well, my colleagues would do well to remember this commonsense principle. after all, this is america. every american understands the presumption of innocence. i'm glad the chairman grassley, staffing committee investors have worked so hard to clean up this mess, clean up this mess and put together a fair process. and i'm encouragedco by the committees choice of rachel mitchell, a career prosecutor with decades of experience and sensitive investigations, who was recognized with an award by arizona been a democratic goverr janet napolitano to lead expertise to this important process. it's time, mr. president for senators to from both dr. ford and judge kavanaugh under oath. tomorrow we will do just that.

and then it will be time to vote. >> mr. president, i i come to e floor today to join my colleagues in lifting up the voices of women across the country who, right now, are being ignored, swept aside, and attacked. and then call it on our republican colleagues to join us and do everything we can to make are heard, listen to, and respected as we debate and deliberate over judge kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court. mr. president, recently i was back home in washington state to talk to my constituents about the supreme court nomination, and i many women named caitlin who bravely told me, and others, about her experience of the sexually assaulted. she shared her story.

it was july 2016. she had gone to the concert that evening and she was sexually assaulted that night. it was how she explained what happened after that i want to share today. she said, and i quote, as a sexual assault survivor i know firsthand that these experiences have a lasting impact, and the pain can't be overstated. in aftermath of sexual violence it's common to feel humiliated and to blame ourselves. to just want to forget it ever happened. i didn't want to admit that i had allowed this to happen to me, so i tried to convince myself that the attack had never occurred. for these reasons and so many others, it's common to wait months or years before confiding anyone, even those closest to us. those were her words to me. she went on and she said, and i

quote, going public with our stories opens us up to criticism ranging from victim blaming to accusations that we are liars and attention seekers, in and addition to far uglier insults that i won't repeat right now. i know that coming forward and forever tying our name to one of the most terrifying, degrading experiences of our lives isn't a decision to be taken lightly, unquote. mr. president, sadly, caitlin is not alone, far from it, and she shared her story with me so that her story can help others, so that i can make sure it is being heard and help her make a difference. so, mr. president, this brings me to the question i want to ask here today. what is this really about right now in this moment here in the

united states senate? there's a whole lot of confusion, a whole lot of mud being kicked up, and a whole lot of distraction. but what is this moment right now really about? not the question of this confirmation, though that is clearly important. not whetherne or not we think judge kavanaugh would make a good supreme court justice or whether we canan trust him despe the lies we have overheard an issue an issue. those are of course critical questions, too. and not even whether or not my colleaguest will believe that te allegations brought against him are true once all the evidence is weighed and all investigations are complete. though of course are many of us that question must be dug into. but, mr. president, to me and millions of people across the country, this moment right now is about the answer to a few simple questions.

is the senate a place where women are listen to, heard, and respected? or is a it still just one more place where women's voices are swept under the rug, where our voices are ignored, attacked, and undermined. right now in this moment in the united states senate what the president of the united states is saying a woman can't be trusted because she was drunk, while he was tweeting the dr. ford be trusted because people really bad as you said, she would've reported it back when she was 15 when it happened. well, republican leaders are saying they will quote, plow right through this. well, they are desperately trying to distract people are pointing to the process and the timing, anything but the substance. they hire a woman they are calling their quote, female

assistant, the lord of the town to ask doctor for the questions they can't trust the republican meant on the judiciary committee to ask your the opry sweeping past this hearing and scramble to line up a committee vote right away while they're planning to stay through the weekend to rush to vote on the senate floor that their leader says is quote confident they will win. before dr. ford has even had a chance to be heard and the vote that doesn't need to be rushed for any good reason. mr. president, right now in this moment here in the united states senate these are the questions. will women be heard, or what women be ignored? will women bravely coming for to share the most horrific experience of e their life be trusted, or will they be treated like liars?

will women like caitlin and dr. ford and like others will be the respected, listen to, heard, or will they be pushed aside can put in the places, told to remain quiet? right now in this moment in the united states senate what kind of message will we send to women and girls across the country who are watching right now, who are looking to see how dr. ford is been treated, whether or not msy willing to testify to the committee under oath whether her story will be taken seriously or even be investigated? and are grappling with what may be one of the toughest decisions of their life, should they report a sexual assault. should they tried to bring the perpetrators to justice and make sure he faces the consequences he deserves, or should they keep

it to themselves worried about thegn ways that they may be attacked or ignored or disbelieved, , interrogated abot what they drank or war or told and when? right now inn this moment in te united states senate, what kind of message when we send two men and boys across the country who are watching right now, who will see whether women are empowered to share their experience, men facing the consequences of their actions, and the message sent that this is not acceptable behavior in high school, and college, or anywhere else, or who will w once again here that women can be attacked and abuse and disrespected in and used, d then ignored and attacked all over again when they share their story? mr. president, i decide to run for the united states senate after i saw senators get those

questions wrong in the ned hill hearing in 1991. iran to be a voice for the women and men's across the country who thought it was absolutely wrong for her to be ignored and attacked, swept aside and disbelieved. i ran for i right here in this moment in the united states senate to make sure we never allow that to happen again. for my daughter who sat by my side as we watched that all middle judiciary committee grilled anita hill, for her daughters, my granddaughters who are not quite old enough to understand what will happen on thursday, but who will grow up in a world that will treat them better or worse, depending on how women are treated this week. for caitlin and the women like her who share their stories with me, somewhat loud in front of

crowds, some in whispered voices after everyone else has left. and for the women we don't know who have buried their experiences deep down inside, who have kept their secret for decades because they have been too scared or intimidated to come forward, and who are watching right now to see what happens here right now in this moment in the united states senate. i am proud to bring their voices to the floor here today, and i'm truly helpful that enough republicans stand with them and that we can do the right thing. republican leaders need to listen, truly listen to the women coming forward to share their experiences. republican leaders need to investigate, truly investigate thee allegations they are makin, and inconsistencies and judge kavanaugh's statements on so many issues. republican leaders need to end

this scramble and rush. they need to slow it down and do this right. women and men are watching. they are paying attention, and they are not going to forget. >> now, mr. , mr. president, ase approachmr tomorrow's hearing wh dr. ford and judge kavanaugh, i want to beo very clear about how the republican leadership has handled these incredibly serious and incredible allegations of sexual assault. republican leadership is handled them poorly, unfairly, disrespectfully here leader mcconnell has called this and that issue a smear campaign cooked up by democrats. that's a blatant falsehood that demeans the women who courageouslyus come forward, thy came forward, not democrats. they did it on their own. not democrats. and when leader mcconnell says it's a smear