The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“Nomination of Vanita Gupta (Executive Session)” mentioning John Thune was published in the Senate section on pages S2092-S2093 on April 21.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Nomination of Vanita Gupta
Mr. President, we will be voting in a few minutes on Vanita Gupta.
Yesterday was a day that many Americans will never forget with the decision in a trial in Minnesota, carefully watched by millions across America and around the world. The death of George Floyd was a stark moment, when one piece of videotape has been emblazoned in the minds of people in the United States and around the world.
Under the knee of Officer Chauvin, George Floyd lost his life on a street in Minneapolis. Whether there would be accountability and justice as a result was an unanswered question until yesterday, and the answer came through loud and clear. The jury spoke, and justice was served. And now we have a responsibility to move forward.
The reason I make reference to that in light of the nomination of Vanita Gupta is the fact that the path to civil rights progress in America is often difficult and, for those who try to lead, often a lonely battle.
Vanita Gupta has taken more than her fair share of criticism from the Republican side of the aisle. I sometimes find it hard to believe that this amazing, outstanding, remarkable young woman is being degraded by so many Republicans when she comes to the floor for consideration by the Senate.
She has a record that is incredible. She is the right person for this job in the Department of Justice as Associate Attorney General. She is unquestionably well-qualified. She would be the first civil rights attorney and the first woman of color to be an Associate Attorney General. And, you know, I think that is at the heart of the problem as far as some Republicans are concerned. They are just not ready for that kind of change. Well, they should be.
Anybody who has turned on the news in the last week has seen that we need police reform in this country. We need to repair the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Vanita Gupta has a proven track record of doing just that. As head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, she led efforts to reform police departments across the Nation, and she did it in a way that brought people together: civil rights advocates, community leaders, and police and law enforcement. As a result, she has incredibly broad support.
When I hear them talk about defunding the police and how she is anti-
police, how in the world do the Republicans explain the fact that she has the support of every major law enforcement group in this country? They just conveniently ignore that fact. If anything they said were true--really true--do you think that the Fraternal Order of Police would be standing behind her, as well as the civil rights community?
Consider this statement from the Federal Law Enforcement Association. They said: ``Ms. Gupta has a proven history of working with law enforcement agencies, corrections officials, advocates, stakeholders, and elected officials across the political spectrum.''
That is an incredible statement for an attorney--a civil rights attorney--who has not shied away from the battle, has walked into the most controversial situations in her time, and has proven over and over that she can not only just get the job done but she can do it to the satisfaction of both sides believing she was fair in the process.
She has the support of outstanding conservatives like Grover Norquist, Michael Chertoff, and Mark Holden, former counsel of Koch Industries.
I listened to the Republicans' baseless charges and smears against Ms. Gupta last week, and I find it amazing that they can ignore every law enforcement group that supports her and every leading conservative spokesman who has come out for her.
She has been the head of the Department's Civil Rights Division. She led efforts to prosecute human trafficking, combat religious discrimination, protect th rights of men and women in uniform, and to ensure that members of our military are not taken advantage of.
She has a career as a civil rights lawyer. This book tells the story. Six months out of law school, working for the Legal Defense Fund, she ended up taking an assignment in Tulia, TX. Why did she take this assignment? Because, when she did, there were some 40 people who had been arrested in this town. One out of every five Black adults in town was behind bars, all accused of dealing cocaine to the same undercover officer, Tom Coleman.
Coleman, the son of a well-known Texas ranger, had been named
``Officer of the Year'' in Texas. Not until after the trials in which Coleman's uncorroborated testimony secured sentences as long as 361 years--that is not a typo, 361 years--did it become apparent that Mr. Coleman had misrepresented his own qualifications and, sadly, misrepresented all of the cases before him.
Two dozen people were in prison, most of them African Americans. The town of Tulia had become a battlefield in the national debate over the war on drugs. And who was sent into this to represent the civil rights of those sitting in jail, who had been wrongly convicted? Vanita Gupta. Six months out of law school, she went down to Texas.
I would imagine that, 6 months out of law school, I was still searching for the right place to eat lunch with a partner in a firm--
but not her. She went down there and became an outstanding advocate. And what happened as a result? As a result of her efforts and the efforts of other civil rights attorneys and the courage they showed, the determination they showed, the Republican Governor of Texas, Perry, ended up pardoning every one of these criminal defendants and authorized the payment of millions of dollars in compensation for their damages.
And so when we hear from the Republicans that she is not ready for prime time, she is too radical, she can't handle this job, we are all going to vote against her--and they have--you think to yourself: Did they ever take a minute to read what she has done with her life, time and time again?
I will tell you, it is incredible to me that we are at this moment in history that a woman of color with an extraordinary civil rights record wants to make history in the Department of Justice, wants to continue to serve this Nation, representing our government and prosecuting cases for the American people, that she is prepared to take her experience and expertise and sit down and try to help us solve these monumental challenges we currently face and can't get a single Republican to stand in support--not one. It is hard to imagine.
Well, as I mentioned before, she has tackled tough assignments before successfully in the cause of the name of justice. The Justice Department, her service there, the Tulia case, which many don't want to talk about, has been true throughout her career. She is guided by an unshakable belief in upholding the rule of law and vindicating the rights of those who are too frequently taken advantage of, marginalized, and forgotten.
To Vanita Gupta, the people who have suffered discrimination in this country matter. She has dedicated her life to that. It troubles some. It wrangles them. It makes them angry, but the fact of the matter is, she is an extraordinary, essentially amazing woman in my estimation.
She has demonstrated already what kind of leader she is, what kind of courage she had 6 months out of law school to go to Tulia, TX, and to represent people already serving time in jail, who were ultimately released.
She also has a proven record of bipartisanship, a record of working with law enforcement and community leaders, and a record of upholding the rule of law.
In just a few minutes--3 or 4 minutes--the Senate will get a chance to advance her nomination, and perhaps several hours after that, we will finally give her the vote of confidence she deserves to join the Department of Justice, Merrick Garland, and now Lisa Monaco, who is being sworn in today, and be part of the team that heard the message in Minnesota yesterday and is prepared to move forward to make America a better place for all, a better place for opportunity and equality and real justice.
We need the right people in the Department of Justice at this moment in history more than ever in current memory, and we have the beginnings of that team with our Attorney General and with Lisa Monaco. Vanita Gupta should join them. She should be able, the day after tomorrow or even sooner, if possible, to be sworn into office and have this opportunity to continue her service to the Department of Justice and the cause of justice. That, to me, is indicated by her background and by the endorsement she has faced.
When you hear the bad comments about her from the other side of the aisle, pause and think for a moment: But, Senator, if she is so bad, why did all of the law enforcement groups in America support her? Why do all the civil rights organizations support her? Why does she have the support of so many conservatives, even in the business community, if she is as bad as you say she is?
The honest answer is she is not. She is a quality individual with remarkable credentials and a remarkable wealth of experience that she wants to continue to bring to our government. I hope the Senate will give her that opportunity.
I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican whip.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able to complete my remarks before the vote.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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