Executive Calendar

Floor Speech

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Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, as Mother's Day approaches, I rise to join my Democratic colleagues in sharing our constituents' stories about the importance of protecting women's access to healthcare.

No matter where they live and no matter their economic status, women in our country deserve access to comprehensive preventive care and family planning services that will enable them to stay healthy and to thrive. We know centers like Planned Parenthood have made a huge difference in the lives of the women they serve. My office recently heard from a woman named Ashley from Hooksett, who said:

I am safe, healthy, and educated thanks to Planned Parenthood.

She continues speaking about Planned Parenthood:

When I was fifteen, they were there to help me understand the changes that my body was going through and provide me with the information I needed to keep myself healthy and protected.

Throughout the rest of my teenage years, I have trusted Planned Parenthood to provide me with all of my routine healthcare procedures.

Ashley continues:

In more desperate times, they were there to explain my options and support my decisions with anonymity and compassion.

Ashley goes on to say:

I am deeply concerned about the Title 10 gag rule and the implications it may have on my getting the care I need.

I'm thankful for elected officials who are fighting back and speaking out for me and the thousands of people like me who deserve access to quality, affordable care, no matter their income or zip code.

Ashley's story is one of thousands that speak to the importance of title X-supported health centers, including Planned Parenthood, which are a major source of preventive care and reproductive health services, including cancer screenings, birth control, HIV and STI tests, and counseling services.

In New Hampshire, title X-funded centers deliver care to nearly 18,000 Granite Staters annually, and title X-supported Planned Parenthood centers serve 60 percent of those 18,000 Granite Staters. This is why the Trump administration's actions to discriminate against providers and to cut investments in family planning clinics are so dangerous, and it is why we have to keep fighting for women like Ashley, who are rightfully concerned about this constant barrage of attacks on healthcare.

I am going to continue standing with my Democratic colleagues on behalf of women's constitutionally protected rights and against the Trump administration's partisan attacks on women's access to healthcare. Nomination of Janet Dhillon

Mr. President, I rise to express my disappointment about the confirmation earlier today of Janet Dhillon to the position of Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC.

In December, I joined Senator Murray on the floor to express my concern about the fact that Republicans were blocking a well-qualified nominee, Chai Feldblum, to the EEOC.

The EEOC is a vital and bipartisan agency that enforces workers' civil rights and helps protect them from harassment and discrimination while they are on the job. The EEOC has long operated with bipartisan support and requires a quorum of its five members to decide the cases before the agency, cases which include racial discrimination, gender discrimination, age discrimination, and the discrimination against people who experience disabilities.

The partisan obstruction of the Feldblum nomination marked a significant break in precedent for how we nominate members to this Board, and the administration still has not nominated a replacement for Ms. Feldblum. The Senate should not have moved forward until that happened.

It is also clear that Ms. Dhillon would not fulfill the duties that the EEOC is entrusted with, particularly with protecting workers and ensuring that members of the LGBTQ community are not discriminated against. Ms. Dhillon has served as a leader of the Retail Litigation Center, which has long opposed pro-consumer and pro-employee policies.

Additionally, during her nomination hearing before the HELP Committee, Ms. Dhillon would not commit to maintaining the current EEOC position that the Civil Rights Act forbids employment discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, saying ``that current law is in flux.''

For a Commission that is tasked with enhancing workers' rights and protections, we cannot have a nominee with a record of putting corporations first and who is unwilling to ensure that LGBTQ people are not discriminated against in the workplace.

I oppose this nomination, and I am disappointed that more of my colleagues did not do the same.

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