ms. hirono: -- from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. president, the republicans control every level of the federal government. they hold majorities in the house and senate. they have the presidency. and yet the very people, republicans who set the agenda in washington and have majorities in both the house and senate are desperately trying to convince the american people a government shutdown should be blamed on anyone else but them. give me a break. nobody wants a shutdown except maybe the president who seems to relish a government shutdown as a way of, quote, shaking things up, unquote, regardless of who gets hurt. but members of congress should know better and republicans should get down to business and negotiate with democrats in good faith. republicans in the house and senate have brought us to the brink of a shutdown because they are terrified of the ideological extremextremists in their own py who reject even the most reasonable bipartisan compromises. they are terrified of a her cure yal -- mercurial president who changes his min

ms. hirono: -- from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. president, the republicans control every level of the federal government. they hold majorities in the house and senate. they have the presidency. and yet the very people, republicans who set the agenda in washington and have majorities in both the house and senate are desperately trying to convince the american people a government shutdown should be blamed on anyone else but them. give me a break. nobody wants a shutdown except maybe the president who seems to relish a government shutdown as a way of, quote, shaking things up, unquote, regardless of who gets hurt. but members of congress should know better and republicans should get down to business and negotiate with democrats in good faith. republicans in the house and senate have brought us to the brink of a shutdown because they are terrified of the ideological extremextremists in their own py who reject even the most reasonable bipartisan compromises. they are terrified of a her cure yal -- mercurial president who changes his min

ms. hirono: mr. president, every member of this body is only a few generations removed from the immigrant experience. at some point in the recent past each of our ancestors made the courageous decision to leave their homes in search of a better life in america. each of them took a risk. they didn't know

ms. hirono: mr. president, when donald trump was a private citizen during the last government shutdown, he said, and i quote, problems start from the to be, and they have to get solved from the top. and the president is the leader and he's got to get everybody in a room and he's got to lead. that's what donald trump said when he was citizen trump. he is now the president. now that he's the president, he has those shoes to wear, he refuses to step into them and step up. the only person to have actually said maybe we need a good shut down-is president trump. although i have to say recently, the office of management and budget director mick mulvaney also said it was cool to shut down the government. unbelievable, definitely not cool. this attitude may explain why the president keeps shooting down bipartisan efforts to prevent a shutdown. republicans control the house and the senate. i don't know why we have to keep reminding republicans that they control the house and the senate. there is no reason for

ms. hirono: mr. president, when donald trump was a private citizen during the last government shutdown, he said, and i quote, problems start from the to be, and they have to get solved from the top. and the president is the leader and he's got to get everybody in a room and he's got to lead. that's what donald trump said when he was citizen trump. he is now the president. now that he's the president, he has those shoes to wear, he refuses to step into them and step up. the only person to have actually said maybe we need a good shut down-is president trump. although i have to say recently, the office of management and budget director mick mulvaney also said it was cool to shut down the government. unbelievable, definitely not cool. this attitude may explain why the president keeps shooting down bipartisan efforts to prevent a shutdown. republicans control the house and the senate. i don't know why we have to keep reminding republicans that they control the house and the senate. there is no reason for

ms. hirono: meredith was 21 weeks pregnant when she learned that her second baby boy was missing half of his heart. it had stopped growing properly at around five weeks, but it wasn't detectable until her 20th week anatomy scan. meredith's decision to terminate her pregnancy was an agonizing one, but as she weighed her options, she reflected on the meaning of compassion and she said, and i quote, for us the decision was about compassion for our unborn baby who had faced overwhelming and horribly painful obstacles. compassion for our 2-year-old son who had contend with hours upon hours in a hospital, missing out on an invaluable time spent with his parents. and the death of a very real sibling. it was about compassion for our marriage. perhaps most important, it was about our belief that parenthood sometimes means we sacrifice our own dreams so our children don't have to suffer. end quote. meredith asserted and i good he that our government has no place in the anguish that accompanied her decision to have an abortion. meredith closed her essay with a very poignant reflection on her own ex

ms. hirono: madam president, i would like to thank my friend, senator murray, for organizing this block of time for us. you just heard from senator warren and for all the work senator murray has done to fight for women all across the country. today's debate is the latest battle in the continuing assault on a woman's constitutionally protected right to an abortion. as decided by the supreme court in roe and reaffirmed in casey, the right to an abortion is rooted fundamentally in a woman's right to privacy. but the supreme court's recognition of this constitutionally protected right has not prevented continuous efforts to limit that right. i ask my republican colleagues who are on a mission to limit a woman's constitutional right to choose, what is more private than a person's right to her own body? not just to control her body but to literally own her body. what could be more private than that? that's what's at stake as we debate the bill before us today. my home state of hawaii was the first state in the country to legalize abortion and it continues to be at the forefront of protecting, ex

ms. hirono: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. president, when the sun rose last saturday in hawaii, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. people on kauai were getting ready to participate in the local march to commemorate dr. dr. martin luther king jr. day. families were sitting around the table eating breakfast. others were sleeping in after a long week of work. at 8:07, everything changed. mobile phones throughout hawaii received an emergency alert in all capital letters, informing them of a ballistic missile threat inbound to hawaii and that this was not a drill. the terror and panic were real, and people's reactions reflected that. parents passed their children through manhole covers into the sewers seeking safety for them. separated family members took to the highways, driving as fast as 100 miles per hour to get home. some had to decide whether to rush to be with their spouse or their children. 38 minutes later, an emergency alert came through saying that there was no missile threat, false alarm. the relief was palpable. this

ms. hirono: mr. president, i have been consistently voting against cloture motions to proceed to debate on judicial nominations, and i would like to take this opportunity to explain why. the senate has a constitutional obligation to provide advice and consent on judicial nominees, and i take this obligation very seriously. the american people depend on the senate to fully consider and vet each judicial nominee because throughout the course of their lifetime appointment, judges will issue rulings and opinions that touch each of our lives. the process of nominating, considering, and confirming judges should be a deliberate one. its purpose should not be to confirm as many judges as quickly as possible. senators should be able to provide input on who should sit on the federal bench. senators should have an adequate opportunity to hear from third party experts about the records and qualifications of each nominee. and senators should have enough time to question and examine a nominee during a confirmation

ms. hirono: mr. president, every member of this body is only a few generations removed from the immigrant experience. at some point in the recent past each of our ancestors made the courageous decision to leave their homes in search of a better life in america. each of them took a risk. they didn't know what awaited them in this country but they believed that through their own hard work and determination they can succeed. my mother took a huge risk when she brought my brothers and me to this country leaving her entire family behind. she packed our belongings into one suitcase and we set sail for hawaii. we grew up poor, but mom worked so hard every day to build a life for us in this country. she worked minimum-wage jobs with no health insurance. we moved apartments and schools every few years. eventually we were able to bring my grandparents to hawaii from japan, so i understand as an immigrant how important family unification is to immigrant families. i share my story not because i think it's partic

ms. hirono: mr. president, every member of this body is only a few generations removed from the immigrant experience. at some point in the recent past each of our ancestors made the courageous decision to leave their homes in search of a better life in america. each of them took a risk. they didn't know what awaited them in this country but they believed that through their own hard work and determination they can succeed. my mother took a huge risk when she brought my brothers and me to this country leaving her entire family behind. she packed our belongings into one suitcase and we set sail for hawaii. we grew up poor, but mom worked so hard every day to build a life for us in this country. she worked minimum-wage jobs with no health insurance. we moved apartments and schools every few years. eventually we were able to bring my grandparents to hawaii from japan, so i understand as an immigrant how important family unification is to immigrant families. i share my story not because i think it's partic