Confirmation hearings. This portion included hearings from senators kamala harris, john kennedy and marsha blackburn. I apologize. Senator harris, is she available . Harris. There you are. We see you. Can you Say Something . Can you hear me, senator . Sen harris yes i can. Great. The floor is yours. Sen harris thank you. I want to extend greetings to judge barrett. I look forward to our conversation this evening. Judge barrett thank you, senator. Sen harris before i begin, i want to take a moment to talk directly to the American People. About where we are and how we got here. We are in the middle of a deadly pandemic that has hit our country harder than any other country in the world. More than 215,000 of our fellow americans have died. Millions more, including the president , republican members of this committee, and more than 100 frontline workers here at the capitol complex have been infected. This pandemic has led to a crash, causingic millions of workers to lose their jobs without warning. 12 million americans have lost their employerbased Health Insurance. Believes trongly needs to be laser focused on the American People to help you get through this pandemic. To do so, the senate urgently needs to pass critical Financial Relief for those who are struggling because of this pandemic and many are struggling. People need help. They need help to pay their rent or mortgage. Parents need help putting food on the table. The millions of American Workers who have lost their jobs need help making it through the end of the month. Small businesses need help so they dont have to close their doors for good. Sadly, Senate Republicans have rushed to hold the Supreme Court confirmation hearing rather than help those who are suffering in a Public Health crisis not of their making. As i said yesterday, these priorities are not the American Peoples priorities. Signed thedent obama Affordable Care act into law, Senate Republicans number one priority has been to tear it down. Companies aca insured had unchecked power over our health care system. They could refuse to cover basic medical expenses like maternity care, mammograms, perception drugs, hospital stays. Worst of all, if you were sick, they could deny you coverage altogether and there was nothing you could do about it. For the last nine years, republicans in congress have tried 70 times, 70 times to aca inor rollback the the United States congress. In 2013, Senate Republicans were so desperate to stop at success that they shut down the entire government for weeks. After President Trump was elected, Washington Republicans spent nearly a year trying to repeal the aca. I will always remember the thousands of americans from all over our country and all walks of life who crowded into the halls of the United States capital to require that lawmakers see their faces and understand how they would be hurt if there was a repeal of the Affordable Care act. Brave activists in the Disability Community staged sit ins on the hill. Seniors protested to keep prescription drugs affordable. Mothers and fathers walked the halls with their children in strollers to Show Congress the face of those who depended on the law. Doctors and nurses protested to protect their patients access to the care they desperately need. Together with many of my colleagues, i joined civil rights and Community Leaders to speak to the thousands of people who gathered outside the capital and pleaded as they begged with lawmakers to do the right thing. Americansse dedicated demanding that their voices be heard and they made a difference. They made a difference. History will remember that when thet movement great john mccain denied republicans the opportunity to repeal the Affordable Care act. Now, following a decade of failure, Washington Republicans have realized that the Affordable Care act is working too well and helping to many people to repeal it without facing serious political consequences. What are they doing . ,fter suffering the backlash they decided instead to circumvent voters and try to strike down the Affordable Care act through the courts. Right now, the Trump Administration and Senate Republicans are urging the Supreme Court to strike down the entire Affordable Care act and all of its patient protections. Republicans are planning to confirm this nominee as fast as possible because they need one more trump judge on the bench before november 10 to win and strike down the entire overlook care act. Affordable care act. This is not a hypothetical situation. This is happening. Heres what you have to know. People are scared. People are scared of what will happen if the Affordable Care act is destroyed. In the middle of a pandemic. There are more than 100 million americans with preexisting conditions like asthma and diabetes, Heart Disease who know they could be denied coverage or charged more by Insurance Companies if donald trump is successful in getting rid of the Affordable Care act. Because of the coronavirus, more than 7 Million People have now a preexisting condition that they didnt have earlier this year. Those who depend on the aca are afraid of their lives being turned upside down if the Court Strikes it down. They know what could happen. I will share with you and the American People the list. No protections for preexisting conditions. Higher costs for health care for women. And people over the age of 50. Young adults kicked off of their parents insurance. More expensive prescription drugs for seniors. Insurance companies refusing to cover Mental Health care. Insurance companies refusing to cover maternity care. No free mammograms, cancer screenings, or birth control. Insurance companies reinstating annual and lifetime caps. More than 20 million americans losing insurance at the worst possible time, in the midst of a pandemic, including nearly 2 northn texans, 607,000 carolinians, 288,000 south islands,ns, 227,000 and 4. 2 million californians. The pain of losing these protections would disproportionately be felt among the 9 million africanamericans, latino, asian, and native americans who gain coverage under the Affordable Care act. This isnt about statistics. This is about millions of real , whoe living real lives deserve their government and its institutions to see them and to keep them close. I know a republican member of this Committee Said earlier today that the people who will Lose Health Care are somehow not relevant to this hearing. I disagree. People is supposed to be why we are all here. Why we all ran for office in the first place. Im here to fight for people like fareed felicia perez. This is her. Felicia is a writer, a public speaker, a former High School Teacher in Southern California who now teaches at the university of nevada. She has multiple preexisting conditions including arthritis, asthma, and a rare autoimmune tumorer that has a wrapped around part of her brain. Periodicdepends on cancer fighting treatments that cost 460,000 a year. Felicia is terrified. She knows that without the Affordable Care act, she could not afford ongoing treatment. The treatment she needs to stay alive. Heres exactly what she said. My life is in the hands of people i do not know, who do not know me, who are essentially telling me i dont matter. That my life doesnt matter. That my health doesnt matter. That the daytoday quality of my life doesnt matter. Thats really hard. Tragically, felicias story is not unique. Her fears are shared by millions of americans. The Affordable Care act and its protections hinge on the Supreme Court and the outcome of this hearing. Election, President Trump promised that every just as he put forward will do the right thing, unlike bushs appointee on obamacare. Merrick, 18 months later, you criticized the chief judges for upholding the a portable care act a character. Affordable care act. Monthstion is, how many after you publish that article did President Trump nominate you to be a judge on the court of appeals . Judge barrett i apologize. I dont remember the timing of that article. I was nominated my nomination of 2017. Nced in may sen harris thats correct. Judge barrett i dont remember when the article came out. Sen harris january a toy 17. That would be five months later. Provided asburg vote to sixth boat uphold the a cap afford care act. Lets lay this out. As i have discussed previously, republicans have spent a decade trying to destroy the Affordable Care act. Named a Supreme Court justice who would tear down the Affordable Care act. Is before thep Supreme Court right now arguing that it be struck in its entirety. The Supreme Court could be just one vote away from overturning the Affordable Care act and all of its protections, including for everyone who has a preexisting condition or may get a preexisting condition. In other words, the Affordable Care act and all its protections hinge on this seat and the outcome of this hearing. I believe its very important that the American People understand the issues at stake. Barrett, the day after President Trump announced your nomination to the Supreme Court, he tweeted, obamacare will be replaced with a much better and far cheaper alternative if it is terminated and the Supreme Court. In reality, theres no alternative that protects the millions of americans who depend on the Affordable Care act every day. President trump and the republicans in congress are fighting to take Health Care Away from the American People in the middle of a pandemic. President trump has said that he wants to protect the American Peoples health care. The reality is right now, hes asking the Supreme Court to take it away. Klobuchar asked you earlier today but did not receive an answer. Prior to your nomination, were you aware of President Trumps judgesnt to nominate that will strike down the Affordable Care act . I would appreciate a yes or no answer. Judge barrett i want to be very careful. Im under oath. I dont recall seeing those statements. I dont recall seeing or hearing those statements. I dont really know what context they were in. I cant really definitive give you definitively give you an answer. I dont recall hearing about or seeing such statements. Imagine you were surrounded by a team of folks to prepare you for this nomination. Judge barrett yes. Sen harris let me finish. Judge barrett im so sorry. Sen harris did they inform you of the president s statements . That this might be a question that would be presented to you in the course of this hearing. Judge barrett when i had my calls with senators, it came up. Senatorshe democratic wanted to know about the Affordable Care act and to satisfy themselves that i had not made any precommitments to the president about it. Sen harris youth then became aware of the statement . Is that correct. Judge barrett lets see. In the context of these conversations, i cant remember whether senators framed the questions in the context of President Trumps comments. Perhaps so. From my perspective, the most important thing is to say that i have never made a commitment, i have never been asked make a commitment. I hope the committee would trust my integrity not to entertain such an idea and that i would not violate my oath if i were confirmed and heard that case. Saying that are you you are now before i said it aware or not aware that President Trump made these comments about who he would nominate to this the Supreme Court . Judge barrett i thought you framed the question as whether i was aware before the nomination process began. [inaudible] sen harris were you aware before the hearing began . Judge barrett youre asking me now whether i was aware before the hearing began . Sen harris as a followup question, i am. Judge barrett when i had my calls with democratic senators, this question came up. I dont recall. It may have been that they reference those comments in the course of those calls. Even so, that wasnt something i heard or saw directly by reading it myself. Do you think it is important for the American People to believe the Supreme Court justices are independent and fair, impartial . Yes or no answer. Judge barrett yes, senator. Sen harris a number of my colleagues have asked you today whether you would recuse yourself from cases on the Affordable Care act. You did not directly answer their questions. You describe the process by which that would happen. My question is, isnt it true that at the end of that process, regardless of that process, it would be you who ultimately makes the decision about whether or not you would recuse yourself . Judge barrett that is true. I can to you elicit a commitment from me about how i would make that decision in advance. That would be wrong. Sen harris right. Is it not correct that that is the process that, ultimately would be you and you alone that would make the decision about whether you would be recused . Talked about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care act. That position [inaudible] republicans want you to rule on this very case. Reasonable reflection of that partiality will hang over this courts ultimate decision in the , if youle care act case refused to recuse yourself. I strongly believe that. Considerourt justices the consequences of their decision on peoples lives. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled against President Trump in his effort to repeal daca protections for dreamers. Children who have arrived in the United States before they could talk or walk. Chief Justice Roberts wrote the opinion that included the crucial vote of ruth bader ginsburg. Attemptt rejected the to end protections for dreamers. Chief Justice Roberts said the administration had not taken into consideration the fact that many dreamers rely on those protections when they start their career and businesses, when they served in the military of the United States, when they bought homes, when they started families. You whetherno asked its appropriate for Supreme Court justices to consider realworld impacts. You are a sitting judge now. My question is, in deciding whether to uphold government actions, do you currently consider the consequences of your ruling on peoples lives . Judge barrett thats part of the decision of every case. Sen harris so you do . Judge barrett every case has consequences on peoples lives. Of course i do. Thats part of the judicial decisionmaking process. Sen harris would you do that if you are actually voted on the United StatesSupreme Court . Would you do that there was well . Judge barrett considering the resolution of a dispute, how it will affect parties, people, it is part of the judicial decisionmaking process. I will continue engaging in that process to the best of my ability. Sen harris the Affordable Care thanif struck down, more 100 million americans with preexisting conditions like Heart Disease, diabetes, and cancer would pay more for insurance rbn diet denied coverage entirely. More than 20 million americans could lose their Health