On the recordMarch 10, 2016
Madam President, I understand we are on the bill, but there are no speakers presently here, so I would like to address the Chair and my colleagues for a few moments about the matter my colleague from Wyoming was discussing just now, and that is the very serious matter of how we will fill the vacancy of Justice Scalia. I want to read to my colleagues a message I got from one of my constituents in Columbus, MS. As you can imagine, we have all received quite a bit of opinion from the people who put us in office, but I think this constituent really hits it on the head when she says: ``The next appointment is probably the most crucial in our history and will have ramifications on future generations.'' I really agree with that, and I think it is such a profound decision that we ought to feel comfortable, as the Senator from Wyoming just said, in letting the people decide. We are in the midst of a great debate about the direction our country will take, the executive branch will take, over the next 4 and possibly 8 years. The Court has been relatively balanced, with a slight 5-4 tilt toward the conservative side. Clearly there is an effort in this city and on the part of some of my friends on the other side of the aisle to shift that balance.…





