people by saying we're not going to take the time to find the truth. so i implore my colleagues, please, and for those of you who have spoken out like my colleague from arizona, thank you. thank you for helping us get to the truth in this matter. thank you for standing up for women, for men, for indian country, who have faced this abuse and make sure that this institution moves in a serious, but deliberate and cautious path and does not spend its time tomorrow -- does not spend its time tomorrow prosecuting a woman, but listening to the facts and information that she gives. i thank the president and i yield the floor. >> mr. president, over the past weeks we have been reminded yet again why it is so hard for survivors of sexual assault to come forward.

for far too long women who bravely share their stories of sexual assault have been attacked, diminished and marginalized and i'm sad to say that includes by some of my fellow senators. in some respects we've seen remarkable progress since the #metoo movement began roughly one year ago, more women have felt empowered to speak out and our society has begun a grapple with the horrific and widespread prevalence of sexual harassment and assault, especially in the workplace. but sadly, these past weeks have been a reminder that in many ways we're still stuck in 1991. 1991, of course, was when anita hill courageously testified before the senate sharing allegations of sexual harassment by then nominee to the supreme court clarence

thomas. women, and men, across the country watched in horror as dr. hill was attacked and disrespected by the men of the senate judiciary committee. yet, here we are 27 years later and senate republican leadership has made clear that they will do everything they can to ramp judge kavanaugh's nomination through. they have come up with a process that is even worse, even more disrespectful and disheartening to survivors than the one we saw in 1991. in 1991 the fbi investigated allegations of sexual assault against mr. thomas. the hearings stretched on for multiple days and some corroborating witnesses were allowed to testify. in 2018 republican leadership

has indicated that none of those things will be allowed to happen, none of them. they have simply scheduled a check the box hearing, rejecting calls to ask the fbi to reopen its background investigation, refusing to allow other witnesses or evidence to be heard and limiting the questioning from senators. lawyers for dr. ford announced they have submitted sworn affidavits to the senate judiciary commit from four individuals whom she shared these allegations with, well before president trump nominated judge kavanaugh to the supreme court. yet, incredibly, not a single within of these corroborating witnesses will be called to testify before the committee. nor will the witness that dr. ford alleges was in the room while she was assaulted. and the fbi will not be asked to speak with these or any other witnesses either.

this process isn't a serious attempt to get to the truth, it's a complete sham. and some of my colleagues are hardly even trying to hide the fact that this is not a serious investigation, as they pledge that these credible allegations will not stop judge kavanaugh's nomination. some of my colleagues have complained about how unfair it is to judge kavanaugh that these women have dared to come forward and they have shown little sympathy for the attacks these women are facing. or interest in the corroboration they are willing to offer. they have ignored the real questions about judge kavanaugh's credibility and truthfulness and his blatant disrespect for women. make no mistake, in 2018

survivors are still not being taken seriously. and that is despite the extraordinary prevalence of sexual assault, which is hard to even quantify, given that an estimated two out of three sexual assaults go unreported. it is simply unacceptable that survivors are still not being listened to and taken seriously. and to president trump and republican leadership, i say we will not stand for these attempts to silence women and shove them back into the dark. mr. president, these allegations of sexual assault are extremely serious and they are credible. the way that these survivors have been attacked is disgusting. yet, even before we were aware of these allegations, it was clear that judge kavanaugh should not serve on the united states supreme court.

i want judge kavanaugh's responses to my colleagues during his initial nomination hearings. i examined his judicial writings and past public statements. i reviewed the limited number of documents that republicans shared about judge kavanaugh's time working in the white house. what the totality of this record makes abundantly clear is that on issue after issue, judge kavanaugh has promoted a judicial philosophy that diminishes the rights of individuals, particularly women and people of color, puts corporations before people and promotes a partisan right wing ideology at odds with the will of the american people. but in addition to a record and an outlook that is disqualifying, there's judge kavanaugh's lack of

credibility. even in his initial hearings, judge kavanaugh raised serious questions of his credibility about a lack of -- with his time in the starr investigation and questions about his response to multiple allegations of sexual assault he is now facing by evidenced by those who knew him coming forward to dispute his statements. mr. president, the eyes of the country and the world are upon us. and i fear what they will see in the coming days. it is not too late for the senate to pause this sham process and make clear that this body listens to survivors and takes their experiences and their pain seriously.

however, if the senate continues on its present course, it will be an abject failure by this body that will not soon be forgotten. thank you, mr. president, i yield the floor. >> we're live in the senate hart office building on capitol hill where the senate judiciary committee will hear from supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh and christine blasey ford, a california psych go i-- psychology professor who accused kavanaugh of trying to rape her when they were teens. the judiciary committee is scheduled to vote tomorrow on the kavanaugh nomination to the nation's highest court. [inaudible conversations]

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