{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=CFAF6949-A364-41E4-8B85-F7BEF2029713", "Senator Murray Opposes Barrett Nomination, Highlights Washingtonians Stories: This Supreme Court Fight Isnt About PoliticsIts About The Lives Of Hundreds Of Millions Of People", "2020-10-26", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "WA", "Patty Murray", "M001111", "www.murray.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "On the Senate floor, Senator Murray highlights stories from Washingtonians about how their health care and rights would be jeopardized if Judge Barrett is confirmed\r\nMurray: I am sharing their stories on the Senate floor so that Republicans have no choice but to hear them. And when we vote, Republicans will have no excuse to pretend they don't know exactly what is at stake.\r\nMurray called out Republicans for downplaying the threat of their health care lawsuit while rushing to confirm another anti-health care Justice\r\nMurray: For Republican Senators to stand here and tell families not to worry is kind of like the captain of the Titanic passing out umbrellas, and telling passengers that's all they need. With one key difference: Republicans have been clear from the start that hitting the iceberg isn't an accident, it's the plan.\r\nMurray: Know the consequences of this vote will be felt long after this President is gone from officeregardless of the outcome of this election. People across the country will not forget. And neither will your Democratic colleagues.\r\n***WATCH SENATOR MURRAY'S FLOOR SPEECH HERE***\r\nWashington, D.C.Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), spoke on the Senate floor opposing the nomination of far-right Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.\r\nIn her remarks, Senator Murray highlighted the stories of Washingtonians who have shared what is at stake for them if Republicans carry out their brazenly hypocritical and rushed scheme to stack the Supreme Court with another hard-right jurist hand-picked by President Trump, who will help overturn affordable health care, eliminate protections for pre-existing conditions, criminalize abortions, and undermine other vital rights. \r\nFrom Senator Murray's remarks:\r\nIf you don't believe me, ask Mays, from SeaTac, Washington, who lives with sleep apnea, asthma, pre-diabetes, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and hypothyroidism. If Republicans succeed in their lawsuit, she would lose her Medicaid expansion coverage and access to care, meaning her conditions could deteriorate, increasing her risk of diabetes, of a coma, or of dying in her sleep.  If you don't believe Maysthen, ask Rhiannon, from Arlington, Washington, who has type 1 diabetes and could get kicked off her parents' insurance plan if Republicans win at the Supreme Court. As she wrote to me: Right now the ACA is the only hope I have of living past 26.'  If you don't believe Rhiannon, ask Madeline, who has a medical condition which makes pregnancy fatal. For Madeline, affordable health coveragecoverage that includes access to birth controlis absolutely essential. As is the right to an abortion...\r\nAnd if Republicans don't believe my constituents, I invite them to ask their own. I encourage them to listen. Because I guarantee people across the country know what Republicans have been saying, know exactly what Republicans are voting for, and are speaking up about it.\r\n Senator Murray went on to warn Senate Republicans that people across the country, and Democrats in the Senate, will not forget the rushed, partisan, and callous effort to jam this nomination through just days before an election.\r\nAnd to those who choose to put this President, and the profoundly lost Republican Party, above anything else, to those Republicans who are capping these brutal last four years off with such a staggering show of fealty, partisanship, and callousness: Know the consequences of this vote will be felt long after this President is gone from officeregardless of the outcome of this election. People across the country will not forget. And neither will your Democratic colleagues, said Senator Murray.\r\nSince the passing of Justice Ginsburg, Senator Murray has been vocal that Senate Republicans should let Washingtonians and all Americans make their voices heard in the upcoming election and allow the next President to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. She has spoken out repeatedly against President Trump's far-right nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett and has launched a Share your Story campaign to gather and lift up Washingtonians' stories about living with a pre-existing condition, how the Affordable Care Act impacted them, and the importance of protecting the right to safe, legal abortion.\r\nFull text of Senator Murray's remarks below and video of Senator Murray's remarks HERE.\r\nThank you M. President.\r\nJustice Ginsburg was the first Supreme Court Justice I ever voted for, and a North Star for me and so many others whose futures were irrefutably made possible in part by her life and work.\r\nI pledged I would do everything in my power to honor her last wishthat the next President fill her vacancynot just because Justice Ginsburg was a legal giant who can never be replaced, but because I understandlike she didthat making such a momentous decision, so close to an election, could exacerbate our republic's challenges and spin our democracy into chaos.\r\nThat's why I've been fighting so hard to push my colleagues to stop this charade, and to just wait a few weeks.\r\nWe should not be voting on this lifetime appointment while the American people themselves are in the middle of votingof telling us how they want this country's future to look.\r\nAnd this is all made even worse by the fact that in the middle of a pandemic, instead of working with Democrats to pass serious relief communities are calling out for, Republicans are refusing to do anything but jam this anti-health care judge on to the Supreme Court.\r\nOver the last three years, I have seen Republicans rubberstamp hard-right judicial nominees like it's all they came here to do. But watching them ignore the clear wishes of the American people, explicitly reject attempts to help families and communities get through this pandemic, and press on with this grotesque power grabis a new low for this body, for our country, and for the people we serve.\r\nAs I've made clear, I will be voting against Judge Barrett's confirmation. Just like I voted against her confirmation to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, against Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, and against so many other Trump-nominated judges whowhether they admit it or notare part of a Republican strategy to roll back our hard-won progress.\r\nJudge Barrett clearly fits the same mold as the more than 200 partisan judges Senate Republicans have fast-tracked onto the federal benchwho are anti-health care and anti-abortion, but pro-big business and pro-wealthy special interests.\r\nAnd this was all reinforced during the sham nomination process as Senate Republicans and Judge Barrett tried to downplay their own litmus tests.\r\nJudge Barrett was asked to affirm the constitutionality of the law that protects health care for hundreds of millions of Americansshe refused.\r\nShe was asked to affirm the long-standing ruling of Roe w. Wade as a super-precedent.' Not surprisinglygiven her record includes a statement calling Roe barbaric'she refused.\r\nShe was asked to affirm the constitutionality of the ruling that allowed same-sex marriages, and opened up a new chapter of equality for LGBTQIA+ couplesshe refused.\r\nShe was asked to affirm that climate change is causing air and water pollutionyet even on this matter of scientific fact, Judge Barrett refused to answer.\r\nAnd that was apparently exactly what Senate Republicans hoped she would do.\r\nThe lack of transparency from Judge Barrett and Senate Republicans is concerning. Not because we don't know where they standwe do. But because they are so comfortable obfuscating cold facts about Judge Barrett's record and judicial philosophyas well as their own previous statementsas if they're not real.\r\nFor example, in 2016 they were adamant that when the Supreme Court loses a justice in an election year, the people's voices should be heard before the vacancy is filled.\r\nFor eight months, they refused to hold a hearing on President Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland.\r\nBut now, even as the American people are voting, Republicans are trying to ignore their voices.  Well M. President, not on my watch.\r\nI recently asked people in Washington state to share their personal stories about what's at stake for their families.\r\nThe response has been overwhelming, and the stories have been alarming. I've heard from people whose stories show how different life was before and after Roe v. Wade, and how much would be lost if reproductive rights are rolled back.\r\nI've heard from people who fear their right to marry, adopt a child, and start a family could be lost.\r\nAnd I've heard from people who are worried they will die if Republicans get their way at the Supreme Court, and take away the health care and protections they rely on.\r\nRepublicans may want to pretend the stakes are not this high. But they don't have to take my word for it they can listen to their own constituents, and look at their own records.\r\nFor Republican Senators to stand here and tell families not to worry is kind of like the captain of the Titanic passing out umbrellas, and telling passengers that's all they need.\r\nWith one key difference: Republicans have been clear from the start that hitting the iceberg isn't an accident, it's the plan.\r\nDespite the fact that climate change is an existential threatsomething the vast majority of the public understandsRepublicans continue to cower to a President and special interests who insist it's a hoax.\r\nDespite the hard-fought progress for LGBTQIA+ rights, they've stood by as this President undermines them at every turn.\r\nDespite the fundamental importance of the right to vote, they've blocked our efforts to restore and secure these rights, and protect our democracy.\r\nAnd despite what they would have you believe, Republicans have tried time and time again to end protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and upend health care in this country.\r\nIf the failed Trumpcare vote from a few years ago is too painful or too distant a memory for Republicans to revisitthey are, at this very moment, championing a lawsuit that would do all the harm of that bill and then some.\r\nAnd who will hear that lawsuit?\r\nThe deciding vote could be a Justice picked by a President who vowed he would only choose nominees who will rule against protections for pre-existing conditions. Who thinks that would be a big win.' Who said just last week, he hopes that happens.\r\nIt's no mystery why President Trump nominated, and Republicans are rushing to confirm, a judge with a record of hostility to the Affordable Care Act.\r\nAnd it's no secret that a victory for them would be a disaster for families across the country.\r\nIf you don't believe me, ask Mays, from SeaTac, Washington, who lives with sleep apnea, asthma, pre-diabetes, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and hypothyroidism.\r\nIf Republicans succeed in their lawsuit, she would lose her Medicaid expansion coverage and access to care, meaning her conditions could deteriorate, increasing her risk of diabetes, of a coma, or of dying in her sleep.\r\nIf you don't believe Maysthen, ask Rhiannon, from Arlington, Washington, who has type 1 diabetes and could get kicked off her parents' insurance plan if Republicans win at the Supreme Court.\r\nAs she wrote to me: Right now the ACA is the only hope I have of living past 26.'\r\nIf you don't believe Rhiannon, ask Madeline, who has a medical condition which makes pregnancy fatal. For Madeline, affordable health coveragecoverage that includes access to birth controlis absolutely essential. As is the right to an abortion.\r\nIf Republicans get their way, insurance companies would no longer have to cover birth controleven though a pregnancy for Madeline would be life-threatening\r\nAnd things get even worse for her if Republicans overturn Roe v. Wade.\r\nLast year, when Madeline learned thatdespite being diligent about her birth controlshe was pregnant, she knew what she had to do. She got an abortion. It was safe. It was legal. It was totally her decision. And it was lifesaving.\r\nBut if Judge Barrett were Justice Barrett, if the right to abortion were a thing of the past, Madeline's pregnancy could have been a death sentence.\r\nAs she puts it, This isn't a right vs. left issue for a lot of us, it's life or deathand knowing [that] is at stake is terrifying.'\r\nMadeline isn't the only person who is terrified.\r\nIf Republicans win their lawsuit, over 130 million people with pre-existing conditions, like Madeline, could be charged more for health insurance, have benefits excluded, or be denied coverage entirely.\r\nOver 20 million people, like Mays and Rhiannon, could lose coverage from Medicaid expansion, the exchanges, or their parents' plans.\r\nInsurance companies could exclude essential health benefits countless other patients rely on, like prescription drugs, maternity care, therapy, wheelchairs, and more.\r\nHalf the country could be charged more for health insurance just because they are women.\r\nSeniors could face thousands more in health care costs with the return of the age tax, and the Medicare donut hole.\r\nPeople with disabilities' lives could be upended if they lose access to home and community based services that help them live independent lives, or if insurance providers can discriminate on the basis of disability by denying coverage or charging more.\r\nAnd people with expensive health care needsa cancer diagnosis, a medically-complicated pregnancy, a fight with COVID-19could be left with an enormous bill, since insurance companieswon't have to cap patients' out-of-pocket costs, but will be able to place annual and lifetime limits on their benefits.\r\nAnd we can't forget that communities of colorwho already face worse outcomes due to systemic racism in our health care systemwould be hit hardest by so much of the damage of Republicans' health care lawsuit.\r\nAnd health care isn't all that's at stake for familiesfar from it.\r\nFundamental rights, protections, and opportunities for workers are on the line.\r\nThe fate of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekersfamilies and DREAMers who came to our nation in search of a better life and brighter futureare on the line.\r\nAnd hard fought victories for the LGBTQIA+ community are on the line.\r\nMatthew, in my home state of Washington, and his husband were able to marry, able to adopt, and fortunate to be able to form a loving family.\r\nBut that might not be possible for LGBTQIA+ couples like them in the future, if the highest court in the land turns back the clock, and refuses to see them as equal under the law.\r\nM. President, the bottom line is that this Supreme Court fight isn't about politicsit's about the lives of hundreds of millions of people.\r\nAnd if Republicans don't believe my constituents, I invite them to ask their own. I encourage them to listen.\r\n Because I guarantee people across the country know what Republicans have been saying, know exactly what Republicans are voting for, and are speaking up about it.\r\nI am sharing their stories on the Senate floor, and Democrats brought their stories to the Committee room, so that Republicans have no choice but to hear them. And when we vote, Republicans will have no excuse to pretend they don't know exactly what is at stake.\r\nInstead, every one of them will have a simple choice. Will you listen to the families who are speaking up? The people who are saying to you in no uncertain terms, that if you put this judge on the court, if you win this partisan lawsuit, it could kill me.\r\nOr will you ignore them?\r\n If Republicans truly want to reassure their constituents, want to show they are listeningthe choice is simple: vote NO on this nomination.\r\nAnd to those who choose to put this President, and the profoundly lost Republican Party, above anything else, to those Republicans who are capping these brutal last four years off with such a staggering show of fealty, partisanship, and callousness: Know the consequences of this vote will be felt long after this President is gone from officeregardless of the outcome of this election. People across the country will not forget. And neither will your Democratic colleagues.\r\nThank you.", 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": ["http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=CFAF6949-A364-41E4-8B85-F7BEF2029713"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.085593132302165, "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"}