Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, it is sometimes said that today's Senate does not measure up to the Senate's previous years because we have no eloquent Senators who make compelling speeches. I think Senator Collins has just disproved that today. Whether or not one agrees with her, she was eloquent. Her speech was compelling, and she has presented her case in the tradition of another Senator from Maine who was serving here when I first came many years ago as a young Senate aide, Senator Margaret Chase Smith. It is that tradition of independence and diligence which is so valuable and so important, especially in times of stress like this.

I had thought of following Senator Collins with some remarks of my own about what I found when I read the background checks today. I went to the section where we read classified documents. I saw that over 25 years, 150 people had been interviewed about Judge Kavanaugh. They had specifically been asked a question about whether they saw any evidence of alcohol abuse, and every single one said no and that there was no evidence of sexual impropriety.

I want to thank Senator Collins for her insistence on an extra week so that we could have a seventh FBI investigation. I took the time to review that as well. I saw that no matter how credible Dr. Ford seemed--and she did seem credible to me--no one except Dr. Ford remembers that alleged incident. And the other four, as Senator Collins said, who Dr. Ford said were there either don't remember it or said that it didn't happen.

I think the takeaway from what the Senator from Maine has said is that we have reached what she said she hopes is the rock bottom in the Senate confirmation process. This is not the way things should be. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, we know that the most awful allegations--sexual assault certainly is as awful as any--deserve a modicum--there is a standard of fairness. She used the words ``more likely than not'' in her case. But in the U.S. Senate, we should be able to deal with such issues in a much better way than we have dealt with this.

We--all of us; the confirmation process--have victimized Dr. Ford, and we have victimized Judge Kavanaugh. Until 2 weeks ago, Judge Kavanaugh had a reputation among most people who had ever heard of him as one of the leading scholars, judges, and teachers in America. I believe he is that, which is why I am voting for him. I am glad we are voting for him.

I hope we all pause for a moment and listen to what Senator Collins said.

I will conclude where I started. There may have been a time when there were more eloquent Senators who made more compelling speeches down the hall in the Old Senate Chamber--we know their great names--but her speech today stacks up with the best of them.

I have heard speeches in this body for nearly half a century, both as a young aide and as a Member of the U.S. Senate, and I will remember this one. It is not just because I happen to agree with her, but because she showed characteristic diligence, independence, fairness, and a suggestion of the lessons that we should have for the future of this unique institution and this unique country that we prize so much.

I am going to think about what she has said. I hope other Members of the body do, and I hope many other Americans do as well.

Thank you.

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