Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 --- Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. COONS. Madam President, today is the 50th anniversary of the
introduction of the bipartisan Voting Rights Act of 1965, a day we are
reminded of what is possible when we come together across party lines.

It was 50 years ago today that Republican minority leader Senator
Everett Dirksen and Democratic majority leader Senator Mike Mansfield
came together on this floor to introduce landmark legislation that
sought to fulfill the promise of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution
and ensure that no person would be denied the right to vote because of
the color of his or her skin.

I was reminded of the power of their example just 2 weeks ago when I
gathered with Republicans and Democrats from the House and Senate in
Selma, AL, to honor the Americans who came from across our country 50 years ago to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma and demand equal voting rights. Their example was one of unity, as was the example of Members from both sides of the aisle who came together to introduce and eventually pass the Voting Rights
Act of 1965.

So I am concerned as I come to the floor this afternoon about our
troubling inability to come together in this Chamber on issues where
there clearly should be broad agreement as well. I have with me a
photographic reminder that the last time the Voting Rights Act was
signed into law--was reauthorized--it was signed by Republican
President George Bush, with the support of both Democrats and
Republicans in the then Congress.

Those of us who gathered 2 weeks ago at the bridge at Selma were
treated both to a stirring speech by our current President, and the
cheering presence of President Bush, when a challenge was issued to
those Members of Congress present that we should come together, fix the
Voting Rights Act, and reintroduce it in this Chamber.

When it comes to voting rights, it surely is true that today's
America is not the America of half a century ago, just as today's
hurdles to the ballot box are not the same as in the time of Jim Crow.
Yet it is also true that in too many cities, towns, States, and
counties across our country, new roadblocks are being built to make it
more difficult for Americans to vote.

It is clear that, as President Obama said to us on the Edmund Pettus
Bridge 2 weeks ago, ``our march is not yet finished.''

In the coming weeks, as Senator Leahy, I, and others work to bring to
the Senate a new voting rights act that reflects today's challenges, it
is my sincere hope and my prayer that Republican colleagues will
partner with us to continue the work that remains undone.

Lynch Nomination

Madam President, this was also to be the week that we would take up,
consider, and vote on the nomination of Loretta Lynch to serve as
Attorney General. I must say that the Senate's proceedings this week do
not portend well, because we find ourselves, yet again, stuck in
regrettable partisan gridlock.

For the past 129 days, we have had before us an incredibly qualified
and talented nominee for Attorney General. Loretta Lynch was first
nominated by President Obama in November. She has now waited for a vote
longer than any Attorney General nominee in 30 years.

As of today, her confirmation has waited longer on the floor than the
last five Attorneys General combined.

That is unacceptable, and I frankly haven't heard a single good
reason from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for why Ms.
Lynch's nomination deserves such a delay. Instead, her nomination is
being used by many to continue their fight with the President over his
immigration policy, and this is after nearly shutting down the
Department of Homeland Security because of those same disagreements.

While we do need to have a focused and functional debate in this
Congress about immigration, it is simply irresponsible to hold up a
highly qualified nominee for Attorney General because some don't like
that she agrees with the very President who nominated her.

I take very seriously the Senate's role to advise and consent on
Presidential nominations. So let's just take a minute and look at
Loretta Lynch's experience, her background.

She is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She
spent 8 years in private practice at a prestigious law firm, then known
as Hogan & Hartson. She served on the United Nations International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

She has served the public and previously been unanimously confirmed
by this body--twice, I should add--to be the U.S. attorney for the
Eastern District of New York. That is a job where she has prosecuted
drug crimes, violent crimes, and where she has taken on corrupt
politicians.

At her nomination hearing in the Judiciary Committee, on which I
serve, our chairman called an outside witness panel of nine witnesses.
When asked, not one of them said they opposed Ms. Lynch's confirmation
to be Attorney General on the basis of her skills or experience. The
committee was, in fact, unable to produce one shred of testimony in
opposition to her nomination.

Yet we stand today in the middle of March and the first African-
American woman ever to be nominated Attorney General of the United
States, our Nation's top law enforcement official, has foundered on
this floor longer than the five prior nominees combined. I think this
is unacceptable and sets an unfortunate, even dangerous precedent. We
should not play political games with the Department of Justice, an
executive branch agency with 125,000 employees and a $28 billion
departmental budget that is charged with all sorts of different law
enforcement functions, from running the Federal prisons to enforcing
the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, to making sure we fight human
trafficking and money laundering.

Frustratingly, we find ourselves this week also considering a bill to
combat human trafficking, which we don't seem to be able to move
forward. It is important legislation that includes broad bipartisan
support, except for a simple, partisan, political provision that has
now turned it into a divisive issue.

The Republican leader this week has argued that once we finished work
on this human trafficking bill, we could then move on to Loretta
Lynch's nomination vote. But I am forced to wonder when the delay
tactics here will end.

Not only is it seemingly untrue that we can't do human trafficking
legislation and this nomination at the same time--because if my memory
serves, we just confirmed two other executive branch nominees last
night--but the Republican leader knows well that if he truly wanted to
move this bill forward, Democrats would be ready to partner with him
with just a minor revision to the bill.

There is, in fact, a bitter irony that, as was reported last night,
Loretta Lynch's confirmation is being held up over an issue--human
trafficking--which she herself said she would prioritize if confirmed.

I ask my Republican colleagues: Let's find a way to move forward on
all of these issues--on combatting human trafficking and confirming
Loretta Lynch to serve as Attorney General and on reauthorizing the
Voting Rights Act, which is such an important linchpin of civil rights
in this country.

We agree that we need to combat human trafficking. So let's work
together on the broad areas where we are, in fact, united. Let's
confirm an Attorney General nominee who is qualified, smart, and will
give the fight against human trafficking the dedication it deserves.
Ms. Lynch would make a superb Attorney General.

As someone who has herself served in law enforcement and served in
that role at the State level, I think the Presiding Officer appreciates
the importance of having a confirmed Attorney General to lead our
Federal Department of Justice.

Loretta Lynch has demonstrated--throughout her confirmation process
and through her many years of service to her country--that she is well
and amply prepared and qualified to take on this vital and important
role.

I urge my colleagues to end the delays and give Loretta Lynch the
vote our country deserves.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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