friend or mentor. The senate sends condolences to them all. Yet Justice Ginsburgs impact on American Life went deeper still. Fridays loss feels personal to millions of americans who may have never made her acquaintan acquaintance. Justice ginsburg with a spirited, powerful, and historic champion for american women to a degree that transcends any legal or philosophical disagreement. As she climbed from the middle class Brooklyn Jewish roots of which she was so proud into the most rarefied era of law and government, the future justice had to surmount one sexist obstacle after another. And Justice Ginsburg not only climbed a mountain, she blazed a trail. Through deeds, through words, and simply through her example, she helped clear away the cobwebs of prejudice. She opened one professional door after another and made certain they stayed open behind her. Directly or indirectly, she helped entire generations of talented women build their lives as they saw fit and enrich our society through professional work. Law and politics aside, no friend of equality could fail to appreciate justice r. B. G. s Justice Ginsburgs determination. Finally, she was also in important ways a uniter. In recent years, many who considered themselves her admirers and might wish to claim the justice for their political side have come to embrace reckless proposals to politicize the very structure of the court itself. But Justice Ginsburg remained unswerving in her public commitment to preserving the neutral foundation of the institution she loved. The entire senate is united in thinking of and praying for Justice Ginsburgs family, most especially her daughter jane, her son james, her grandchildren, stepgrandchildren, great granddaughter, and everyone who called her their own. Mr. President , i ask consent that the following remarks appear at a different place in the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell President Trumps nominee for this vacancy will receive a vote on the floor of the senate. Now, already, some of the same individuals who tried every conceivable dirty trick to obstruct Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh are lining up, lining up to proclaim the third time will be the charm. The American People are about to witness an astonishing parade of misrepresentations about the past, misstatements about the present, and more threats against our institutions from the same people, the same people who have already been saying for months, well before this, already been saying for months they want to pack the court. Two years ago, a radical movement tried to use unproven accusations to ruin a mans life because they could not win a vote fair and square. Now they appear to be readying an even more appalling sequel. This time, the target will not just be the presumption of innocence for one american, but our very governing institutions themselves. There will be times in the days ahead to discuss the naked threats that leading democrats have long been directing at the United States senate and the Supreme Court itself. These threats have grown louder, but they predate this vacancy by many months. There will be time to discuss why senators who appear on the steps of the Supreme Court and personally threaten associate justices if they do not rule a certain way are ill equipped to give lectures on civics. But today lets dispense with a few of the factual misrepresentations right at the outset. Were already hearing incorrect claims that there is not sufficient time to examine and confirm a nominee. We can debunk this myth in about 30 seconds. As of today, there are 43 days until november 3 and 104 days until the end of this congress. The late iconic Justice John Paul stevens was confirmed by the senate 19 days after this body formally received his nominations. 19 days from start to finish. Justice sandra day oconnor, another iconic jurist, was confirmed 33 days after her nomination. For the late Justice Ginsburg herself, it was just 42 days. Justice stevens entire confirmation process could have been played out twice, twice between now and november 3 with time to spare. And Justice Ginsburg herself could have been confirmed twice between now and the end of the year with time to spare. The senate has more than sufficient time to process a nomination. History and precedent make that perfectly clear. Others want to claim the situation is exactly analogous to Justice Scalias passing in 2016, and so we should not proceed until january. This is also completely false. Heres what i said on the senate floor the very first session the day after Justice Scalia passed. Quote, the senate has not filled a vacancy arising in an Election Year when there was a divided government since 1888, almost 130 years ago. Heres what i said the next day when i spoke to the press for the first time on the subject. You have to go back to 1888 when Grover Cleveland was president to find the last time a vacancy created in a president ial Election Year was approved by a senate of a Different Party. As of then, only six prior times in American History had a Supreme Court vacancy arisen in a president ial Election Year, and the president sent a nomination that year to the senate of the opposite party. The majority of those times, the outcome was exactly what happened in 2016, no confirmation. The historically normal outcome when you have divided government. President obama was asking Senate Republicans for an unusual favor that had last been granted nearly 130 years before them, but voters had explicitly elected our majority to check and balance the end of his presidency. So we stuck with the basic norms. Oh, and by the way, in so doing, our majority did precisely what democrats have indicated they would do themselves. In 1992, democrats control the senate opposite president bush 41. Thensenator joe biden chaired the Judiciary Committee. Unprompted, unprompted, he publicly declared that his committee might refuse to cooperate if a vacancy arose and the republican president tried to fill it. In 2007, democrats control the senate opposite president bush 43. And with more than a year and a half left, a year and a half left, in president bush 43s term, the current democratic leader declared that, quote, except in extraordinary circumstances, end quote, the opposite party senate should boycott any further confirmations to the Supreme Court. Thats the current democratic leader a year and a half before the end of the bush administration. So in 2016, Senate Republicans did not only maintain the historical norm, we also ran the bidenschumer playbook. When voters have not chosen divided government, when the American People have elected a Senate Majority to work closely with the sitting president , the historical record is even more overwhelmingly in favor of confirmation. Eight times in our nations history new vacancies have arisen and president s have made nominations all during the Election Year. Seven of the eight were confirmed, and the sole exception justice abe fortiss was a situation including personal corruption that extended into financial dealings. Apart from that one strange exception, no senate has failed to confirm a nominee in the circumstances that face us right now. Aside from that one strange exception, no senate has failed to confirm a nominee in the circumstances that face us right now. The historical precedent is overwhelming, and it runs in one direction. If our democratic colleagues want to claim they are outraged, they can only be trailed outraged at the plain facts of American History. There was clear precedent behind the predictable outcome that came out of 2016, and there is even more overwhelming precedent behind the fact that this senate will vote on this nomination this year. The American People reelected our majority in 2016. They strengthened it further in 2018 because we pledged to work with President Trump on the most Critical Issues facing our country. The federal judiciary was right at the top of the list. Ironically, it was the democratic leader who went out of his way to declare the midterm 2018 elections a referendum on the senates handling of the Supreme Court. My friend, the occupant of the chair, was running that year. The democratic leader went out of his way to declare the 2018 midterms a referendum on the senates handling of the Supreme Court. In his final speech before Justice Kavanaugh was confirmed, he yelled, literally yelled over and over at the American People to go vote. He told americans go elect senators based on how they would approach their advice and consent duties over these weeks. Unfortunately for him, Many Americans did just that. After watching the democrat tactics, voters grew our majority and retired four, four of our former colleagues who had gone along with their partys behavior. We gained two seats, they lost four. That was the issue. Perhaps more than any other single issue, the American People strengthened this Senate Majority to keep confirming this president s impressive judicial nominees who respect our constitution and understand the proper role of a judge. In 2014, the voters elected our majority because we pledged to check and balance a second lame duck president. Two years later, we kept our word. In 2018, the voters grew that majority on our pledge to continue working with President Trump most especially on his outstanding judicial appointments. Were going to keep our word once again. Were going to vote on this nomination on this floor. Now, mr. President , i understand there is a bill at the desk due a second reading. The presiding officer the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. The clerk s. 4618 a bill making emergency supplemental propgz for appropriations for diser relief for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2020, and for other purposes. Mr. Mcconnell in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to further proceedings. The presiding officer objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Schumer mr. President. The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer now, mr. President , in the jewish tradition, only a person of great righteousness dies at the end of the year near robbery had a near Rosh Hashanah because god determined they were needed until the very end. Friday evening, shortly after the sundown on the eve of the jewish new year, we learned that Supreme CourtJustice Ruth Bader ginsburg, a woman of great righteousness, a woman of valor, passed away. She was many things to many people a brilliant mind, a quick, which a lover of the opera, as friend, a colleague, a workout guru, a feminist icon. She might be the only Supreme Court justice to become a meme. What began as a joke, the notorious r. B. G. , liking a legendary rapper to a jurist, struck a deep chord in American Society because Ruth Bader Ginsburg was in fact a rebellious force to be reckoned with. In a maledominated legal establishment that wasnt waiting for someone like ruth to shake up the system, she elbowed her way through. Her brains, her strength, her fortitude changed the world for women long before the rest of the world caught up. Over the course of two decades as an academic and general counsel for the aclu, ruth worked to challenge the foundations of a legal system that had long treated women as a group that needed to be protected and, thus, excluded from full participation in american not only did thee reverse those laws and convince the majority of the Supreme Court that the constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, she was a living, breathing example of how absurd an idea it ever was that women needed additional protections. When she got to the court, she ruled in a manner that brought the same equality and justice to so many different people from all walks of life. The daughter of russian immigrants who came to this country, like my own grandparents, ruth went to the same high school as i did in brooklyn, new york, james made James Madison high school. I followed her assent to the bench with that special pride you feel watching someone from nare neighborhood make a great difference in the world. After her long life and illustrious career, men and women across america looked at Ruth Bader Ginsburg with the same sense of pride and hope and sometimes adoration gives me great hope. May she forever rest in peace. Now, Justice Ginsburgs death leaves a vacancy on the Supreme Court w only 44 days left before a national election, should could result in a different president , a vacancy that could determine the future of the Supreme Court for generations and make rulings that touch every aspect of