Housepassed government funding bill. Now, live Senate Coverage here on cspan2. The president pro tempore the senate will come to order. The chaplain, dr. Black, will open the senate in prayer. The chaplain let us pray. Almighty god, help us. Turn us back to the paths of integrity and faith. Be for our lawmakers a protecting rock of safety, rescuing them from the powers of evil. Help them to fix their hearts on you, trusting your guidance and wisdom. May love for you be reflected in the ordering of their priorities, as they seek to give you first place in every important decision. Lord, make them servants of your purpose, as they seek to increase the treasures of your kingdom. Satisfy the deepest longings of their hearts. And, lord, in these toxic times, bless america. We pray in your loving name. Amen. The president pro tempore 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. Mr. Grassley madam president. The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley Small Businesses are a very important part of the u. S. Economy. So we want to recognize this week marking the 57th anniversary of what we Call NationalSmall Business week. Proper recognition for a big part of the economy. According to the most uptodate government statistics, iowa had i better start over again 270,484 Small Businesses, and 651,635 employees. They account for 99. 3 of businesses and 48. 1 of the private workforce. Small businesses create jobs and export products around the world. Small businesses are the backbones of our communities, and i know that this pandemic has really hit Small Business very, very hard. I honor these hardworking iowa entrepreneurs, and, of course, their employees in celebrating the week of september 20 as National Small business week. I yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Mr. Mcconnell madam president. The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell ive spoken recently in recent months about the tragic killing of Breonna Taylor in my hometown of louisville, the need for justice and the healing work needed ahead for our community. Daniel camron conducted the kind of thorough, impartial investigation that justice demands. Yesterday that chapter concluded and the grand jury conducted the handoff to criminal prosecution. I have full confidence in the attorney generals painstaking pursuit of facts and justice. Many kentuckians have channeled their continuing grief and anger into peaceful exercise of their First Amendment rights. But in louisville last night we saw more of the lawlessness, riots and violence that has plagued American Cities too often this year. Citizens businesses were vandalized, fires were set in the streets and two officers of the Police Department were shot and wounded while protecting Public Safety downtown. As of last night one officer was undergoing surgery but both were in stable condition. Were praying both will make full recoveries and one suspect is in custody. Peaceful protests honor the memory of Breonna Taylor, peaceful protests move us towards justice. Smashing windows does not. Setting fires does not. Rioting in the streets does not. And trying to gun down Law Enforcement officers who are bravely serving their community is the kind of cowardice that must be met with the law. I want to thank the Kentucky Police officers who continue to put their lives on the line every day. I hope and expect our governor will take the necessary step of justice, peace, law, and order that every kentuckian deserves. Now, on an entirely different matter, President Trump stated that he will announce his nominee to the Supreme Court the day after tomorrow. We do not know yet which legal all star from his list he will nominate. But strangely enough, we already do know exactly what the far left will start shouting the instant the instant she or he is introduced. Isnt that a little curious when you stop to think about it . A confirmation process is ostensibly about the qualifications and credentials of the nominee. Why is it that practically any citizen could sit down at the Kitchen Table right now days days before the nomination and write down in advance the list of ludicrous nominations that it is because year after year, decade after decade, the farlefts playbook stays exactly the same. To them a nominee makes no difference. Every time in 45 years 45 years, madam president , that a republican president has nominated someone to the Supreme Court, the exact same set of clenched Horror Stories are wheeled out of storage, dusted off and paraded past the American People. In 1975, president gerald ford put forward a nominee the left blasted for his, quote, consistent opposition to womens rights and, quote, an extraordinary lack of sense sensitivity to the problems that women face. Who was this farright ideology who was going to turn back the clock . It was the late Justice John Paul stevens who went on to lead the courts liberal wing for decades. In 1987, it was time for an encore performance, a nominee from president reagan was absolutely savaged by liberal groups. One person said he was a sexist and disaster for women. That, madam president , would be anthony kennedy. Once again the sky did not fall. In fact, when Justice Kennedy retired in 2008, the new head of the exact same liberal organization stated they were saddened and alarmed by his retirement. The exact same liberal outfit said the sky was falling in the 1980s because Justice Kennedy had been nominated and that the sky was falling in 2018 because he was retiring. In 1990, they got the band back together yet again. This time the sky was falling for sure. President bush had picked someone whose record was, quote, very troubling, whose jurisprudence would surely, quote, threaten to undo the advances made by women, minorities, dissenters, and other disadvantaged groups. This confirmation would mean, quote, ending freedom for women in this country. Talk about wearing out the volume knob. Oh, that was future Justice David souter, by the way. One slogan simply said listen to this stop souter or women will die. Stop souter or women will die. He, too, would go on to become a favorite justice of many of the very same groups, but it has still never occurred to them that their crystal balls checked. The same unhinged attacks pour out every time, the same absurd scare tactics every single time. These people are the farleft version of that broadcaster who spent 20 years predicting different dates for the end of the world, raising money, and just inventing a new date every time he was wrong. Justice scalia was unfit. Justice thomas hated the rule of law. Justice alito was hostile to the rights of women. Its all one big scam directed at the American People. In 2005, one leftwing outfit cut a Television Ad that tried to link our nowchief justice of the United States with a violent bombing of an abortion clinic. Just how despicable can you get . Before this disgusting ad was pulled off the air, it said a future Justice John Roberts would, quote, excuse violence against other americans. Chief justice roberts. Every similar time, madam president , no matter how upstanding, no matter how qualified, no matter their views, no matter their record, every nominee gets the same insane treatment so long as the president who nominated them is not a democrat. So long as the president who nominated them is not a democrat. Oh, but when democrats nominate people, none of this happens. When we confirmed Justice Ginsburg and breyer, i dont recall any angry mobs stalking senators. When we confirmed justice sotomayor, i dont recall weeks of character assassination. When we confirmed justice kagan, i dont recall Mainstream Media declaring it the death of democracy. For half a century, we have seen this double standard. When a democratic president makes a nomination, its a nonevent by comparison. The coastal Political Class and their friends in the media allow our National Life to go on like normal. But whenever, whenever a republican dares to nominate someone, the same people declare it a state of emergency. So sadly, we already know what the reaction we will see on saturday. Fill in the blank opposition. Remember, in 2017, we saw literal fill in the blank opposition. Demonstrators wanted to assemble outside the court before they even knew who President Trump would name, so they literally brought stacks of signs that says oppose blank, and they brought markers so they could scribble in the name during the president s remarks before the tv cameras cut to them. In 2018, moments after the president announced nowjustice kavanaugh, one leftwing Group Published a typically absurd statement declaring trumps announcement today is a death sentence, a death sentence, and, quote, white patriot patriarchal supremacists now have free reign. But the actual nominee was so relevant to their scam, they literally forget to fill in the blank. They forget to fill in the blank. The very first line of their press release condemned, quote, Donald Trumps nomination of xx to the Supreme Court. So, madam president , its safe to say the American People could start writing their bingo cards right now. We already know every outlandish claim and unhinged attack were going to hear. In fact, former Vice President biden has already cut to the front of the line. Just yesterday, he offered the following assessment prior to learning who he was assessing. Quote, womens rights as it relates to everything from medical health care is going to be gone. This is the Vice President former Vice President biden yesterday. Good luck deciphering what he is trying to say. It sounds like more of the same old junk. Perhaps the nation will soon watch this man in his late 70s condescend to explain Womens Health care to one of the brilliant women who President Trump indicates he is considering. Fortunately, the farleft scam artists do not get a vote. The special interest groups, fundraising appeals do not get a vote. The fate of this nomination will be determined by the United States senators whom the American People elected to do this job. A fair hearing, a fair process, and a fair vote on the actual nominee. Forget about filling in the blanks. Now, madam president , for the information of my colleagues, the vote on the confirmation of the young nomination will occur at 11 30 a. M. Today. The presiding officer the clerk will report the unfinished business. The clerk nomination, the judiciary, roderick c. Young of virginia to be United States district judge for the Eastern District of virginia. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Schumer madam president . The presiding officer the democratic leader. Mr. Schumer i ask unanimous consent that the quorumming dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer madam president , our adversaries sow disinformation in our society and seek to influence our elections. Vladimir putin will stop at nothing to diminish western democracies. A resurgence in china wants to take americas place on our world stage. But the gravest threat to our democracy right now does not come from any foreign capital. It comes from our own. The greatest threat to democracy in america is president donald trump. Yesterday in a News Conference, President Trump refused to commit to the peaceful transfer of power should he lose the election in 41 days. Let me repeat. Yesterday in a News ConferencePresident Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the election in 41 days. Quote, well have to see what happens. Ive been complaining about the ballots and ballots are a disaster. Pressed further, get rid of the ballots. There wont be a transfer. There will be a continuation. Get rid of the ballots, there wont be a transfer there will be a continuation. Get rid of the ballots. Thats what he is saying. Now, everyone from School Children to the most senior among us know that the peaceful transfer of power is one of democracys core attributes. There is no democracy without it. And like the rule of law, the separation of powers, checks and balances, everything we have learned about our system of government that is great and noble, President Trump has sullied, diminished and now he plans to dismantle. The greatest threat to american democracy right now is donald trump. The president issued similar threats in the runup to the 2016 election, and hes doing it again now. If i win, he said if i win, he proposed, the election is legitimate. Argues the president. But if i lose, its rigged. Thats what hes saying now. Again, if i win, the elections legitimate, but if i lose, its rigged. Oh, and by the way, i may just stay in office and not count the ballots. Unbelievable. The gravest threat to american democracy right now is President Trump. And save for that few, the republican majority here in the senate practically brush its by it by. They dont know the full context. Oh, the president says crazy things. Maybe he was joking, they say. And they are willing to continue ramming a Supreme Court justice through who the president said was needed, quote, before the election because the election will be before the United StatesSupreme Court. Where are our republican colleagues . This is not a partisan issue. Democracy is at stake and every constituent from every corner of the land, regardless of party or ideology, should be asking their republican senators to speak out and demand that donald trump not be allowed to do what he says hes going to do and say they will join all of america in standing in the way if he tries. The most innocent interpretation of the president s comments is hes just trying to get people not to vote. Mailin voting is rigged. Im going to stay anyway, he cries. 12 more years they chant at his rallies. All to erode american faith in the election and discourage americans from voting. It doesnt matter how false, it doesnt matter how undemocratic, it doesnt matter how corrosive it is to our democracy. The president doesnt care. Its his own ego and nothing else. The president says it if he thinks it will help him win. That is the most innocent interpretation. If you take the president at his word, he wans to throw out ballots, reverse the Peaceful Exchange of power and pick the Supreme Court so it can rule in his favor if the election is contested. Thats him in his word. According to a new article in the atlantic magazine, some republicans are actually considering a scheme to overwill the voters. Under in nefarious scheme, it the president loses state, according to republicans, they would ignore the result, they would ignore what the voters asked for and send others to washington, deliberately provoking a constitutional crisis. Every american should read this article. And i ask unanimous consent that it be placed in the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Schumer if you read the facts if you read these facts and a about belarus or hungary, you might not bat an eye, but this is america. And here in america, the peaceful transfer of power is our lifeblood. The rule of law is the very foundation of our society. These currents run deep in our veins and are far stronger than the flimsy authoritarianism of President Trump. President trump, you are not a dictator and america will not permit you to be one. We will not permit you to be one. This november well have an election. The votes will be counted. If may take a little longer than usual because so many people will vote by mail because of covid, but the votes will be counted. And there are numerous lawsuits making sure it happens and those lawsuits are succeeding. And the results of the election must be accepted. The peaceful transfer of power must follow otherwise we lose our democracy. At this peril perilous moment every republican in this chamber should stand up and say that a president who isnt entirely sure if hell commit to a peaceful transfer of power isnt a president at all. Stand up and say hes wrong and that you dont want to live in a country where hes right. Pledge to uphold t