{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-op-ed-judge-amy-coney-barrett-deserves-a-fair-hearing", "Young Op-Ed: Judge Amy Coney Barrett Deserves a Fair Hearing", "2020-10-11", "2020", "2020-10", "Republican", "House", "IN", "Todd Young", "Y000064", "www.young.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "October 11, 2020\n\t\t\t Young Op-Ed: Judge Amy Coney Barrett Deserves a Fair Hearing \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tINDIANAPOLIS, Ind. Today, in anop-edfor theIndy Star, U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) wrote about the upcoming confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett.\r\n\r\nThe Senate Judiciary Committee begins its Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett this week. My hope is that they will be informative and productive, not unlike those thatledto Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's bipartisan confirmation in 1993.Judge Barrett deserves no less,Senator Young writes.As a fellow Hoosier, I have had the privilege of getting to know Judge Barrett and her family over the last several years. She is an incredibly sharp legal mind, a woman of great integrity, and a dedicated mother of seven. Anyone who fairly evaluates her superb qualifications and temperamentwill agree thatJudgeAmy ConeyBarrett is the right person for the job.\r\n\r\nRead thefullop-edHEREand below.\r\n\r\nIndy Star: Todd Young: Judge Amy Coney Barrett deserves a fair hearing\r\nBy U.S. Senator Todd Young\r\nOctober 11, 2020\r\nhttps://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/2020/10/11/todd-young-judge-amy-coney-barrett-deserves-fair-hearing/5926182002/\r\n\r\nThe Senate Judiciary Committee begins its Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett this week. My hope is that they will be informative and productive, not unlike those thatledto Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's bipartisan confirmation in 1993.\r\n\r\nJudge Barrett deserves no less.\r\n\r\nAs a fellow Hoosier, I have had the privilege of getting to know Judge Barrett and her family over the last several years. She is an incredibly sharp legal mind, a woman of great integrity, and a dedicated mother of seven. Anyone who fairly evaluates her superb qualifications and temperamentwill agree thatJudgeAmy ConeyBarrett is the right person for the job.\r\n\r\nShe held prestigious clerkships for Judge Laurence Silberman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court.\r\n\r\nShe is a respected educator, having taught for nearly two decades at Notre DameLaw School, where she was named Distinguished Professor of the Year three times.\r\n\r\nIn 2017, she was nominated to fill a vacancy on the U.S.Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and I was proud to vote for her confirmation.\r\n\r\nI was not alone in my esteem for Judge Barrett. Duringthatconfirmation process, studentsand colleagues  former and current  came forward with words of support and praise by the score.\r\n\r\nThere was no credible criticism of Judge Barrett based on her legal qualifications then, and I do not anticipate any now. She will be guided by the law and precedents, and she will be faithful to the Constitution.\r\n\r\nAs Judge Barrett herself has said: A judge is obligated to apply the law as it is and not as she wishes it would be. She is obliged to follow the law even when her personal preferences cut the other way or when she will experience great public criticism for doing so.\r\n\r\nIt is important for Americans to understand Judge Barrett's qualifications for the Supreme Court and her fidelity to the Constitution. But they should also know a bit about her life away from the bench.\r\n\r\nWhen I met her, it was quite obvious that Judge Barrett was less interested in cataloguing her professional accomplishments and more inclined to discuss her family and the accomplishments of her children,whomshe clearly lovesvery much.\r\n\r\nJudge Barrett and her husband, Jesse, have been married for over 20 years now. Their family is a large one and a loving one: They are parents to seven children. Their youngest son has special needs, and they have twice adopted, both times from Haiti.\r\n\r\nThis is why it is absurd to see her described as anti-health care.\r\n\r\nAs the head of a large household, Judge Barrett knows full well, and better than most of her detractors, how important medical coverage is to every American's health.This includes coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, which Republicans have consistently committed to protect while working to make health care more affordable and more accessible.\r\n\r\nBut we must remember, Judge Barrett has not been nominated to the Supreme Court to make policy. President Donald Trump selected her not only because of her sharp mind, and impressive qualifications, butalsobecause she won't legislate from the bench.\r\n\r\nIf past is prologue, though, there will be some who focus not on Judge Barrett's judicial philosophy,but rather her religious beliefs. This will be done not out of any deep conviction, butratherout of desperation.\r\n\r\nThey will argue that it is impossible to live a life of faith and uphold the law. They may create a caricature of Judge Barrett that has no relation to reality, and one that reflects their own intolerance, not hers.\r\n\r\nIt is regrettable that in 2020 we must still repeat this refrain: We do not have a religious test for public service in the United States of America.\r\n\r\nYes, Judge Barrett is a faithful Catholic. So too are five current Supreme Court justices. So too are millions of Americans. To argue that this prohibits her from sitting on the Supreme Court is nothing short of religious bigotry.\r\n\r\nWe must not let this intolerance hold the day during this week's hearings. The American people are tired of the personal attacks levied against past nominees and would rather the Senate focus on the professional qualifications and judicial temperament of Judge Barrett.\r\n\r\nThe Senate is constitutionally obligated to provide our advice and our consent to the president on his judicial nominees. We should fulfill that responsibility by holding hearings that are informative rather than destructive.\r\n\r\nIf the Senate does this, and we objectively consider Judge Barrett's qualifications, I have no doubt she will be confirmed and subsequently serve with great honor and distinction. Both the high court and our country will be better for it.\r\n\r\nTodd Young is a Republican U.S. senator from Indiana", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-op-ed-judge-amy-coney-barrett-deserves-a-fair-hearing"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1640782468020916, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}